Category Archives: CT Loyalists

The Fate of the Black Loyalists of Fairfield County, CT, Part 2

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Here is Part 2 of a 2-part article on The Fate of the Black Loyalists of Fairfield County, CT. Part 1 of this article series lays the groundwork to understanding the position that Black Loyalists found themselves in while serving the British Crown. Part 2 tells the individual stories of what happened to some of the Black Loyalists from Fairfield County, Connecticut, after they arrived in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Canada, and Sierra Leone. I approach this topic as a family historian-genealogist and a descendant of enslaved/formerly enslaved African and Indigenous peoples who served as Black Patriots and Black Loyalists in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. I believe that their remarkable contributions to both the United States and Britain have been overlooked. It is important to recognize that their acts of resistance and agency positioned them as the
“Founding Fathers” in the US and Canada.

While this article does not provide a comprehensive overview of Connecticut Loyalists’
involvement in the War, it offers a snapshot of the significant events that Black Loyalists of Fairfield County faced. Their fates highlight how the promises made to them by the Loyalists ultimately turned out to be grand gestures that led to a false sense of freedom. While some may view Black Loyalists as “the losers’ losers,” we regard them as heroes for pursuing liberty, freedom, and justice in the face of great odds. The decision they all made to take a chance on freedom is perhaps the most American of all stories.

The full article can be read here: The Fate of the Black Loyalists of Fairfield County, Part 2.

The Fate of the Black Loyalists of Fairfield County, CT (Part 1)

African American Loyalists, Afro-Indigenous Loyalists, Black Loyalists, Black Patriots, Captain James Hughston, Captain James Lyon, Connecticut Loyalists, Connecticut Merchant Marine families, CT Loyalists, Cuff Bush, David Bush, General Birch Certificates, General William Howes 1777 Order, Glasglow Griggs, Grigg, Hagar Thomson, Horseneck, Hoyt, Hubbard, Hyde, Indigenous Loyalists, Ketcham, Lord Dunmores Proclamation, Mary Thomson, Native American Loyalists, New Brunswick, New York City, Nova Scotia, Revolutionary War, Rogers, Sierra Leone, Sir Guy Carlton, Sir Henry Clinton's 1779 Phillipsburg Proclamation, The Black Brigade, The Black Pioneers, The Book of Negroes, The Ethiopian Regiment, Thompson-King, Titus Cornelius, Treaty of Paris, War of Independence

Here is Part 1 of a 2-part article on The Fate of the Black Loyalists of Fairfield County, CT. Part 1 of this article series lays the groundwork to understanding the position that Black Loyalists found themselves in while serving the British Crown. Part 2 will tell the individual stories of what happened to some of the Black Loyalists from Fairfield County, Connecticut, after they arrived in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, Canada, and Sierra Leone. I approach this topic as a family historian-genealogist and a descendant of enslaved/formerly enslaved African and Indigenous peoples who served as Black Patriots and Black Loyalists in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. I believe that their remarkable contributions to both the United States and Britain have been overlooked. It is important to recognize that their acts of resistance and agency positioned them as the
“Founding Fathers” in the US and Canada.

While this article does not provide a comprehensive overview of Connecticut Loyalists’
involvement in the War, it offers a snapshot of the significant events that Black Loyalists of Fairfield County faced. I do mention Black Patriots throughout because both groups served under similar conditions and faced similar outcomes. These events highlight how the promises made to them by the Loyalists ultimately turned out to be grand gestures that led to a false sense of freedom.

The full article can be read here: The Fate of Black Loyalists Final of Fairfield County

Part 2 will be published in the next issue of Connecticut Ancestry.

 

Connecticut Ancestry, 66:1 (Aug 2023), 1-9