Why Is Cricus Attucks Important In The Revolutionary War

Of the 2,400 American soldiers who fought at the Battle of Bunker Hill, in June of 1775, 120 were black. The total estimated number of African Americans that escaped, died or were killed during the American Revolution is about 100,000. The first official death of the Revolutionary War was the death of an African American man named Crispus Attucks at the Boston Massacre. Throughout American and World history the African American race has been abused. They have been killed and sold as slaves and after many years of pain and suffering we finally accept them as equals. One of the greatest attempts at proving self-worth for Blacks in American History was showing they made an impact in the Revolutionary War. When the Colonies were established as

It is widely known that the first act of war in the Revolution was the Boston Massacre. The Boston Massacre was an incident that occurred on March 5th 1770 (#6-22). During this incident 8 British soldiers were being subjected to abuse, under pressure they shot into the crowd killing 3 people. The first of the 3 people killed was Crispus Attucks. Today he is widely considered to be the first American casualty in the American Revolutionary War (#6-19). Attucks was originally a slave but gained his freedom and saw it as an opportunity to serve his country. Attucks became a martyr to the Revolutionaries. In the 1800’s, as the Abolitionist Movement gained momentum in Boston, supporters portrayed Crispus Attucks as an African American who played a heroic role in the history of the United States. This incident inspired many African Americans to join the colonist effort in the

The primary reason was that they were suspicious of the blacks and thought they would be traitors (#1). They were afraid that armed slaves would turn against the Colonists (#1) . In 1775 at least 10 to 15 black soldiers, including some slaves, fought against the British at the Battles of Lexington and Bunker Hill. By the end of the war from 5,000 to 8,000 blacks had served the American cause in some capacity, either on the battlefield, behind the lines in noncombatant roles, or on the seas (#3). When hostilities were over, the American military looked to reestablish slavery (#1). A mere twenty thousand out of some six hundred thousand slaves left the colonies along with the retreating British army. Despite the wave of sentiment for emancipation that swept the North in the Revolutionary era, New York did not free all its slaves until 1827