At a meeting of the Congregational and Presbyterian Anti-Slavery Society, at Francestown, N.H., the Rev. Dr. Harris, himself a Revolutionary soldier, spoke thus complimentarily of the Rhode-Island Negro regiment:—
"Yes, a regiment of negroes, fighting for our liberty and independence,—not a white man among them but the officers,—stationed in this same dangerous and responsible position. Had they been unfaithful, or driven away before the enemy, all would have been lost. Three times in succession were they attacked, with most desperate valor and fury, by well disciplined and veteran troops, and three times did they successfully repel the assault, and thus preserve our army from capture. They fought through the war. They were brave, hardy troops. They helped to gain our liberty and independence."
From the opening to the closing scene of the Revolutionary War; from the death of Pitcairn to the surrender of Cornwallis; on many fields of strife and triumph, of splendid valor and republican glory; from the hazy dawn of unequal and uncertain conflict, to the bright morn of profound peace; through and out of the fires of a great war that gave birth to a new, a grand republic,—the Negro soldier fought his way to undimmed glory, and made for himself a magnificent record in the annals of American history. Those annals have long since been committed to the jealous care of the loyal citizens of the Republic black men fought so heroically to snatch from the iron clutches of Britain.
FOOTNOTES:
[578] Bancroft, vol. vii., 6th ed., p. 421.
[579] An Historical Research, p. 93.
[580] History of Leicester, p. 267.
[581] Orations and Speeches of Everett, vol. iii. p. 529.
[582] MS. Archives of Massachusetts, vol. clxxx, p. 241.
[583] Memoir of Samuel Lawrence, by Rev. S.K. Lothrop, D.D., pp. 8, 9.