People, Locations, Episodes

Thomas Peters; Canadian Soldier, and Abolitionist born

*This date in 1738 is celebrated as the birth date of Thomas Peters. He was a Black abolitionist and soldier fighting for the British in the American Revolutionary War. He was born in West Africa to the Yoruba tribe, the Egba clan. In 1760, at twenty-two years old, he was captured by slave traders, sold as a […]

Charles Trowbridge, Military Officer born

*Charles Trowbridge was born on this date in 1835. He was a White American soldier, abolitionist, and politician.

Charles Tyler Trowbridge was from Morristown, New Jersey in an area known as Trowbridge Mountain. He was third of seven children born to Elijah Freeman Trowbridge and Temperance Ludlow Muchmore. His family moved to Brooklyn, New York in 1854. In 1857 he married Emeline Haviland Jackson at Freehold, New Jersey. They had one child, Ida Emeline Trowbridge who died in 1858.

David Hunter, Abolitionist born

David Hunter was born on this date in 1802. He was a White American soldier and abolitionist.

He was born in Washington D.C. He graduated from the Military Academy at West Point in 1822 and saw action in the Seminole War (1838-42) and the Mexican War (1846-48).

A strong opponent of slavery, after the outbreak of the American Civil War, he joined the Union Army. He became a colonel and was severely wounded at Bull Run. In March 1862, Hunter was appointed Commander of the Department of the South.

Hendrick Arnold, Military Scout, born

This date, 1804, is celebrated as the birth date of Hendrick Arnold, a Black military scout, guide, and spy during the Texas Revolution. Hendrick Arnold emigrated from Mississippi or Kentucky to Texas with his parents, Daniel Arnold, a white man, and Rachel, who was black, in the winter of 1826. The family settled in Stephen […]

Louis Goldsborough, Admiral born

*Louis Goldsborough was born on this date in 1805. He was a white-American rear admiral in the United States Navy noted for his contributions to nautical scientific research.   Louis Malesherbes Goldsborough was born in Washington, D.C., the son of a chief clerk at the United States Department of the Navy. He was appointed midshipman in the United […]

Robert E. Lee, Confederate General born

*Robert E. Lee was born on this date in 1807. He was a white American soldier known for commanding the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War from 1862 until his surrender in 1865.

The West Africa Squadron Is Created

*This date, 1808, confirms that the West Africa Squadron was formed. It was a regiment of the British Royal Navy. Also known as the Preventative Squadron, its goal was to suppress the Atlantic slave trade by patrolling the coast of West Africa. Formed after the British Parliament passed the Slave Trade Act 1807 and based out of […]

Cow Tom, Interpreter born

*Cow Tom’s birth, in 1810, is celebrated on this date. He was a Black Creek Native American interpreter.  He was born a slave in Alabama to the Muskogee leader Yargee of the Upper Creeks. As a young man, Tom was known to tend to the cattle of Chief Yargee; thus, the name Cow Tom was […]

The Corps of The Colonial Marines, a story

*The Corps of Colonial Marines began on this date in 1810. It was two British Marine units raised from former Black slaves for service in the Americas. At the behest of Alexander Cochrane, the units were created at two separate points during the wars (Napoleonic Wars and War of 1812). They were later disbanded once […]

John Horse, Black Seminole Soldier born

*The birth of John Horse is celebrated on this date, c. 1812. He was an African and Native American soldier who fought alongside the Seminoles in the Second Seminole War in Florida.   John Horse was from the region called Micanopy in north central Florida. His father was the Seminole trader Charley Cavallo, and his […]

Black History And The War of 1812, a story

*Black history and the War of 1812 are celebrated on this date in 1812. This was a conflict between England and the United States. Blacks fought on both sides, though many fought for the same reason: freedom from chattel slavery. In the Revolutionary War, black and white patriots fought together, which helped convince many Northern states […]

John Fremont, Politician, and Abolitionist born

*John Fremont was born on this date in 1813. He was a White American soldier, politician and abolitionist.

From Savannah, Georgia, educated at Charleston College, he taught mathematics before joining the Army Topographical Engineers Corps in 1838. Among other field services, in 1842 Fremont mapped most of the Oregon Trail and climbed the second highest peak in the Wind River Mountains, afterwards known as Fremont Peak. Fremont made many expeditions; in 1845 he explored the Great Basin and the Pacific coast.

Robert Bridges Forten, Soldier, and Abolitionist born

*Robert Bridges Forten was born on this date in 1813. He was a Black sailmaker, abolitionist, and Union Army soldier.   He was the son of James Forten, abolitionist and co-founder of the Free African Society, and Charlotte Vandine. He was one of nine children educated privately due to segregation in the Philadelphia area schools. Family, friends, and acquaintances considered […]

The Merikins Community is Established

*The origin of the Merikins is celebrated on this date in 1814. They were African expatriates of the War of 1812, freed black slaves who fought for the British against the American colonies.

Nathaniel Banks, Officer, and Politician born

*Nathaniel Banks was born on this date in 1816. He was a white-American politician and a military officer.   Nathaniel Prentice Banks was born in Waltham, Massachusetts, and was the first child of Nathaniel P. Banks, Sr., and Rebecca Greenwood Banks. His father worked in the textile mill of the Boston Manufacturing Company, eventually becoming […]