Documents of African American Revolutionary War Soldiers

Thousands of free and enslaved Black people fought in the American Revolution, including hundreds from Connecticut. Cash Palatine (or Pallentine) was a Black soldier in the Eighth Connecticut Regiment. According to the Museum of the American Revolution (https://www.amrevmuseum.org), he enlisted in 1777 and served until 1783 and upon his discharge was granted the "Badge of Merit," an award created by George Washington. The museum's information also says that Palatine went back to his native Lebanon, Connecticut, after the war and that he married Rose Cosman in 1784. He died in 1791. Liverpool Wadsworth--who may also have been called "Liverpole"--was a Black soldier who served with the Connecticut Line, a part of the Continental Army. A 1796 document from the Farmington, Connecticut, Probate District names Hezekiah Wadsworth the administrator of Liverpool Wadsworth's estate--describing Liverpool as "an African late of Farmington"--and also includes an inventory of the estate, mostly consisting of clothing items, that was taken May 12, 1796, after Liverpool Wadsworth had died (accessed on ancestry.com).

William Williams (1731-1811), a merchant from Lebanon, Connecticut, was a member of the Continental Congress and signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776 as a representative of his state.