Historian John U. Rees will speak about his book: They Were Good Soldiers: African Americans Serving in the Continental Army, 1775-1783 which examines the role of African-Americans, most free but some enslaved, in the regiments of the Continental Army.

They Were Good Soldiers begins by discussing, for comparison, the inclusion and treatment of black Americans by the various Crown forces (particularly British and Loyalist commanders, and military units). The narrative then moves into an overview of black soldiers in the Continental Army, before examining their service state by state. Each state chapter looks first at the Continental regiments in that state’s contingent throughout the war, and then adds interesting black soldiers’ pension narratives or portions thereof. The premise is to introduce the reader to the men’s wartime duties and experiences. The book’s concluding chapters examine veterans’ postwar fortunes in a changing society and the effect of increasing racial bias in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

'They Were Good Soldiers' makes extensive use of black veterans’ pension narratives to ‘hear’ them and others tell their stories, and provides insights into their lives, before, during, and after the war.

John U. Rees has been writing about the common soldiers’ experiences in the War for American Independence for over thirty years, on subjects ranging from army food and the soldier’s burden, to women with the army, and military vehicles and watercraft. His work may be viewed at ‘World of the Common Soldier’.

This program is part of the New Jersey Speaks Lecture Series.