Virginia Negro Soldiers and Seamen in the Revolutionary War

Norfolk, Virginia: Guide Quality Press, 1944. Good. 8 7/8” x 6”. Stapled thin card wrappers. Pp. 46. Good due to large damp stain to every page; text is still legible and images still vivid.

This is a detailed history concerning the participation of African Americans in the Revolutionary War. It was written by a noted Black educator, author and civil rights activist, Luther Porter Jackson.

Luther Porter Jackson was born in Kentucky in 1892. He taught in Kansas and served as Director of the Academic Department at the South Carolina HBCU Voorhees College before accepting employment at Virginia State College. Founded in Petersburg (truncated) in 1882 as the state's only institution of higher education for African Americans, it is now Virginia State University. Jackson organized the school's History Department and served as Professor and Chairman for nearly 30 years. Together with his friend and mentor Carter G. Woodson, Jackson was active with the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH) and wrote many articles for the Journal of Negro History. He helped establish the Petersburg League of Negro Voters, a predecessor of the Virginia Voters League, as well as the Petersburg Business League, which became the Virginia Trade Association. He also worked with Thurgood Marshall to promote equal pay for Black and white teachers, and challenged the segregation of public transit in Richmond. Jackson is noted for his Free Negro Labor and Property Holding in Virginia, 1830–1860 (1942), which challenged antebellum racial stereotypes and misconceptions. He also authored several works on lesser-known Black histories and activities, such as The History of the Virginia State Teachers Association (1937); Religious Instruction of Negroes, 1830 to 1860, with Special Reference to South Carolina (1930); and Negro Office-holders in Virginia, 1865-1895 (1945). He died in 1950. The Black Cultural Center at the University of Virginia and a Dendron, Virginia middle school Per this work's preface, it was “published and presented” to Virginia teachers “as a token of appreciation for their constant support” of the ASNLH. The author argued that, “in a larger sense, this publication is the property of all teachers, of all schools, and of the entire public. It should have wide circulation because the history of the Negro is but a cross section of the history of all people.” The book lists the names of 179 African Americans who served their country in the Revolutionary War. There are notes highlighting the efforts of about half of the servicemen, as well as five essays which cover in detail the “exploits of four soldiers and seamen and those of one particular family.” The book includes a sketch of, and facsimile of a writing by James Lafayette, “spy to General Lafayette. Born a slave . . . died a free man.” There are also six photographic images of descendants of the soldiers, four of whom are women.

A compelling work documenting an under-studied aspect of Black history, by an accomplished African American author and activist. OCLC shows 34 holdings. (Inventory #: 8121)