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Salem Poor was an African-American slave who purchased his freedom, became a soldier and rose to fame as a war hero during the Battle of Bunker Hill during the American Revolution. Salem Poor is best remembered for his actions during the Battle of Bunker Hill, where he is credited with killing British Lieutenant Colonel James Abercrombie as well as several British soldiers. Later that year, Poor’s valor and gallantry at the Battle of Bunker Hill prompted 14 officers, including Colonel William Prescott, to cite him for heroism and petition the General Court of Massachusetts with the following statement:In 1793 he was known to have spent several weeks in the Boston Almshouse and was briefly jailed for “breach of peace” in 1799. He married for the fourth and final time in 1801 and died in poverty in Boston in 1802. He was buried on February 5th, but the location of his grave remains unknown.

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The most famous mixed-race fighting unit on the Patriot side was the 1st Rhode Island Regiment, organized in 1778, though their role was limited to the Northern Theatre of the war. The organization of this regiment was endorsed by Washington. Enlisting in the regiment were 88 slaves who were guaranteed freedom at the end of their service. The Rhode Island State Assembly promised compensation to their former masters.

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1. Like most slave owners, Washington feared guns in the hands of blacks, particularly those enslaved, believing that armed slaves might foment a rebellion. Slave owners also feared that by placing enslaved persons in the army, there would be an expectation that they would be freed based on their service. Washington’s initial skepticism about permitting African Americans into the ranks of the Continental Army turned to admiration as he saw black men fighting for the same cause he did along with their white counterparts.

2.  In November 1775, however, Virginia’s British Royal Governor, Lord Dunmore, issued a proclamation that he would free any slave who left his master to serve alongside British forces.