Lesson 14:Thomas Peters A Remarkable Man

Thomas Peters
A Remarkable Man
by Susannah Flaherty
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

Thomas Peters
A Remarkable Man
by Susannah Flaherty
ILLUSTRATION CREDIT: Title Page Bandelin-Dacey Studios.
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Peter Newark American Pictures/The Bridgeman Art Library. 9 American Museum, Bath, Avon, UK, Courtesy of the Director,
National Army Museum, London, UK / The Bridgeman Art Library. 10 The Granger Collection, New York. 11 The Art Archive.
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ISBN-13: 978-0-547-02285-7
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 RRD 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08

Table of Contents
Introduction 3
Thomas Peters’s Early Life 4
Promises of Freedom 6
A Free Man 8
The British Are Defeated 10
Escape from Slavery 11
Passage to Nova Scotia 12
The Sierra Leone Company 14
Passage to Africa—and Freedom 16
Conclusion 17

Introduction
During the American Revolution, colonial
Patriots fought for “life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness.” Their struggle for freedom from Britain
is well known.
But other people also wanted liberty. One group
is largely unknown, even today. Who were those
people They were black Africans and their descendants.
These people were enslaved in the American
colonies.
Around 1750, there were about 300,000 enslaved
people in the colonies. Most were African. They were
about 20 percent of the total colonial population.
The Slave Trade
European slave-trading companies made thousands of trips to
West Africa. Historians think that these companies brought 10
to 12 million Africans into slavery in the Americas.
3

During the Revolutionary War, some enslaved black
people fought with the Patriots. However, historians
believe that many more ran away from their masters.
They risked their lives to join the British, or Loyalists.
Why did so many enslaved people support the British
What became of these people after the war This book
answers these questions. It tells the true story of one
man—Thomas Peters. He worked hard to gain life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness for himself and others.
Thomas Peters’s Early Life
Thomas Peters was born
in an area in West Africa.
That area is now part of
Nigeria. As a young man,
Thomas was kidnapped. He
was taken to North America.
He was sold into slavery
around 1760.
NORTH
AMERICA
Thomas Peters’s journey
into slavery, around 1760
4

In the early 1770s, Peters was sold again. This
time he was sold to a colonist named William
Campbell. Campbell lived on the Cape Fear River in
North Carolina. The local industry was logging trees
and milling them into lumber. Peters was made an
apprentice to a millwright.
There were many conflicts between the colonists
and the British government. These conflicts became
very bad in 1774. In the spring of 1775, battles were
fought in Lexington and Concord. The battles marked
the beginning of the Revolutionary War.
Rumors spread
among the colonists in
North Carolina. Many
colonists were afraid
ATLANTIC
that the British would
OCEAN
encourage enslaved
blacks to fight against
AFRICA the colonists. This would
make the colonists’ fight
Nigeria against the British more
difficult.
5

Promises of Freedom
The colonists’ fears came true in November 1775. Lord
Dunmore was the British governor of Virginia. He was a
powerful Loyalist. Lord Dunmore made a remarkable offer.
He promised freedom to any black person enslaved by a
Patriot. The person had to agree to fight for the British. (This
offer was not made to black people enslaved by Loyalists.)
News of Lord Dunmore’s offer spread quickly. Many
colonists were angry. They thought enslaved blacks were
their “property.” So the colonists felt that Lord Dunmore
was stealing their property. The colonists also felt that Lord
Dunmore wanted to cause unrest.
Even so, Lord Dunmore’s offer had the effect he
wanted. It inspired many blacks—including Thomas
Peters—to escape. These people then joined the British
troops and claimed their liberty.
“And I hereby further declare all indentured
Servants, Negroes, or others, (appertaining to Rebels,)
free that are able and willing to bear Arms, they joining
His MAJESTY’S Troops as soon as may be.”
This quote is from Lord Dunmore’s offer. He said that an enslaved
person could become free by joining the British troops. The same
was true for an indentured servant.
6

Black Patriots in the Revolution
Why didn’t the Patriots let enslaved blacks fight on their side,
too At the start of the Revolutionary War, the Patriots did do
this. Black Patriots, both free and enslaved, fought beside
colonists. They fought at the battles of Lexington, Concord,
and Bunker Hill.
However, later in 1775,
General George Washington
stopped blacks from serving
in the Continental Army.
There were many reasons for
his decision. Most Patriots
did not want to give
weapons to people they had
enslaved. The Patriots feared
that the enslaved people
might fight against them.
As the war went on, the
Continental Army needed
more soldiers. Then
Washington changed his
mind. The colonists were
tentative, or unsure, about
having enslaved black
people fight. But
Washington let these
people join the army.
General George Washington led
the Continental Army.
7

A Free Man
When Thomas Peters had a chance to be free, he took
it. In early 1776, British ships sailed up the Cape Fear River.
Peters learned that the British were nearby. He fled from
bondage to join them. Because of Lord Dunmore’s offer,
Peters was now a free man.
Peters joined the Black Pioneers. This was a British
army unit made up of black men. The Pioneers did not
fight. But they still made major contributions to the
Loyalist cause. Some worked as army scouts and raiders.
Others were military engineers. They built housing and
forts for soldiers. Sometimes they built defenses during
battles. These were very dangerous conditions for work.
The Black Brigade
During the Revolutionary War, British army authorities
organized other groups of freed blacks. One of the most
famous was the Black Brigade. The Brigade made surprise
attacks on Patriot forces. The Brigade fought with great
dexterity. They captured prisoners and seized supplies. Their
leader was a black Loyalist known as Colonel Tye.
8

Peters stayed with the
Black Pioneers until the war
ended. He was promoted to
sergeant.
In 1779, the British
made an influential statement.
It was known as the
Philipsburg Proclamation.
Before, the British had only
granted freedom to
enslaved men. But the
British General Henry Clinton
Philipsburg Proclamation made the Philipsburg
Proclamation in 1779.
expanded the British offer.
Now enslaved women and children could also be freed.
They, too, had to run away from their colonial masters and
join the British forces. Then they would be free.
Historians believe that sometime after the Philipsburg
Proclamation, an enslaved black woman named Sally
escaped from her Patriot master. She reached a British
army camp. At some point, she met Thomas Peters. Later,
they married and had children.
9

The British Are Defeated
In October 1781, George Washington’s army defeated
the British troops led by British general Lord Cornwallis.
The battle took place at Yorktown, Virginia. This was an
important victory for the Americans. It marked the real
end of the Revolutionary War.
At Yorktown, black Loyalist soldiers were among
Cornwallis’s British troops. After the British surrendered,
the black Loyalist soldiers were rounded up and returned
to slavery. Unfortunately, this happened to many black
Loyalists after the war.
Late in 1782, the British agreed to recognize the former
American colonies as an independent nation. Then the
Americans made a demand. They said that the British must
return all American property. Among the “property” were
thousands of formerly
enslaved people who
had joined the British
during the war.
The British
surrendered at
Yorktown.
10

Escape from Slavery
Black Loyalists were afraid of being forced back into
slavery. A man named Boston King later wrote about his
feelings. He felt “inexpressible anguish and terror… Many
slaves had very cruel masters.” The thought of returning to
slavery “embittered life to us.”
The British commander, Sir
Guy Carleton, did not agree to the
American demand. He would not
turn in the black Loyalists. Instead,
he arranged for many of them to
leave the colonies. Carleton got ships
to take black Loyalists to places
A medal marking the
controlled by the British. Some
end of slavery in the
black Loyalists were taken to Nova British Empire
Scotia in Canada. Others went to
Jamaica in the Caribbean. Others went to Great Britain.
Not all black Loyalists were able to escape from
America. Many were captured by American soldiers and
returned to slavery. But 3,000 to 4,000 black Loyalists did
escape. Thomas Peters and his family were among them.
They got on a British ship. The ship took them from New
York to Nova Scotia around the beginning of 1783.
11

Passage to Nova Scotia
CANADA
New
Brunswick
Halifax
Brindley Town
Nova
Scotia
New York
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
New York City
The Peters family went by ship from New York to Nova Scotia.
The ship carrying the Peters family was blown off
course. The people from the ship had to spend the winter in
the Caribbean. They finally arrived in Nova Scotia, Canada,
in 1784. After they arrived, the Peters family and other black
Loyalists settled in Brindley Town.
All Loyalists—including formerly enslaved Africans—
were promised a hundred acres of farmland. They were also
promised tools and provisions to last them three years. But
Peters’s group received provisions to last them only a few
months. And they did not get the land.
12

Peters and his community waited for their land. They
worked building roads to earn their provisions. They were
kept apart from white Loyalist settlers. They had to live in
very poor settlements.
Thomas Peters wrote to the governor of Nova Scotia.
He asked the governor for the land. The governor finally
gave some black Loyalist families one-acre “town plots.”
But the black Loyalists never received their large farming
plots. The families barely survived.
Peters kept trying to persuade the governor to give the
promised farmlands. But all his efforts were unsuccessful.
The black families did not receive the land.
In 1790, Peters traveled to Great
Britain. He decided to ask the British
government in person. He would
speak for hundreds of black
Loyalists. The long trip to London,
England, was risky. The ship had to
cross the Atlantic Ocean. Pirates
could have captured Peters. They
might have enslaved him again.
Peters sailed to England in 1790,
possibly on a ship like this one.
13

The Sierra Leone Company
Finally, Thomas Peters arrived safely in England.
There he met a man named Granville Sharp. Sharp was
famous for working against slavery. Sharp helped Peters
deliver a petition, or written request, to the British
government.
The petition listed every aspect of the black Loyalists’
problems. They had not received the promised farmlands.
They had not received tools or provisions. But that was not
all. The British denied the black Loyalists many rights.
A black Loyalist could not have a trial by jury. A black
Loyalist could not bring problems to courts of law. A black
Loyalist could not vote.
Granville Sharp offered more help to Peters. Sharp told
Peters about the Sierra Leone Company. This company was
created by Sharp and other British abolitionists, or people
who wanted to end slavery. The abolitionists wanted to
create a colony in Sierra Leone, Africa. This colony would be
a place for freed Africans. The first attempt to establish the
colony failed. Now the abolitionists were looking for a new
group to settle in Sierra Leone.
14

Peters thought that the
Sierra Leone colony was a good
idea. The colony might solve the
black Loyalists’ problems.
Peters agreed to Sharp’s idea.
Then the Sierra Leone
Company presented a new
plan to the British government. Many people in England
In the plan, Peters and other wanted to end slavery. This
painting shows a meeting
black Loyalists would settle in of abolitionists in London
Sierra Leone.
in 1840.
The British government
agreed to move the Loyalists from Nova Scotia to Sierra
Leone. The British promised free passage and 20 acres of
land to each black Loyalist. More acres were added for
family members. The plan was approved. Peters left
England and returned to Nova Scotia.
Peters informed others about the Sierra Leone colony.
One flyer said, “Free Settlement on the Coast of Africa.”
Many black Loyalists agreed to the plan. Moving to Sierra
Leone seemed like a good idea. The black Loyalists were
tired of struggling in Nova Scotia.
15

Passage to Africa—and Freedom
The Sierra Leone Company did not expect many new
settlers. The company thought only a few hundred black
Loyalists would want to move. They were wrong. Nearly
1,200 people were interested! Thomas Peters helped organize
the settler families. In 1791, a group of ships sat in Halifax
harbor. The ships were ready for the trip to West Africa.
The black Loyalists set sail for Africa on January 15, 1792.
Peters and his family were among the new settlers. There
were weeks of raging storms at sea. Finally, in early March,
the entire fleet arrived safely. The settlers were free. They
could begin new lives!
Peters and the other Loyalists cleared land for a new
settlement. They were hopeful about their new lives. They
named the settlement Freetown.
The Death of Thomas Peters
Thomas Peters did not live long after arriving in Sierra Leone.
He died of malaria on June 25, 1792. But his legacy remains.
The founding of Freetown was an important moment in
black history. The settlement would provide freedom, equal
rights, and land to formerly enslaved people. This was an
important step toward ending slavery.
16

The settlers faced many challenges in Sierra Leone.
However, their situation got better. Great Britain outlawed
the slave trade in 1807. Freetown became a center for the
fight against the slave trade. Many formerly enslaved
people came to live there. Freetown became the capital of
Sierra Leone. Descendants of the original settlers still live
there today.
Conclusion
The story of Thomas
Peters and the black
Loyalists is remarkable.
The story starts with
slavery in America and
ends with freedom in
Africa. The lives of these
The British attacked a
settlers are not well known. Spanish slave-trading
But they are an important center in Sierra Leone.
part of American history.
Thomas Peters was caught in the fight between the
British and the colonial Patriots. He and other enslaved
blacks got the chance to gain their own freedom. They
created one of the largest rebellions of enslaved people in
American history.
17

The Life of Thomas Peters
Pre-1760
About 1760
Fall 1775
Early 1776
June 1779
Fall 1781
Thomas Peters is born in West Africa.
He is sold into slavery in the American
colonies.
Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation is made.
Peters escapes from slavery and joins the
Black Pioneers.
The Philipsburg Proclamation is made.
The British surrender at Yorktown.
1782-1783 The British arrange for many black
Loyalists to leave the U.S. and travel to
Nova Scotia, Jamaica, or Great Britain.
1784 The Peters family arrives in Nova Scotia
but lives under poor conditions.
1790 Peters travels to England and meets
Granville Sharp of the Sierra Leone
Company.
January 1792 Peters sails to Sierra Leone, Africa.
He helps start Freetown with other black
Loyalists.
June 1792
Peters dies of malaria in Freetown.
18

Responding
TARGET SKILL Sequence of Events What
events led up to Thomas Peters joining the Black
Pioneers army unit Copy and complete the chart
below. Add boxes if necessary.
Event:
Event:
Event: Thomas Peters joins the Black
Pioneers.
Write About It
Text to World Peters went to England to ask the
British government to protect the black Loyalists’
rights. Think about things people can do today to
try to protect their rights. Write a few paragraphs
telling what people can do.
19

TARGET VOCABULARY
apprentice
aspects
authorities
bondage
contributions
dexterity
influential
persuade
provisions
tentative
TARGET SKILL Sequence of Events Identify the
time order in which events take place.
TARGET STRATEGY Summarize Briefly tell the
important parts of the text in your own words.
GENRE Narrative Nonfiction gives factual information
by telling a true story.
20

Level: U
DRA: 44
Genre:
Narrative Nonfiction
Strategy:
Summarize
Skill:
Sequence of Events
Word Count: 2,255
5.3.14
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