James Robinson (soldier, born 1753) explained

Rev. James Robinson
Birth Name:James Robinson
Nickname:Old Father Robinson
Birth Date:21 March 1753
Birth Place:Eastern Shore of Maryland
Death Place:Detroit, Michigan
Placeofburial:Elmwood Cemetery, Detroit
Spouse:Curtilda
Children:Alexander, Wesley Sr.
Branch: Continental Army (Revolution)
(War of 1812)
Rank:Private
Battles:American Revolutionary War
Battle of Brandywine
Siege of Yorktown
War of 1812
Battle of New Orleans
Awards:Gold Medal of Valor

Rev. James Robinson (1753–1868) was born on the Eastern Shore of Maryland into bondage on March 21, 1753.[1] His enslaver was Francis De Shields. Robinson served under the General Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette and would become a significant African American soldier in the American Revolutionary War.[2]

Revolutionary War service

Robinson's enslaver, Francis De Shields, had him enlist at age 24 and fight in a Virginia Light Infantry Regiment with the promise that he could earn his freedom.[3] [4] [5] His regiment was one of several African American regiments under the command of the General Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette.[6] [7] He fought in the Battle of Brandywine which was a British victory. Also White Haven, Roanoke River, Ragged Point, on Dorset County River, Vienna Ferry, and Cambridge.[8] On October 14, 1781 he led the charge of 400 American troops up British redoubt #10 at the Siege of Yorktown and he attacked and defeated three British soldiers at once and the redoubt was captured.[9] [10] General Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, was so impressed with his actions that he awarded Robinson a Gold Medal of Valor.[11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] This would make him the highest decorated African American veteran of the Revolutionary War. He was one of between 5,000 and 10,000 African Americans who served on the American side in the Revolutionary War.

War of 1812 service

After the Revolutionary War, De Shields reneged on his promise to free Robinson and sold him in New Orleans back into slavery in Louisiana.[21] [22] His new master Calvin Smith was cruel and unforgiving, according to Robinson.[23] [24] His cousin was whipped, salted, and put in the stocks, dying from the trauma within a week of being brought to Smith's Second Creek plantation in the Natchez District. Soon thereafter, Andrew Jackson traveled to Smith's to enlist 500 enslaved men to prepare for the Battle of New Orleans. Roberts was one of these 500 men.

During an engagement, one of Robinson's fingers was shot off in battle. Also, at some point, he was struck by a saber in the head, leaving a scar he would carry his whole life. After the American victory, soldiers gathered around General Andrew Jackson, and he announced that the enslaved men who had fought would not be freed after all. According to Robinson in a slave narrative he dictated shortly before the American Civil War, Jackson lectured his fellow white officers on the perpetuation of slavery in America:

"Never," said he, "suffer negroes to have arms; if you do, they will take the country. Suffer them to have no kind of weapons over ten inches long. Never allow them to have a piece of paper with any writing on it whatever. You must examine your slaves very closely, for the time is coming when the slave will get light; and if ever his mind is enlightened on the subject of freedom, you cannot keep him. One slave bought from the East will ruin a multitude of those raised here. Before a slave of mine should go free, I would put him in a barn and burn him alive. Gentlemen, take me at my word; for if you do not, you will be sorry for it before many years. Never arm another set of colored people. We have fooled them now, but never trust them again; they will not be fooled again with this example before them. If you do, you will repent of it but once."
Robinson thought about taking his gun and shooting General Andrew Jackson right then and there but decided against it.[25]

Later life

In 1825, Robinson once again met Lafayette during his return tour of the United States. Robinson obtained his freedom in the 1830s,[26] and became an ordained minister.[27] According to the 1840 and 1850 U.S. Censuses, he was living in Butler County, Ohio with his wife Curtilda. They had two sons, Alexander and Wesley Sr. Wesley would go on to serve in the American Civil War in the 102nd United States Colored Infantry Regiment. According to the 1860 U.S. Census, Robinson and his family had moved to and were living in Detroit.[28] Robinson wrote The Narrative of James Roberts, a slave narrative about his life using the assumed name of James Roberts. At the time of Robinson's death, he lived at 137 East Fort Street in Detroit. Robinson's family lived at 136 W. Lafayette Blvd in Detroit, which is now a private park called Lafayette Greens.[29] In the 1860s, Roberts lived in Detroit.[30] [31]

Robinson died in Detroit on March 27, 1868, at the age of 115.[32] During his funeral, large crowds gathered to watch.[33] He was the last living African American veteran of the Revolutionary War at the time and the oldest person buried in Elmwood Cemetery.[34] [35] His last known living descendant was Gertrude Robinson, his granddaughter, who died in Ohio in 1983.[36]

Military honors at last

On June 22, 2019, a joint grave marking ceremony was held at Elmwood Cemetery by the Michigan societies of the Sons of the American Revolution and General Society of the War of 1812.[37] [38] Military honors with assistance from the American Legion were conducted 151 years after his death.[39] [40] [41] Many dignitaries spoke including U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib and Maj. Gen. Leonard Isabelle of the Michigan Air National Guard and Sen. Gary Peters provided a letter that was read.[42] Tlaib had read Robinson's achievements into the U.S. Congressional Record and presented a certificate which was sent to the National Mall Liberty Fund D.C.[43] [44] The National Mall Liberty Fund D.C. is working to build the National Liberty Memorial, which will memorialize the African American contribution to Independence.[45]

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Book: Green . Robert Ewell . Black defenders of America, 1775-1973 . 1974 . Johnson Publishing Company . 9780874850536 . 18.
  2. Book: Historical Afro-American biographies . 1976 . Publishers Agency, Incorporated : under the auspices of The Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History . 29.
  3. Book: Grundset . Eric G. . Forgotten patriots : African American and American Indian patriots in the Revolutionary War : a guide to service, sources and studies . 2008 . National Society Daughters of the American Revolution . 978-1892237101 . 463, 525.
  4. Book: Garrison . Webb B. . Sidelights on the American Revolution . 1974 . Abingdon Press . 9780687384396 . 162.
  5. Book: Quarles . Benjamin . The Negro in the American Revolution. . 1996 . Published for the Institute of Early American History and Culture, Williamsburg, Va., by University of North Carolina Press . 0807846031 . 68.
  6. Web site: Pitts . Jonathan M. . Twice denied the freedom he'd fought for, black Revolutionary War hero from Maryland to be honored at last . baltimoresun.com. 21 June 2019 .
  7. Book: Boyd . Herb . Black Detroit : a people's history of self-determination . 2017 . HarperCollins Publishers . 9780062346643 . First.
  8. Web site: Reverend James Robinson Biographies . elmwoodhistoriccemetery.org . Historic Elmwood Cemetery & Foundation.
  9. Book: Curry . Gerald D. . Striving For Perfection : Developing Professional Black Officers. . 2013 . Iuniverse . 9781475984804 . 5.
  10. Book: Boys' Life Magazine . Boy Scouts of America, Inc. . 24 . July 1975.
  11. Book: Wesley . Charles . International Library of Afro-American Life and History . 1976 . Pennsylvania State University . 30.
  12. Book: Crisis, Volume 99 . 1992 . Crisis Publishing Company . 30.
  13. Book: Jenkins . Everett . Pan-African Chronology . 1996 . McFarland & Company . 130.
  14. Book: Information Please Almanac . 1993 . Simon and Schuster . 633.
  15. Book: Black Americans in Defense of Our Nation . 1991 . Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Civilian Personnel Policy/Equal Opportunity, Department of Defense . 28.
  16. Book: Afro-Americans '76 : Black Americans in the founding of our nation . 1975 . Afro-Am Pub. Co . 9780910030205 . 56.
  17. Book: Wesley . Charles . In Freedom's Footsteps, from the African Background to the Civil War . 1968 . Publishers Company . 98.
  18. Book: The Negro almanac : a reference work on the African American . 1989 . Gale Research Inc . 9780810377066 . 827 . 5th.
  19. Web site: Zaniewski . Ann . 151 years after death, enslaved Revolutionary War vet honored in Detroit . Detroit Free Press . en.
  20. Book: McPherson . Mark . Looking for Lisette . 2001 . Mage Press in conjunction with Thomson-Shore, Incorporated . 162.
  21. Book: Clayton . Sheryl H. . Black Members of Congress & Their Speeches & Tributes . 1987 . Essai Seay Publications . 262.
  22. Book: African Concord . 1986 . Concord Press of Nigeria . 26 . Issues 106-121.
  23. News: The Venerable Man . Raftsman's Journal . H. Bucher Swoope . January 22, 1868 . 1.
  24. Book: Cox . Clinton . Come all you brave soldiers : Blacks in the Revolutionary War . 1999 . Scholastic Press . 0590475762 . 170 . First.
  25. Web site: James Roberts, 1753-. The Narrative of James Roberts, a Soldier Under Gen. Washington in the Revolutionary War, and Under Gen. Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans, in the War of 1812: "a Battle Which Cost Me a Limb, Some Blood, and Almost My Life" . docsouth.unc.edu.
  26. News: Oldest Man in America . Lewisburg Chronicle . 14 Feb 1868 . 1.
  27. Web site: Moore . Tom . African American Soldiers Fought For Freedom In The Revolution . www.wypr.org . July 4, 2019 . en.
  28. Book: DeRamus . Betty . Freedom by any means : true stories of cunning and courage on the Underground Railroad . 2009 . 9781439156483 . 263 . Simon and Schuster . First Atria Paperbackition.
  29. Book: U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 . 2011 . Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. . Provo, UT, USA.
  30. News: 1868-02-14 . Oldest Man in America . 2024-08-12 . Lewisburg Chronicle . 1.
  31. Gasperetti . Elio . 1954 . An Italo-American Newspaper's Obituary of a Negro Revolutionary War Veteran . Negro History Bulletin . 18 . 3 . 58–58 . 0028-2529.
  32. Gasperetti . Elio . 1954 . An Italo-American Newspaper's Obituary of a Negro Revolutionary War Veteran . Negro History Bulletin . 18 . 3 . 58–58 . 0028-2529.
  33. An Italo-American Newspaper's Obituary of a Negro Revolutionary War Veteran . The Negro History Bulletin . Dec 1954 . 18 . 3 . 58.
  34. Book: Franck . Michael . Elmwood endures : history of a Detroit cemetery . 1996 . Wayne State University Press . 9780814325919 . 50 .
  35. Book: Wright . Roberta . Lay down body : living history in African American cemeteries . 1996 . Visible Ink Press . 9780787606510 . 173.
  36. News: Pitts . Jonathan M. . Twice denied the freedom he'd fought for, a black Revolutionary War hero from Maryland is honored at last . Washington Post . en.
  37. Apple.com Podcasts. A black Revolutionary War hero is belatedly honored . Apple Podcasts . The Washington Post . June 25, 2019 . June 25, 2019.
  38. Web site: James Robinson (U.S. National Park Service) . www.nps.gov . en.
  39. Complete Coverage of the 129th Annual Congress . The SAR Magazine . 2019 . 114 . 1 . 31 .
  40. Web site: Lewin . Katherine . Black War Hero James Robinson Finally Honored with Military Funeral . DiversityInc . June 26, 2019.
  41. Web site: Michigan Society News . www.missar.org.
  42. Dedication Service Honoring Reverend Private James Robinson . The War Cry . The General Society of the War of 1812 . May 2020 . 7.
  43. Web site: Congressional Record . www.congress.gov.
  44. Web site: African-American Revolutionary War hero's legacy of diversity honored at Detroit gravestone dedication . DVIDS . en.
  45. Web site: About Us – National Liberty Memorial . The National Liberty Fund D.C..