Introduction The act of August 7, 1789, that established the Department of War provided that the Secretary of War should have custody of all books and papers belonging to the Secretary at War, who had headed the Department of War established by the Continental Congress in 1781. Included were the records of the Board of War, which had conducted military administrative affairs during the Revolution. This list of Revolutionary War servicemen who were known or presumed to have been blacks was compiled from three sources in the War Department Collection of Revolutionary War Records, Record Group 93, and is in three sections. The first section was compiled from the individual name index to the compiled military service records. The index gives the name, regiment, rank, and cross-references to other information on some servicemen. The files of the compiled military service records to which this index refers are jackets showing for each person his name, organization, and rank and containing cards on which information relating to him obtained from muster rolls, payrolls, and other records has been compiled. This section is arranged alphabetically by State, by Continental Troops, by Corps of Invalids, by Navy, and thereunder alphabetically by name. However, the index itself, which has been reproduced as NARS Microfilm Publication T515, General Index to Compiled Military Service Records of Revolutionary War Soldiers, is arranged alphabetically by name. The second section of this list was compiled from the first nine volumes of the numbered record books, 1775-78 (reproduced as NARS Microfilm Publication M853, Numbered Record Books Concerning Military Operations and Service, Pay and Settlement Accounts, and Supplies in the War Department Collection of Revolutionary War Records), which are rosters of troops from Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and South Carolina. (There are no rosters for Maryland, Virginia, New Hampshire, and Vermont.) This list gives the name, regiment, company, and rank of each serviceman. Additional information can be gained from the rosters concerning an individual serviceman's enlistment, and there is generally a brief statement about his service; for example, whether he deserted or was killed. The rosters are arranged alphabetically by State and thereunder alphabetically by first letter of surname. The names in this list, however, have been arranged in conventional alphabetical order, and the page numbers of the rosters on which they appear are given in the far right-hand column. The third section of the list was compiled from the "Special Index," a name index on cards to several series of the War Department Collection of Revolutionary War Records. These series consist of the numbered record books, miscellaneous numbered records, and photographic copies of State records reproduced as NARS Microfilm Publication M859, Miscellaneous Numbered Records (the Manuscript File) in the War Department Collection of Revolutionary War Records, 1775-1790's. The "Special Index" is a card index to the names of soldiers showing for each soldier his organization, rank, or position, a cross-reference (when necessary) to other spellings of his name, and the appropriate document or volume and page references. It is arranged alphabetically. Certain entries of this list specify race, but the racial designations are not systematic. The records were examined using information contained in the records themselves and other sources (see bibliography at end) to find characteristics in a name or about a name that might indicate race. Most helpful was the fact that some names, especially given names, appeared frequently only among the black population—principally in New England, where the largest recruitment of black servicemen was recorded. These names fall into four categories: African names or words, classical names, place names, and "status" names. Names in one or more of these categories were recorded in this list. Because Afro-Americans brought many aspects of their African culture with them to the New World, names like Juba, Cudjo, Quok, Mingo, Cuffee, Quashe, and Sambo—all names of African derivation—could easily be an indication of race. Most slaves were obtained from sub- Saharan Africa, and it is possible that they were given names like Pharaoh and Hannibal by slaveowners who had some knowledge of North African or classical history. A group of classical names (Caesar, Cato, Pompey, Pliny, Scipio, Primus, Nero, Neptune, and Jupiter), which were probably given in jest initially, almost became caste names among blacks in New England and were common in other colonial areas. The names Prince, Titus, and Pero, the surname Freeman, and Biblical names, common among blacks as well as whites, were not listed unless they appeared with another name that had Afro-American characteristics (e.g., Cato Freeman and Ham Liberty). Place names like Africa, Congo, London, Bristol, Boston, and York were frequently given to blacks. Given names that were an indication of status like Free, Liberty, Freedom, and Freeman (noted above) were also common among the black population. Names with the characteristics described above probably constitute no more than 5 percent of the names of black Americans of the Revolutionary War period. There are names that have specific racial connotation such as the surname or given name "Negro" (e.g., Negro Jim and Cato Negro), and sometimes there are notations in the records that a person was a slave, colored, a mulatto, a servant, or black. Such notations have been reprinted in this index as they appeared in the records, except the spellings of the terms "Negro" and "mulatto," which have been standardized. Some names are very similar or exactly alike. Because enlistments in the Revolutionary War were for very short periods, many men might have reenlisted several times. No names were eliminated unless name, rank, company, and dates were exactly alike and the cards were next to each other in the records. The guidance of Robert Clarke, specialist in black history, and the aid of Michael Frazier and Deborah Mariner, research assistants, were indispensable in the preparation of this list. Extracted from: Special List No. 36 List of Black Servicemen Compiled From the War Department Collection of Revolutionary War Records Compiled by Debra L. Newman National Archives and Records Service General Services Administration Washington: 1974 Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 73-600311