It's a shame that better records were not kept about these men. Their bravery and service has earned them a special place in the founding of this country. It's too bad that they were not able to reap the benefits of that freedom for decades.
I hope their decendents are many and aware of the service their ancestors rendered their country.
Interesting you should say that. I think I may be descended from one of these men. His name was Valentine Brown, and family history has it that he is one of the famous Browns of Rhode Island. We know he was born in 1755 in Gloucester, Rhode Island, according to our family Bible. However, there is no other record of his birth, which would be unusual for such a prominent family.
We know he was a Revolutionary soldier, but nothing else about his service. Also, the only man by this name on the Rhode Island census of 1774 is listed as "Colored". After that, he turns up in Saratoga, New York, in the 1790's. This is where the Rhode Island colored regiment mustered out at the end of the war.
He married a woman with the last name of Spink, and on the 1774 Census there is a neighbor named Spink who is also listed as colored. After she died, he married a widow with children. We think she was white, and have read that in the northern colonies in the 1700's, racially mixed marriages were not unusual for widows and other women in dire circumstances.
His descendants, including my grandfather, have always been regarded as white, but they do have a strong propensity for dark eyes and dark wavy hair.
Our speculation is that Valentine is the son or grandson of one of the scions of the slave-trading Brown family who forced himelf on a slave girl. That would explain everything, including how he could pass into white society. I've had fun telling my black friends this story and requesting that they call me "Brother" from here on out.
-ccm