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AFRICAN-AMERICAN in Rev War - Pay Order Signed

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African-Americans in The Revolutionary War. For black people, what mattered most was freedom. As the Revolutionary War spread through every region, those in bondage sided with whichever army promised them personal liberty. Many African-Americans sided with the Patriot cause. 5,000 black men served in the Continental Army. 7 ¾" x 4 ½" pay order from Connecticut for Shubel Johnson, a soldier in Connecticut's "Black Company" of the Continental Army. The pay order is dated June 1, 1780, and recognized a debt to Johnson of "…Twelve pounds Nine Shillings & Eight pence…." Interest payments are detailed on the reverse and it has been signed vertically by Shubel Johnson. Johnson served from 1777 until 1783 and was from Stratford, Connecticut. His service is mentioned in Connecticut's Black Soldiers 1775-1783 by David O. White, Pequot Press, 1973.

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