The Continental Army and militias included 3,000 to 5,000 Black soldiers and the British recruited about 12,000. Our speaker, Leon Brooks began his study of those men and their families in 2001, when he was invited to join re-enactors of the First Rhode Island Regiment, which was about 80% Black and 20% Native American. Later, Leon connected with another unit, the Marblehead Marines. Marblehead, a few miles north of Boston, was the home of General John Glover, a fisherman and seafarer who organized one of the first units of the United States Marines. The Marblehead Marines were the boatmen who rowed Washington across the Delaware.

We are delighted to host Mr. Brooks as he shares tales of African Americans in the Navy during the Revolutionary War, and in particular their invaluable contributions to the 1776 Crossing of the Delaware.