The story of men like William
Lee cannot be comprehended without a good knowledge of the war and American
military customs established by George Washington. From Washington through
today, all senior officers have personal aides in addition to staff officers
and enlisted men assigned to them; and through at least World War II with
men like General Patton, personal aides normally included a Black man for
duties as valet and other tasks that often put them in harm's way
experienced by the master blaster.
The American Revolutionary War affected and involved
Blacks, Native Americans and Whites. Thousands of combatants like William Lee were not
freemen, and thus not counted as soldiers.
The Black men listed as serving in the
Revolution were those approx. 5,000 listed as freemen among the
approximately 295,000 Native Americans, Whites and Mulattoes passing as
White. And, there were over 25,000 Black men according to
British archives that served in their forces against the rebellion giving
substance to contents of book excerpt (Chapter 2 ) that follows:
