Black Patriots Project

Co-Director: Jane Ailes and Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Funded by the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) and the Du Bois Institute, the Black Patriots project was established to identify African Americans who fought in the Revolutionary War. The project’s beginnings are rooted in the revelation of Professor Gates’s own ancestors who fought for liberty during this bloody chapter in America’s history. Using old-fashioned genealogical sleuthing, the project’s goal is to transform the historical understanding of the African American contribution to the American struggle for independence. As a result of the research conducted by Jane Ailes of Research Consultants, the project has been able to identify 5,000 African Americans by surveying the 80,000 pension applications of Revolutionary War veterans and comparing these names to Federal Census records from 1790 to 1850. To date, the testimony in the pension files has proved to be fascinating reading and includes stories of battles, troop movements, whom a man served under, his transfers amongst regiments and commanders, when he married and whom he married, place of birth, place of enlistment, and where he lived after the war. With this information, the Du Bois Institute and the SAR will encourage descendants of these individuals to apply for membership in the SAR or the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).