agent and is based on the soviet union's real-life surveillance of ronald reagan. the event features several clips from the film. "exploring the american story." watch american history tv saturdays on c-span2 and find a full schedule on your program guide or watch online any time at c-span.org/history. non-fix book lovers, c-span has a number of podcasts for you. listen to best-selling nonfiction authors and interviewers on the podcast. hear wide ranging interviews with others macing things happen. there are regular conversations that regularly feature fascinating authors of nonfiction books on a wide variety of topics. the about books podcast takes you behind the scene of

publishing with interviews and best sellers post. download the c-span now app wherever you get your podcasts and on our website, c-span.org/podcast. ♪ ♪ the house will be in order. >> this year c-span celebrates 45 years of covering congress like no other. since 1979 we've been your primary source for capitol hill, providing balanced, unfiltered coverage of government, taking you to where the policy's debated and decided, all with the support of america's cable company. c-span, 45 years and counting, power by cable. good morning and welcome to the 10th annual american revolutionary war conference, sponsored by the museum in historical park, located in the historical mall of the valley region about an hour west of

albany, new york. thank you all for being here today. definitely with your support, we appreciate all of these events and we appreciate you being here. so thank you. to get started today, we have a good line-up of speakers. everybody should have a schedule in their folder. that will be today's line-up. we have to stay on time. luckily we have c-span who are going to be recording today. so you will see all of the cameras. we just would ask you to please file in, have your cellphones on silent so we can have an interruption-free event. thank you. i would like to thank jason ratelin and the fulton county community college for allowing us to use this space. each year they allow us to use the space and provide the technology and video and allows us to hold the event. it started off pretty big back in 2015. we started off with a crowd of 150 people and it grew right through 2019, it grew to over

200. then, unfortunately, we had the covid pandemic which then dropped our numbers, but actually we're back up to our beginning numbers. we have over 150 people signed up this weekend, so thank you all. i would like to thank bruce franklin and lmes publishing. we have a table with his books out there. thank you. to get started, our first speaker, shirley l. green earned a ph.d. in history from bowling green state university in 2011 and masters of history from the university of toledo in 2005. she was honored with an award from bowling green state university in 2012 and an emerging leader excellence category from the african american legacy project

of northwest ohio in 2010. currently, shirley is an adjunct instructor with both the university of toledo and bowling green state university. prior to getting into the history field, shirley was employed by the toledo police department starting in 1976, while retiring as a lieutenant in 2003. thank you for your service. currently shirley is also director of the toledo police museum. shirley's recent book "revolutionary blacks: discover the frank brothers, free born men of color, soldiers of independence" was published in 2003. it is also the subject of her talk today. let's give a big round of applause and welcome shirley to the stage.

all right. good morning, everyone. >> good morning. >> thank you for coming out this morning. i am really happy to be the lead-off speaker today. i want to thank brian mack and the fort plain museum and historic site and their group for inviting me here to speak at the conference this year. this is my second visit to new york state this year. in february i was invited to speak at different venues by the westchester county 250 revolutionary consort yum group and i had a wonderful time there, and i have been having a wonderful time here with you all. i'm here to talk about my book and my research, and a lot of that is based on my family history. my book is part family history, it is part micro history. micro history is when you focus on a person or an event or a community or a location on a small level to tell a bigger

story about historical forces or events. most family historians and micro historians start out on their research trying to answer questions or mysteries about a certain ancestor or a certain aspect of history. i was born and raised in toledo, ohio, so was my father. my mother, however, was born and raised in lynn, massachusetts. her father was born and raised in nova scotia, canada. when i first started my research as a family historian, i was trying to answer the question of how my maternal grandfather came to be born and raised in canada. as i started to address that question, another question arose. excuse me. how did the experiences of my ancestors inform us about the experiences and actions of free blacks in revolutionary america? this book is a culmination of my journey to answer those questions. so i want to start with guby the name of thomas henry

fr. he was landscaper in one of the oldest cemeteries nort america which was located --is located inannapolis, royal scotia. this picture you see on the scre there was taken by a local historian by the nameof william sprks ingles morth. she was conducting research the destgravestones in north am. they had a conver th day, morse and great-grandfather. the cotionwent something like this and it is on th screen. what is your name, he d great-grandfather. he responded, my name is henry franklin, uncommon name in thess. my grandfather came rica. how old are you, morse asked him. he said, i just turned 70. i find it very ironic he just turned 70 when he is explaining to historian morse about his own

family history and i'm just turning 70 and i'm explaining about my family's history. thank you. thank you. so henry franklin passed away shortly after the publication of the book in 1929, but he just recited a small part of the franklin oral history to historian morse. the entire franklin tradition goes something like this. the first franklin ancestor came to american from the west coast of africa by way of haiti and two of his descendants, two brothers with last name of frank, fought in the black regiment in rhode island in the army during the revolutionary war. i believe that the first frank ancestor in america was captured in five different documents as living and working in colonial rhode island. by late 1690s, this man was free

and an active member of the providence, rhode island community, and he was known by the name of frank. he owned a parcel of land and he rked as a servant of silas carpenter. silas carpenter was a member of the carpenter family, which was a large land-holding ly in providence, rhode island those documents on the screen. three of the documentare related to a land purchase made guy by the name ofephraim ew, a carpenter. indicates the land, thinitial land purchase. there isa red arrow pointing to the name of fran negro serv of silas carpenter. thsecond document, 47, dicates that frannigro mortgaged the land immediately after purchathe land a month later, and he is n referred to as frnigro

rvant. in document 65, hepays off that mortgage, regains control of the landand he is listed in that document as frank nigro. i e these documents in class when i teach early american history or the american revolutionary war period, and i ask my students when did frank nigro gain his independence, when did he gain his freedom. nine times out of ten they can figure out somewhere between '47 and '65 because he is no longer listed as frank nigro servant of silas carpenter. the other document on the screen is a court document, it is a court affidavit, and it details an attack upon frank by an individual with the last name of sprague. the affidavit, it is now magnified there on the sc the affidavit summarizes the attack, which appears tohave tan by frank. by the actions the complaint reads this way. that sprae declared against

himself that he had misbehaved himself for that how thsaid sprague did on the 19th of this instanybe by reason of great provocation given him by nigro frank, and in his passion did strike the said nigro frank some blows which drawns some blood from the said frank which is a breach of his majesty's law. he was charged, convicted and fined for the assault two schillings and four pence. all of these documents indicate to me frank understood how to navigate the system as a black man in colonial rhode island. i believe this induss treous frank was the brother of two brothers named andrew and rufus. i believe they probably filed a west african custom of adopting a revered ancestor's name as their last name. both worked and lived in

providence, rhode island in the 1700s. both served in the militia. both were called out to fight off threats to the community. andrew died in 1756 but his brother lived on to head his own household in rhode island in the 1770s. rus came a member of the providence militia. as was stated yesterday, militia service was required of all lebodied men between 16 and 60, hower,it was not required of black men who were required to perform civic duties like road cleaning and repair. during the time of warfare the exemptions against black service were disregarded such as when great britain became involved in a war against france and france's native american allies in the french and indian war. rufus served as a member of the militia providence during the war from 1757 to 1761.

excuse me, 1762. he was stationed primarily in a region that is present day new rkstate. he served in reseparate mpgns. what you are looking at on the screen is a piurof fort sandwich which is located in rome, new york, and rufus was stationed erfor a period of time. in 1762 when spain jump to the conflict on the de of france, rhode island mustered its troops to assist with the capture of cuba, which was an important spanish colony at the time. rufus and others made their way to new york and sailed to havana. they laid siege and captured a fortress in havana's harbor. the siege ended and rufus and his fellow troops returned home. home for rue fus was johnson, rhode island where he settled. it is a small town northeast of providence. rufus married, he had three children. he had two sons by the name of

william and ben. he had one daughter by the name of hannah. the frank household was one of ten free black households in johnson. the family is enumerated in the 1774 colonial rhode island census on the far right side, which is the area of the census which was designated for blacks and native americans. rufus and his family were part of a growing black population before the revolutionary war. there were approximately 20% of the population on the eve of the american revolution. most were enslaved. a small percentage of blacks were free and they lived under very restrictive conditions like the franks. as the war progressed desires of the half million president obama could be separated into two categories. free blacks were looking for

equality. the enslaved were lookr t williamsburg by been run out of his quarters by patriot forces and he was conducting official business on a ship in the chesapeake bay. november 7, 1775, he issued - wito fight for the

british crown. the just looking for a way to retrain - regain power. he thought by training resources that would be a good way to do that. one of the many men and women who fled with henry, who was enslaved to george washington. he became a member of the ethiopian regiment. dunmore trained over 800 formally enslaved men. he had special uniforms made for them with the insignia quote, liberty to the slaves, unquote. they fought in two major battles. they lost lives in both battles. they also lost lives to

smallpox academic - epidemic. the proclamation created one of the first mass mass - estimated around 80,000 enslaved people fled to the british lines during the war. all seeking their freedom. the frank brothers were able to list after a change in american military policy. at the beginning of the war george washington prohibited the use of black soldiers in the war. white, black and native american soldiers serving together. washington believed you could not have a - free, or enslaved. in july of 1775, after he took

control of the continental forces some of the quote the screen there. you are no stany deserter from ministerial army - washington would coinue the policy throughout the fall of 1775. to counter the procuration george washington - and black community leaders. washington was pressured by the command officers and individuals to allow the service of black veterans. soldiers who had already proven themselves in battle.

he allowed for the continued service and was spent of black pattern. by the end of the war and this is an ongoing debate about how many soldiers served in the continental army. the additional narrative is that 5000 served but - native american and soldiers that served in the war have captivated 86,000 black soldiers served. there were others that pushed the number up to 7000. because of the change, the frank brothers were able to enlist because they were freeborn.

- enlisted into the second rhode island regiment. his younger brother signed up to serve with the second providence in may of the same here. his father probably had to give permission for his son to enlist. why did they list? for a variety of reasons. mostly economic. they were members of the working class. they were listed as general laborers. their fathers did not own land. with enlistment they thought they could look forward to earning a steady wage and receiving food and equipment. giving limited opportunities, military service was one of the few ways to better your life. congress had improved enlistment bonuses and different states had promised land bounties at the end of the

war. the initially served an integrated regiment and received the same pay and equipment. as freeborn blackman, frank brothers were receiving the sought after equality. but what were they getting themselves into? they became members of the second rhode island regiment, which was commanded by colonel israel angel was one point lived in johnson, rhode island. the regiments were integrated. the franks were not signing up for easy duty. continental soldiers lived tough lives. the pay was sporadic. they were issued equipment, clothing that consisted mostly

of hunting shirts that were large enough to cover their other clothing and equipment. shoes were always in short supply. in the summer, soldiers could go barefoot and in the winter we heard stories about - had to wrap their feet in class. soldiers often - forging the countryside for food. they also had to do with diseases that ran rampant. on the screen is no angel deribing the situation of a man who rv in the second rhode island regiment. hewre back to his bosses in the geraassembly in - and has, because this, incurred from suounding regiments from thhoe which they the disagreeable and proking epithet of the - their uniforms were covered with ice, naked

regiment. su treatment is discouraging, disparity in its tendency.. it renders the man almost useless in the army. this was the reality of life in the continental army for the frank brothers. the first battle the brothers were engaged occurred at - the two along the delaware river between and sylvania and new jersey in october 1777. troops were stationed at fort midland for the yellow is pointing. - from the serhode island was sent to reinforce troops at

- - he did receive praise for their exploits. the commander of the first rhode island regiment, colonel christopher green, is the accommodation sword from the rhode island assembly for his work. what was their ultimate reward for their service? wier at valley forge. just march me over there. - while in camp, american troops suffered major losses

because of disease, illness and desertion. washington described it as quote,, mostly men have stars, always in rags without pay and experiencing every species of distress. they threatened to revolt. at the end of 1777, washington notify congress over 2800 soldiers were unfit for duty because they were otherwise barefoot and naked. william frank was one of these soldiers. a week later an additional 1000 men were sick. over 3000 were deserted. the rhode island regiments were decimated as well the rate of

desertion was concerning. angel wrote, desertion is what we may expect so long as the soldiers see that - the general who had overall command of the rhode island regiment was concerned about the state of the rhode island troops. he wrote, the two rhode island battalions have been sickly. i have lost a considerable number. this is owing to their immense fatigue. in 2019 i had the privile of visiting valley forge national historical park. that is me standing at the encampment site for the rhode island regiment. that was moving for me. dl to solve the problem of

dwindling manpower, the general made the recommendation to fill their dwindling ranks by recruiting and enlisting enslaved men from rhode island. they were able to convince general washington and the rhode island general assembly to allow the list enslaved men in return for their freedom. the slave enlistment act was passed. 14, 1778. it stipulated any quote negro, mulatto or inanman slave could enlist with the rhode island regiment. part of the act is on the screen that went on to say erslave so enlisting should be entitled to receive e bounties, wages and encouragemenallowed by the

continental congress that a soldier enlisting into their service. that is for the result every slave so interesting shall, upon his passing is - immediately discharged to the service of his master and mistress and be absolutely free. the colonel accompanied by his captains, was given the task of leaving the valley forge encampment and returning to rhode island to recruit individuals to serve in the new regiment. the recruitment and enlistment did not last long in rhode island. slaveholders opposed the law they fear the consequences of arming ex-slaves and how that would appear to those still in bondage. their opposition prevailed. oh and four runs over 100 free

informally enslaved african americans and native americans enlisted. three blocks and native americans also - this has been the first case of sanctioned segregation in military history. historians have called quote an experiment in segregation. ov because of the new recruits were combined with over 70 documented veteran and native american soldiers to form the new first rhode island regiment. the frank brothers and other soldiers of color were transferred from the second rhode island to the reconfigured first rhode island regiment.

that became known as the black regiment. on the screen are copies two documents that address the change. this document is part of a pension record from private willm amplin. - underlined on the screen. the second document isentitled return, meaning enlisting. return freemen enlisted for the wa you can e right there, i have magnified names of the frk brothers listed right there. that document lists over 35 individuals considered free prior to the slave enlistment

act. their first battle will occur their home soil in rhode island. the main objective was to drive british troops - newport. the first joint effort between american and french troops. - in october 1777. the expedition failed when american troops were not able to overcome british defenses ate

newport. on the screen is a book titled the black regiment the american revolution listing step-by-step what happens during the battle of rhode island that happened during the present pedition. ships were prevented from participating cause of bad winds and damage on the fleet. they d to go to boston for repairs and did not return to give support. british reinforcements were sent to rel the american attack after trying to lay sie for almost a month the americans were forced to flee august 29th. during their retreat battle of rhode land occurred. briti forr

the retreating troops, caught them at turkey. the british forces chased after retreang groups, and points seven and eight on the screen. and - assigned to protect the right-wing of the american line. during the afternoon hours in the the day, they repelled a combined force of troops on three separate occasions. had failed to return by the end of the day, american forces by the end of the e day, americ forces were able to safely retreat from the island. total casualties of 30 killed, 137 wounded and 44 missing. casualties were 10% of the total americans killed.

the frank brothers among the survivors. after the battle of first regiment was assigned patrol duty on rhode island. it was in january 1779 thatn frt married. - - also a member of the first rhode island regiment. a year after his marriage, ben

frank made a pivotal decision. 18 years old. married with a family to support. serving with an army that could not afford - he and his fellow soldiers are called the naked, lousy packet regiment. he survived the winter at valley forge. he fought in two major battles in both occasions, his regiments had to retreat. at this point he may have been convinced americans cannot win the war so what could he do? he deserted. - for home. one fifth deserted during the war poor pay, no equipment lack of food and even homesickness.

for penn, the additional burden of marrand having to at this point, he may have believed he signed upfor a three-year enlistment and it was almost leted. for whatever the rehe left, leaving his mother and wife behind. his wife, sarah will return from her hometown of middleboro, massachusetts taking her son with her. i do not know how the segregation of the rhode island troops affected him and others. i have tracked over 50 soldiers

of color freeboard are free before their enlistment. before the act only three deserted after -'s brother-in- law. he was retaken and later died of disease. then was never retaken. his older brother continue to serve. he may have felt responsible to uphold the family name. he may have felt a sense of loyalty to soldiers in the rhode island regiment. maybe he believed the americans would win. and would reap the benefits of being pa of the veteran army that liberated america. he re-enlisted for the duraon

of the war and would continue to serve. on the screen a listing of rhe island soldiers that were compiled in 1781. there is william frank, hi age, occupation, place of residence. his skin color and hair color. where he signed up for service. william would continue his service. in early february, the first and second rhode island regiment were consolidated. after the second had taken heavy casualties in the battle of springfield. this new consolidated unit was being commanded by colonel christopher breen. spring, the colonel and his

soldiers found themselves in westchester county, new york. one of those soldiers assigned to the regiment was determined jeremiah greenman. assigned to command the card at two bridges spanning the river in westchester county, new york. the neutral ground was an area of almost daily confrontations between loyalists and patriots. also the area of guerrilla warfare carried out. the group was composed of american-born soldiers who resided in westchester county but have chosto remain yal to the brith cause. at sunrise monday, may 14,

1781, he led the militia toward the bridge. adquarters, located at the davenport house. second party struck a guard the bridge. the lieutenant wrote about this his camera. he said, this morning was alarmed by the appearance of a party of calgary, supported by infantry which proved to be the core of refugees. they seem surrounded me in being superior and having no prospect escape i thought it advisable surrender myself and card prisoners of war. they informed me he was mortally wounded. one of the individuals captured was peter daly, an individual from rhode island signed up as a free man during the slave

enlistment act timeframe. i am standing in frt of what davenport house looks like today. that is whe e most brutal fighting occurred. that is where colonel green s awakened from sleep and he and his soldiers were ambushed. colonel green was wounded in the initial attack and his body was strapped to a horse and drag about a mile toward the british line. eventually they left his body at the side of the road and he was later buried at pines bridge. probably because green e

leader of black soldiers along colonel along with colonegreen, killed that day, inviduals were also killed. their names are inscribed on the monument you see on the screen. it is located in yorktown heights, new york. it depicts colonel green - black regiment. on the otheside - ting off the refugees. william frank survived the

attack at pines bridge. he served at the pivotal battle of yorktown william had served a total of six years. in 1784 william frank would receive back pay and also received a land bounty in 1795 which he promptly sold to a land speculator. he settled in his hometown after the war and became part of a growing population of free blacks living in the state of rhode island. another 1000 remained inside. william listed as a freehead of household the federal census in the red arrois pointing to his name.

his brother's life was a little more complicated. he signed up to serve with british troops. as i said earlier thousands of enslaved people fled to british lines - black loyalists among them made their way to new york city one of the last british stronghold at the end of the war. they remained at new york until a final peace treaty - england british colonies located in the caribbean and canada. part of the peace treaty promised the return of all confiscated property by the british to its rightful american owners. this included the thousands of enslaved people that ran the

british line. however, british officials returned - refused to return many slaves seeking their freedom during the war. the british were willing to make fair compensation to the owners of enslaved persons that were not returned. i do not think they ever did. they compiled an inventory of the blacks within british lines. this became known as the book of negro. befris listed, i believe, in the book along with 3000 other black loyalists. and i have magnified his name. he's listed as ben franklin, 21 ordinary fellow, not ordinary. in october 83. ben in october of 1783, he was a passenger on a ship taking him and other loyalists to nova

scotia. part of a large fleet of over 30,000 loyalists heading to nova scotia and other british colonies in america. they departed on the - and were deposited at fort - in 1783. by april 1784, he had relocated to the settlement of bridgetown, novascotia several lenorthwest of the largest city of shelburne. at that point in time it became the largest free ac settlement in north america. it is just to the left here is shelburne and bridgetown. many lived in makeshift huts.

this is what they look like. some black loyalists the claimant difficult and were subject to demonstrate - discrimination. also the land given to black loyalists was rocky and hard to cultivate compared to that given to some of the white loyalists. in 1792, prompted by the request of black loyalists, the british government offered black loyalists a chance to really settle in a new colony in sierra leone, africa. the most two thirds of the black loyalists living in nova scotia departed the country and moved permanently to sierra leone.

- eventually buried jackson and settled in granville ferry, nova scotia indicated by the yellow area. i do not know if he is a big list at this point in time but he did get remarried. he and his wife had nine children who survived into adulthood. he passed away sometime after 1838. my maternal great grandfather is a direct descendent. ssed along his family history to the next generation. on the screen you e pictures of peter franklin, my ea uncle.

as you can see, he wouldn't - atthe same angle. in the early 1900s, my grandfather left nova scotia for new york city looking for work. he got hurt on a whaling expedition. following the franklin transition, both peter and john served in world war i. peter

served with the battalion of canada and my grandfather served as part of a new york german. he married - eventually settled. he passed away in 1966. he never give up his canadian citizenship. he always had a canadian flag hanging on his home on a wall in the dining room. the vascular story of the frank brothers to his two sons. check out the names. my uncles john william franklin, junior and ben franklin. they also continued in the frank tradition of military service. both sold in world war ii.

my uncle, john william franklin, junior served in the pacific. and my uncle ben served in europe. my uncle ben was the individual past the story to me. both served in world war ii and also in the korean conflict as well. i want to end by reading section from the epilogue of the book. loring about the franklin family background has been a personal journey. their struggle to gain standing in the fight with - helped me to put my own life and career choices in perspective. like the frank brothers i followed in my father's footsteps when i became a

police officer in 1976. my father, a well-respected police investigator and civil war history of instilled a love of history to me. but did the heritage from my maternal line is still an unconventional streak in me and allow me to envision myself in some - possible that this came from this line. throughout my research, i have often asked myself which of the brothers i identify with the most. even though ben's life and decisions provide a better framework, as the oldest sibling of my family, i tend to identify with william, the older brother persistent and steadfast in his service. i'm not judgmental or unsympathetic to the actions

and decisions. to the contrary, the combination of these personalities has found a home and motivated to not only consider their history of public service and consider their story. i will end there. okay. we do have time for will >> we do have time for questions. fabulous talk, thank you. william frank, did you ever apply for a pension? >> yes. but, his application record, i have not been able to find them. i know he did apply for his land bounties he did receive them. he promptly sold them to a land

speculator. another part of the tradition i did not mention is there is an understanding that william frank after 1790 would eventually move to the state of louisiana. if you look in louisiana census are a bunch of frank's that are listed in - >> - diddy speak much about it and that he kind of sparked an interest in you? >> i think what he did was he sparked an interest in the fact he was not from there, he was from a place called nova scotia. none of my friends who were that was and i liked to brag

about that. i can't involved in it for my uncle ben. he was the one that gave me all of that information. he said that the first - into the americas by way of haiti. i asked him how did he know that? yeah. so he was always right. always. yes, sir. yes, ma'am. i'm sorry. wonderful talk. insightful. and how wonderful to >> wonderful talk how wonderful to be born into this fine family. >> thank you for that.

>> do you have family reunions will? >> not very many. i've been to nova scotia on several occasions, primarily for research. some live in toronto and some alberta. it is difficult to get everyone together. the older generation has now passed on. it is difficult to get all of our generation together because everyone is living throughout

the country. >> after they are ejected from virginia, the general had a similar pan on enlistments of the negro and the british . do you know what happened to the ethiopian regiment? >> quite a few of them died of smallpox. then, they were disbanded after that but, you are right. the british did not treat their black soldiers, most of them served in support units like the pioneers. the ethiopian regiment kind of dissolved away primarily because of death by disease.

>> in the pine bridge interaction, lieutenant greenman, was he part of that defensive group? that were killed? over, with the part of a different group? >> lieutenant greenman was part of the attachment that was guarding the bridge. they had two separate points of attack. one at the headquarters at the davenport house and the other at the detachment with lieutenant greenman and others.

>> about 30 miles to the rest of here there was an action in 1777, were elements from i think the second rhode island were involved with the caption of some -, do you know anything about that? >> not off the top of my head, no. >> thank you. >> i remember reading a famous preacher in massachusetts during the salem witch trials. relating one of the first systems for trying to prevent smallpox was given to him by some of his slaves who had brought over from africa, which they finally adopted here. which was to take a small infection. you mentioned smallpox twice i am curious if there was any

connection with some of the survivors, some of the children of the slaves also used the system or introduced the system. >> a procedure used on the west coast of africa brought over by an enslaved person was enslaved to - he passed along that procedure to one of the doctors in his town. a washington, at several points during the war had his troops inoculated against smallpox. >> tell me, did the black troops ever have black officers >> they were all led by white officers. my position as the hn for the toledo police department and the of the toledo police

museum going back to world war two, we had an individual by the name of jacob chandler who >> - going back to world war ii there was an individual enlisting for service a toledo police officer who listed for service during world war two. he was a college graduate and during his military career he would be among other black soldiers with college educations. some would be elevated to command positions. he started his career in the american military is a private eventually becoming a lieutenant that he lost his life serving in world war ii.