spanish governor had managed to just that and at the height of the american revolution all wearing a uniform that was white with blue facings for fernando, labeoffers a comlling to anglo-american histories, military life and early american soul fashioning. other scholars and will continue to debate labor's efficacy as an administrator, a military strategist. the nature of his friendship with george clarke. i will leave that to them. but what i hope to have you all today is a slightly different take or approach, one that i hope has lent a more human to labor. his family and his peers, individuals americans or american rhetorical figures whose stories remain to be told through analysis of verbal records as well as portraits, jewelry, parasols, shaving bowls. so with that, thank you for your attention and thank you very

much. okay i, i really did not expect that so bear me while i get my bearings here. all right. first off, i want to thank the saint charles county historical society, the chapters of the sons of the american revolution and the daughters of the american revolution for putting on this conference in particular, i want to thank or give a shout out to melissa. i think she's still sitting back there and i might our help at some point in the presentation and in particularly i want thank stephen kling for inviting me to speak this afternoon because my talk and can you hear me? i'm sorry about that my

presentation takes. us away from the western theater into the eastern theater and what you're looki aon the screen is a picture of the copy of my book revolut hlacks. but thatk is part of my family history and it's part y and micro histories. when you focus on a person, an event, a community and o location, a small level to tell a bigger story about forces or events. now, 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 is my father, my mother, however, born in lynn, massachusetts. her father born and raised in nova scotia, canada when i started my as a family historian

was trying to answer the question of how my maternal grandfather to be born and raised in canada. as i started to address that question, other questions, how did experiences of my ancestors inform us about the experiences, actions of free blacks in era america? this book is the culmination of my research and tries answer some of those questions there you go. all right. i want to with this man that is my maternal great grandfather. eiis name is thomas. he was a landscape heir at one he oldest cemeteries north america. and that cemetery is still in annapo royal nova . this picture was taken by a local historian who was conductingrch for a on the oldest cemeteries in north america. the title of the book gravestones of the had a

conversation that day. my great grandfather in the local historian, t conversation went along these lines. what is your name? thoriaasks my grandma. grea and my grandfather said, my name henry franklin,nd unusual name in these parts or in a my came from afrstorianrts. ask him how old are you? and he said, i just turned 70. which is kind of ironic because i just turned 70. so i'm telling his story. henry franklin passed away shortly before the publication of the book in, 1929. he recited a small part of the franklin history. to that historian, the entire franklin oral tradition is this is the first franklin ancestor came to america from the west of africa by way of haiti and two of his descendants to brothers freeborn by the last name of

frank fought in the revolution. every war with a black regiment in, the continental army. all right. i believe that the first frank ancestor to america was captured in. five documents living, working in colonial rhode island by the 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. he, as a servant for silas carpenter. silas carpenter was a member of, a large land owning family in rhode island in that area. and the pictures that you see on of those documents that i found. three of the documents are ted a land pchase that was made by frank from silas, his nephew ephraim carpenter. fir documents there on

the right hand of the screen are documents detathatand purchase. the top document document for 32 lists, the actual purchase the second dument, 47 actually lists my ancestorortged that land. and then the last lists how he if y look at the first two documents, identify frank -- as frank -- servant of nce rpenter the last document on that side of the screen listing is frank --. i use these documents in class and ask the students, when do you think frank -- gained his independence or worked out his indentured contract for silence? carpenter and they are usually able to pick it out. if they'd been paying attention in class. the other document is on the screen details thethat

once frank -- became free, he was involved as a victim of an assault on thets of provence. he was attacked by individual with the last name of sprague and the affi summary rises. the attack, which appeared to be provoked by the actions of frank. i'll read a little bit from the document should be highlighted there on the screen the complaint as follows quote that sprague declared him declared against himself that he had misbehaved himself for that was how the sets break did on the 19th of this instance may by reason of great provocation given him by -- frank and in his passion did strike the said -- frank some blows which drawn some blood from the said frank, which is a breach of his majesty's law. right. sprague was charged, convicted and fined for the in the amount of two shillings and a pence but that gave me an indication that

the -- frank understood how the system worked. i that this industrious frank was a direct. ancestor of two brothers named andrew and rufus. andrew and rufus probably fouled a west african custom of adapting a revered ancestors first name as their last name. both andrew and rufus lived and worked in providence, rhode island in the 1700s. both served in the militia. both were called to fight off threats to their community. andrew died in 1756, but his brother rufus lived on to head his own household in rhode island in the 1770s. rufus became a member of the providence militia. militia service was required of all able men between the ages of 16 to 60.

however, this was generally required, was not required, i should say, for black men who are normally exempted from military service and were instead required to perform other civic duties like road repair and cleaning. but during times of major warfare, the exemptions against black service were disregard it, such as when great britain became involved in a war against france and france's native american allies. the french and indian war. rufus serveds a member of the providence militia during the war from 1757 to 1761. he was stationed primarily in a region that is present western neyork. he served in three separate campaigns. what you're looking at on the screen is a picture of fort stan, which which is located near rome, new york. rufus was staoned there for a period of time in 1762 when ain jumped the conflict on the side of france, rhode island

mustered troops to aist with the capture of cuba, which was an important spanish at the time. rufus and others made their way to new york. they sailed to havana. they laid siege and captured a fortress in havana's harbor. ending the siege. rufus, his fellow troops returned home. after the war. rufus settled in. johnston, rhode island, a small town just northeast of providence. he married and had three children, two sons, william and ben, and one daughter, hannah. the frank household was, one of the ten free black households in johnston. the family is in the 1774 colonial rhode island census on the far right hand side of the census, which is the area that was designated for blacks and native americans. rufus and his family were part of growing black population before revolutionary war.

there are approximately 500,000 people of african descent, which made up 20% of the population. most were enslaved a very small percentage of blacks were free and they lived under very restrictive conditions like the franks as, the war progressed. the desires of these half a million people could be separated into two different categories, as defined by historian berlin. the enslaved were looking for liberty and free blacks were looking equality and the enslaved were looking for liberty and free blacks were looking for equality throughout the duration of the war. they would judge who could and would grant their desires the british or the americans. now, william and ben would follow in their father's footsteps and serve in the military during the revolutionary war. and there is a red arrow pointed to rufus frank and his family

are enumerated on the census. but before william and bank could excuse me before william had been could serve there needed to be a change in american military policy. one of the reasons for the change prompted by the actions of john murry, who was the earl of dunmore, who was also the appointed governor of virginia. by november 1775, he had been run out of his quarters at williamsburg by patriot forces and was conducting official business on a ship in the chesapeake bay. in november, he issued a proclamation that promised freedom to enslave men who were willing to fight for the british crown. dunmore was just looking for a way to regain power and help great britain win the war by draining valuable resources from the patriot cause. like in slave labor, one of the

many enslaved men and women who fled to dunmore in the british lines was henry. also known as henry washington, who was enslaved to george washington. henry became a member of lord dunmore ethiope men regiment, doing trade over 100 formerly enslaved men in the basics of muskets, information marching. he had special uniforms made for th. and there's an iation. those uniforms on the screen and embroidered the insignia, quote, liberty to the slaves. dunmore isclamation created emancipation of enslaved blacks prior to the civil war. historians have estimated it that 80 to 100000 slave people the british lines during the war. women, children among them. and they were seeking their freedom.

here we go so the frank brothers were able to enlist after a change in american military policy at the beginning of the war, general washington banned the use of black soldiers in the continental army. the militia troops that fought at the initial battles at lexington and concord and bunker hill were diverse. they had white, black and native american soldiers serving together. but washington believed that you could not have a professional army with black soldiers, and he could attract southern planters by armed and blacks, free or enslaved. so in of 1775, after he took over control of the continental forces around boston, he instructed his recruiting officers in the following manner. an that quote is on the screen. quote, you are not to enlist any deserter from the ministerial army nor any stroller, -- or vagabond or person suspected of

being an enemy to the liberty of america, unquote. washington would continue this policy throughout the fall of 1775, but to counter dunmore proclamation, general washington revises policy towards black soldiers. he was also pressured by some of the command officers and black community leaders like prince hall, who would become the of the black freemason movement. but he was pressured by these individuals to the service of black veterans, those soldiers who had already proven themselves in battle. so washington changed his policy in january of 76, he for the continued service and enlistment of free black, the following year he allowed for the enlistment of all free blacks by war's end, it is estimated, and historians really cannot come up with an exact number here, but

it is estimated that between 5 to 7000 black men served in the counter army. william the older of the two frank brothers signed up to serve with the rhode island state brigade at tiverton island in april of 1777. later that year, he was enlisted into the second rhode island regiment. his younger brother, benjamin, signed up to serve with the second rhode island regiment at providence the following month in may. he was 15 years old. he probably had to get permission from his father for in order to serve with the continentals continentals. so both brothers became members of the second rhode island regiment, commanded by colonel israel angel, who at one point actually lived in the hometown of the frank brothers in johnston in rhode island. now the state of rhode island was tasked by congress to

provide two infantry regiments, the first in the second, and the regiments that point in time were integrated blacks, whites, native americans all serving together. the franks were not signing up for easy duty, which we all know. the lives of continental soldiers were very tough. pay was sporadic, due to limited treasury of the new federal government and the state governments. they were issued muskets and bayonets. most deadly things that was talked about the other day. they were also issued clothing that of honey shirts, similar smocks that were large enough to cover all their other clothing and equipment. shoes were always in short supply in summer, soldiers could go barefoot, and in winter their feet were often wrapped in cloth. they often resorted to foraging in the countryside for food. soldiers also to deal with diseases that ran rampant

through their camps. and there was a smallpox epidemic during the on the screen is how colonel angel described the situation of the men who served in t second rhode island regiment. he wrote back to the rhode island generals assembly. the regiment is scdalous in its appearance in the view of everyone and has become of this incurred from surrounding regiments from the inhabitants of towns throu which they have lately psed the disagreeable and provoking epithets of the ragged, lousy, naked regiment. such treatment, gentlemen, is this discouraging dispiritinin its tennessee's it does effectually unmanned the man and render them almost useless in the army. so that was the state of affairs that the frank brothers had listed themselves into.

the first battle that the brothers engaged in occurred at red bank, new jersey. the two rhode island regiments were dispatched to defend the forts along the delaware river betweenennsylvania and new jersey in octob1777, troops also from maryland, connecticut were at fort mifflin on mand, and that is where the yellow air is on the and the rhode island troops were stationed at fort mercer at ribbing where the red arrows detachment however of soldiers from the second rhode island regiment were also sent to fort mifflin. excuse me, mifflin to reinforce the troops initially, the rhode island troops were able to defend fort mercer and repel british and hessian forces. however, the british were able to capture fort mifflin, forcing the rhode island regiments to evacuate both forts as a result of the battle that occurred, 14

were killed and nearly 21 were wounded. but did receive praise and commendations. their exploits at those forts and there the commander, the commander of the first rhode island regiment, a guy by the name of chris full, colonel christopher green. remember that name did receive a commemoration sword from the rhode island assembly. what was their ultimate for their service at red? they had to go to valley forge. so after the battle, the french brothers and their regiments marched to valley forge, pennsylvania, for the winter encampment. of 1777 to 1778, while in their american troops suffered, major losses due to disease, illness and desertion. we all know the story washington described encampment as, quote, composed the men half starved, always in rags without pay and

experiencing every species distress, unquote. the food rations were in short supply that many of the army regulars threatened to revolt their slogan was, quote, no bread, no meat, no soldier, unquote. at the end of 1777 washington notified congress that over 2800 soldiers were unfit for duty because they were either barefoot or otherwise naked, meaning that they did not have proper clothing. william frank was one of those soldiers who was designated as being unfit for duty a week later and, additional 1000 men were on the sick rolls. over 3000 soldiers deserted. the rhode island regiments, of course were decimated as well due to their losses. there were barely enough soldiers to form regiment and remember they have to have two. general james who was in charge

of the rhode island troops, both regiments. he was very concerned about the state of the rhode island troops in valley forge. he wrote back to this general assembly, quote, the two rhode island battalions have been sickly. they have lost a considerable number. this is to their immense fatigues, meaning fight that they did at ribbing in the summer past, unquote, on the screen. there are pictes that i took when. i went had the pleasure of going to valley forge national historic park and 2019. the picture in the upper left hand corner is i'm actually standing at the si where the rhode troops were encamped that winter. so that was kind of a experience for me to be there there. so to solve the problem of drilling manpower in the rhode island regiments, general vernon

came up with an idea and he made a recommendation to washington and then to rhode island general assembly. he thought it would be a good idea to fill the dwindling ranks by recruiting and, enlisting enslaved men from. rhode island. they were to convince general washington and the rhode island general assembly to allow for the enlistment of enslavement in return their freedom, the enlistment act was passed. the rhode island general assembly on february the 14th, 1778, in a stipulated that any quote, --, mulatto or man, slave, unquote, could now enlist with the rhode island regiments part of the act is on the screen there. and what's a very importa part of it is oil starts at the end of the firstaragraph up here. quote, every slave. so enlisting shall be entitled to and receive all the bounties,

wages and encouragements allowed by the continental congress to any soldier, any soldier enlisting into their service, unquote. and they would also gain their freedom as a result of their service. colonel christopher, the first rhode island regiment, a accompanied by his captains, was given the assignment of, returning from leaving the winter encampment of valley forge and going back to rhode island to start the recruitment and enlistment campaign to enlist enslaved personnel. however, the recruiting and enlistment of the slave men not last very long. rhode island slaveholders oppose the new law. of course they did. they feared the consequences of arming formerly enslaved men and how that would look to who were still enslaved. so they're opposing and would prevail in in june of the same

year, 1778, the rhode island general assembly repealed the law. but in that four month period over hundred free and formerly african-americans and native americans enlisted. among them were like afrika burke of providence, primus brown of johnston, rhode island. the frank brothers, hometown and free blacks and native americans also enlisted during this period, including by the name of peter dailey of rhode island. but here's the deal this may have been the first case of sanctions segregation in american military history. what military historian? robert wright jr has called, quote, an experiment in unquote, because these new recruits were combined with over 70 documented veteran black and native american soldiers who were already in the rhode island

regiments, all of them from the first and second rhode island regiments. they put into a new regiment. they were all put together to form the new first rhode island regiment. the frank brothers and other of color were transferred from the second rhode island to the rican figured first rhode island regiment that reconfigured first rhode island regiment became known as the black regimt. on the screen are copies of two documents that address that chge the first document on the left hand of the screenhere is part of a pension record from private william champlin. in it, he testifies that the white men as on the screen the, that white men in colonel green's regiment were transferred to colonel israel angels regiment. all, he says. the second document that is kind of faded o, but that is titled

meaning on listing of return of freemen enlisted for the war. i believe that return listed some of the freeborn and, previously free men of color who are now serving with the reconfigured first rhode island regiment to prove that they were already free before these two regiments were merged. and i highlighted the frank brothers names on that return list. women first battle in their new would occur on their home soil in rhode island. their regiments were assigned to participate in something called the rhode island expedition. the main objective of the expedition was to drive british troops from aquidneck island in the important port city of newport. so think of the state of rhode island as being upside down. you in the middle of the, you know, opening of the you is narragansett in the middle of

narragansett bay is aquidneck island. okay. this new expedition was going to be led by general john sullivan of new and was first joint effort between american and french. so the role of troops had to be very excited about the opportunity to kick the british completely out of rhode island. not only that, but they were going to fight side by side with their new allies, the french, who had come to the aid of the americans after the american victory at saratoga, new york, in 1777. long short, the expedition failed when american forces, unable to overcome the british defenses at newport. additionally, and this is probably the most pivotal thing that occurred, french naval ships were prevented from participating in. the expedition due to bad storms and damage upon the fleet. so the french fleet had to flee

had to leave the area to boston for repairs and did not return to give support as they were laying siege to fort barton, which is near newport, british. reinforcements were sent to help those british troops at fort barton and the americans were forced to flee once they knew the reinforcements were coming and the americans were forced to flee the island on august the 29th. on the screen is a graphic from a book for the four youth audience. it's the title of the book is a black regiment of the american revolution. and it really dictated details. the different steps that occurred during their retreat off the island at the very top. you'll see three and four. then underneath three and four points, seven and eight. and that is where the british troops chased, the american retreating troops north up the

aquidneck island. it caught them at point and eight. they caught them at turkey --, hill and women been frank along with other members of the first and second rhode island regiments were to protect the right wing of the line at a place called durfee hill. and during that afternoon, during the afternoon hours in the heat of the day, they repelled a combined british and hessian forces on three separate occasions while being with volleys from the british in the harbor. so they're bombed and being shot at at the same time. by the end of the day, american forces were able to safely retreat from the island and were a total, of course, casualties of 30 killed. 137 wounded, and 44 missing. the frank brothers were among the survivors. but after the battle george washington a assign them to shore patrol duty in rhode

island and this is when younger brother did something that younger do something really not thought out. he got married. it was during this period in january 1779 that ben frank got married. he married a young woman by the name of sarah wilbur. he was 18 years old. sarah was a mother of one child by the name of abraham, ben and sarah were married by elder john gorton. that elder john gord's record of thearriage, the screen, their elder john gordon was the mi of the six principal baptist church. love the name of that church of east greenwich rhode island. elder gorton had also married ben's younger sister hannah. hannah was also married to one. and solomon was a comrade of ben's in black regiment. all right. so a year after his marriage, however, ben, frank, a pivotal decision.

so let's review his life up to this point. he's 18, 19 years old. he's married with a family to support. he's serving with an army that could not afford to clothe or feed him. he and fellow soldiers are called the naked, ragged, lousy regiment. he survived the miserable winter valley forge. he fought in two major battles and on both his regiments had to retreat. he had lost comrades at both. at this point, he may have been convinced that the americans could not win the war. so what did he do? he deserted in march of 1780. ben deserted from the carmel army. it wasn't uncommon for revolutionary war soldiers to leave their companies and regiments for home. one fifth to one third deserted during the war. poor pay equipment, lack of food and even homesickness drove many soldiers to desert for. there was the additional burden of marriage and having to

support a family with insufficient and unsteady military pay. the military reco the screen indicate that ben had up for the duration of the war. at this point, ben may have believed that he signed up for a three year enlistment like his brother william did and that. his enlistment was almost completed. but for whatever the reasons ben frank left leaving his brother and his behind. his wife would return to her hometown of middlebury, massachusetts, taking son with her. william continued his service with the first rhode island regiment. but here's the deal. i don't know how the segregation rhode island troops affected ben and others. i have tracked over 50 soldiers of color, freeborn or previously free their enlistment before slave enlistment act and segregation and only three deserted after the act 17

deserted including frank and his brother in law, solomon one. now, solomon retaken. he was taken back into service, but he would later die of disease in camp, making ben sister hannah a widow. ben was never. now william continued to serve. why? he may have felt responsible to uphold the family name after brother deserted. he may have felt a sense of loyalty to his fellow in the rhode island regiment. maybe he didn't want to. his chances of getting land or money for his service. maybe he believed that the americans would win and. he would reap the benefits of being a veteran member of the army that liberated america. but whatever the reasons, he re-enlisted february of 1781 and this time re-enlisted for the duration of the war and he would

continue to serve wh e first rhode island regiment. on the screen is a listing of rhode island that was compiled in 1781. ben frank is listed third from the top there. at that point in time, he was 21 s old. you can w tall he was. and underneath is the listing goes to xt page. he is listed as having black hair, black skin and he's also listed as enlisting at tiverton, rhode island. so he would continue to serve. but his service changed because in february 1788, the first and second rhode island battalion were consolidated into a rhode island regiment because they lost men again. this time they lost so many men. the second rhode island had taken heavy, heavy casualties at the pivotal battle of springfield. so these consolidated units were, now commanded by colonel

christopher green, colonel israel angell. the reorganized unit. contains some segregated companies of black soldiers. that spring, colonel green and his soldiers found themselves in camp in westchester county, new york, near a place called pines bridge. and their primary responsibility was guarding continental lines in that area. one of the soldiers that was stationed with the rhode island troops was jeremiah agreement. he was assigned to command the guard pines bridge, one of the two bridges that span the croton river, and it was the northern berry of what they called neutral ground. in westchester county, york, why? they called it neutral. i'll never understand. because it was a it was that area of daily confrontation between those americans that were staying loyal to the crown, the loyalist and patriots. right. and it was also the area of guerrilla warfare that was being

carried out by a loyalist group led by colonel james de lancey. this group was known as delancey score of refugees and. it was composed of american born who reside in westchester, new york, and had chosen to loyal to the british cause at sunrise. monday, may 14th, 1781. lancey led his loyalist militia towards pines bridge. one group attacked colonel green's headquarters, which was located at the davenport house. and we'll see that on the next screen. a second party struck lieutenant griezmann's guard at the bridge, and lieutenant greenman made of this in his meir after fact. he said that this morning was alarmed by the appearance of a party of calvary supported by infantry, which proved to be the lances corps of refugees. they soon me and being vastly superior force and having no

prospect of escape, i thought it most advisable surrender myself in guard. prisoners of war, they informed me that colonel green was mortally and major flag killed. among the casualties was peter daly. he was also captured along lieutenant greenman, as in taken as a prisoner of war. and he was one of the free men that signed up during the slave enlistment act. the other individuals listed the screen, their prs child, afrika burke, cato bannister simon whipple were all formally men who were killed during massacre there at pines bridge. i am standing there in of the davenport house in westchester cotynew york, and that was where the most brutal fighting occurred, where colonel gre, very small detachment of soldiers were ambushed at the

use. major flagg, who was sleeping, minding his own business, sleeping in his bed, was shot in the head while reaching for his pistols as the ambush took place. colonel green was wounded in the initial attack and his wounded and dying body was strapped to a horse and dragged about a mile towards the british lines. eventually, de lances troops left the colonel's body at the side of the road and he was later buried along with major flagg at a site near their headquarters there, buried at the first presbyterian church. there in yorktown heights, new york. i believe in other military believe that the brutal violence perpetrated upon colonel green's body was unusually violent and probably because was a leader of black troops. now, on the left side of, the scre tre is a monument to the black regiment. d lonel gray that was

ected there in yorktown heightin018. and it depicts colonel green, like he just jpeout of bed asyocan see, doesn't have shoes on or anything like that. and african-american and a native american soldier trying to fight off the ambush was perpetrated against them. william frank survived the attack pines bridge as, a member of the consolidated first and second rhode island. he at the pivotal battle of yorktown. in october 1781. at war's end in 1783, william served a total of six years. in 1784, he would eventually receive back pay and he would eventually receive his promised land bounty. in 1795, which he promptly sold to a land speculator, he said, i know, i know. he settled in his hometown of johnston after the war and

became part of a growing population of free blacks of over 3400. in the state, rhode island, another 1000 blacks remained enslaved and william is listed in first federal census. the federal census 1790 errol is pointing to his listing in that census, and he is listed as a free head of household of two. okay his brothers, ben's life was a little bit more complicated, a little bit after ben left the continental army. he signed up to serve in some capacity with british troops. he wasn't alone in fleeing to the british. i mentioned that earlier. there thousands of enslaved people, free people and deserting that fled to the british lines during the war. at the end of the war, many of the defeated british and loyalists, black loyalists among

them made their way to new york city. one of the last british strongholds in america. those loyalists at new york until the final peace treaty was negotiated and passed and passage was arranged for them. england or british colonies located in the caribbean and in canada, part of the treaty, part of the peace treaty, promised the return of all confiscated property by the british to its rightful owners. this included the formerly all those folks that ran to the british lines. however, british officials refused to return many of the fugitive slaves that had run to the british seeking their freedom during the war. but the british were willing to make a fair compensation to the owners of enslaved persons, not return in order to do so. they compiled an inventory of the blacks within british lines. this inventory, known as the book of --. ben frank, a free man his entire

life and former continental soldier, is listed in the book of -- as ben fnklin. i kind of highlighted his listing in the book -- there and he is listed in this book with over 3000 other black loyalists. in october 1783. ben franklin was a passenger on a ship. him and other loyalists from new york to nova scotia. you see where this is heading now? yeah, they were part of a fleet of over 80 ships and 40,000 loyalists heading to nova and other british colonies in north america. ben and others on the brig. elijah that deposited ben and rest of his passengers at port mouton in late 1783 put port mouton is where the red arrow is pointing. by april 1784, ben franklin had to t stlement of bridgetown, nova scotia, several miles of

the rgest city of shelburne. bardstown became the largest free black settlemeninorth america with a population of over 1500 free blacks. many othem lived in makeshift huts that were recreated. asou can see, there's picture of one of them that is, they were at the bridgetown historic site now. some loyalists found the north. there are some black loyalists. i should say found the northern climate and frontier conditions in nova scotia difficult and were subject to discriminate action by other loyal settlers. many of slaveholders also the land given the black loyalists, was the most rocky and hard to cultivate compared to what was given to loyalists. so in 1792, prompted by request of black loyalists, the british government offered black loyalists the chance to resettle in a new colony in sierra leone africa. more than half of the black loyalists in nova scotia.

nearly 1200 of them departed country and moved permanently. sierra leone, including henry slash harry washington. formerly enslaved to george washington. ben now calling ben franklin. he was really hard to trace in the records, but now he's calling himself ben franklin eventual. he married margaret jackson, the daughter of another black loyalist. he settled in granville ferry, nova scotia, which is where the yellow arrow is pointing on the map. there. ben ben franklin, his wife ha nine children who survived until adulthood. all baptized in the anglican church. the church, england. and he passed away. after 1838. thomas henry franklin, the landscaper that i showed you, the first screen there is a direct descendant of ben

franklin, and he passed along his family history to next generation. before his death, he passed the oral tradition on that story to his my great uncle peter who's in the center there, this picture of him and my maternal grandfather john william franklin, senior in the early 1900s. john left nova scotia for new york city. now, i like to say he was looking for work, but this is what really happened. he was already working on a whaler, a whaling ship that was one of the first jobs that young people, men got in nova in that area. and he was working on a whaler. he got hurt during one of the whaling expeditions and the ship dropped him off in new city to be hospitalized, taken care of. and he decided to stay there right. but following frank slash franklin tradition, both peter

and john served in world war one. peter served with a battalion from canada and john williams served as part of a new york regiment. john william would marry late in life and he would settle in limb. massacre ucits. he passed away, lynn, in 1966 and he never, ever, ever gave up his canadian citizenship. he was very proud of that. he had a canadian flag on the wall in the dining room. i like to call these two gentlemen on the screen, the frank brothers part two. these are my uncles. these are john william franklin senior's sons. and he passed the story along to his sons, two sons, john william franklin jr and ben franklin. and they also continue the frank tradition of military service. both served world war two and the korean. okay, so there's a story. this, too. so they my uncle john served the

philippines during war two. my uncle ben served in europe. they both survived world war two. they come back home to lynn. they're all having. and the older brother, john william, tries to convince the younger brother ben. hey, join the national guard. it's big deal. all we have to do is maybe go and do some work in the summer, maybe make wheat once a weekend. we'll get a little extra money. no problem. except that the korean conflict started and they were all called up. and this time they together. and i think they argued the whole time that they were in korea because they weren't very happy with one another. but can you you see the names there? the names have passed down through all generations. and finally, finally, once i started to understand that maybe my grandfather and his family

who resided up in nova scotia did come the traditional way that i thought via the underground railroad, maybe there was another story. and when i started to ask my uncle ben about what that story could be, he eventually told me the story. he passed along story to me. he was looking very cool with his sunglasses there. by the way. i'm done. my done. do i have a minute to read something from the end of the book? sure. okay. all right. i see your other things. i'm sorry. so just real quick, i want to end by reading section from the epilog of the book because i was pushed by my colleagues to write about how i felt about discovering all this stuff about the frank brothers. and i just wanted to concentrate the brothers. but they say, hey, you got to get some. so i did. so learning about the franklin family background and origins has been a fascinating personal journey. their struggle to gain standing in their communities and to fight on equal footing with white counterparts in the canon army has helped me to put my own life and career in perspective.

like the frank brothers, i followed in my own father's footsteps when i became a police officer in toledo, ohio. in 1976, when the first female officers on the department. my father, a well-respected police investigator and war history buff, instilled love of history in me. and like rufus to his own sons was an inspiring figure in my life. but did the heritage for maternal line instilled an unconventional streak in me that me to envision myself as someone equal in a male dominated workforce. it is possible that this nonconforming trait came from the franklin line throughout research. i have often asked myself which of the brothers i with the most. and even though ben's life in decisions provide a better framework to understand my own predilection to take the road less traveled as the older sibling my family, i tend to identify with william, the older brother who was persistent and,

steadfast in his service. but i am not judgmental or unsympathetic to ben's actions and decisions. to the contrary. the combination of these two dichotomous, personal these has found a home in the author and motivated me to not only continue their history of public service, but also to write their story. thank you. i'm sorry i went over.

for those of who have never had any dealings with military police, this is the we are likely to have of them. remote and vaguely threatening figures who spend their time getting out traffic tickets, picking weekend drunks. or standing around bus stations looking for eyeballs. in other words, tough cops. but such impressions misleading.

there is far more dimension to the world of the military. police today, as well as in the past. its dementia that has grown out of the remarkable diversity of missions military, police of and called on to perform throughout their proud history in this film we're going to take a look at the origins of this soldier soldier. and find out why the army needs a military police corps. we'll discover where the military police have been, where they are today, and where their future history may be heading.

in their ever expanding duties. military police play an indispensable in today's army. on paper, the corps is one of the army's youngest branches, but its traditions go even before this nation was founded. military police were known even in the armies of ancient times. but this proclamation by king charles the first of england was the first recorded notice of a pro boy point and duties. the american military police were originally created by washington to serve the continental army and were uniformed something like this. though orders called for them to be mounted on and armed as light dragoons. they served primarily in the capacity rounding up drunks, rioters and deserters. yet the corps had performed a useful and was not forgotten

during civil war. the job approval marshal was revived and the military police were resurrected. this time on a much larger scale. wearing these differently uniforms and called a veterans corps, they particularly distinguished themselves in the control of draftee leaders and stragglers to escape military. thousands of men have been crossing to the far side of the potomac. but once military police patrols and checkpoints were set up, the straggler problem quickly became a thing of the past. by keeping more men in the ranks. the military police contributed substantially to the victory in 1865. no. in subsequent smaller conflicts, such as the spanish war individual commanders simply assigned men in their units to function as military police. yet the value and for military police was never western.

still, it wasn't until the first world war that the military police corps finally emerged as a formal part of the army structure when the united declared war on germany, the military problems of the civil war repeated themselves, but on a much broader canvas, an international setting. furthermore, the increasing complexity of warfare at that time made it clear that specially trained men were needed to carry out the growing number of tasks being assigned to military. seeking authorization. general pershing wrote experience dictates that the military police corps should have permanent personnel for efficiency. this organization is deemed absolutely necessary for our forces in europe as soon as possible. pershing also ordered a training depot for military police to be set up in france. thus, general order number 200

in france, stated 9th november 1918 announced that for the first time a uniform set of physical and mental qualifications were being established for those serving as military police. pershing himself noted that the nature of military police responsibilities and duties requires an exceptionally high of intelligence education and physical condition while in the score, he said, must all the qualities usually found in a noncommissioned officer on the battlefield and in the. military police could be identified by their red collar tabs. and it was in the first world war when the most familiar of the corps, the bussard, came into existence. though it seems all natural to us now, the 1917 order read officers and enlisted men when actually on duty as a military will wear a blue on their left arm. between elbow and shoulder bearing the letters mp in white.

in addition, a set of formal instructions like. these were issued to every mp after the war in 1923, urging approve the crossed pistols. the official insignia of the corps, and this symbolic pair of harper's ferry flintlock pistols dating from oh six, is now exhibit in the military police museum at fort mcclellan, alabama. but despite their gallantry there, the military police to wait until 1941 to be officially recognized, used as an integral part of our armed forces. this letter dated, september 26, 1941, and signed by major general r.s. adams, authorize the corps creation signifies birthday of our present military. soon after, world war two was upon us and military police

ranks expanded rapidly to keep up with the global scale of the conflict. along of the corps soon encircle the earth and military police found themselves traffic on the tortuous burma road. landing on normandy beachheads to support amphibious operations operations. and managing enemy prisoners. war everywhere from italy to south pacific. but none of the corps often performed as engineer was and fought as infantry. they were instrumental, achieving the first bridgehead across the rhine. the famous bridge at romagna. a presidential citation recognizing the emperor's extra gallantry. there reads in part this sector

was, the target of 24 hour day artillery air and even v-2 attacks, unable to take cover under murderous fire, the mvp's remained at their posts on the ridge. though casualties among them mounted day. it was the cool, capable direction of the military police, which ensured the crossing of troops and supplies vitally needed to establish the bridgehead. lake up the bridge opened with almost never sent display of courage and devotion duty during those crucial five days that the bridge standing. remarking was surely one of the corps his finest hours hours at peak strength in world war two, over 200,000 men were serving as m.p. is proving many times over to be than a white glove operation. what's more, this time their job didn't end when the last shot was fired. commanders now recognize contributions military police could make.

and for the first time in our nation's history, the corps became a part of the peacetime force structure. in the years that followed world war, they came to play an important role in the occupied lands. in many instances, military were the first forces to move into these areas where they fostered trust and respect. u.s. military presence, military police to it. that food was distributed fairly. the masses of european refugees and bombed out cities, often serving as the only form of local authority. they worked to combat problems of crime and black marketeering in these ravaged areas. later in support of local provisional governments, they were often called upon to maintain law and order. the civil disturbances of these troubled times. writes. gradually, as more normal conditions returned, the mobs jobs began to take on a more

familiar role. this unit was assigned to policing germany's autobahn. though a training had been hastily established in the united states during the war years. it wasn't until 1947 that a school for military police was finally established. these early classes at fort gordon, georgia included lessons in police procedures unarmed, self-defense. one one. and of course, traffic control. many of the persons trained here later saw their first action in the korean conflict, a limited and frustrating action that

tested our army and our nation. but in korea, the military added another dimension to their history as all the lessons from world war two were put to the test. while some military police units spent their time skirmishes to keep the supply routes open. others worked to direct truck convoys over a most difficult of roads, a task at one time required 80% of the employees in korea. as the conflict wore on many of the same employees switched to the entirely different task of supervising, rapidly filling enemy prisoner war games. whereas security and services now became their primary concern, the even after hostilities had ceased.

military police remained on duty in korea patrolling the demilitarized and monitoring the exchange of. the history of the military. police corps has always been characterized by expanding responsibilities with each succeeding war. one reason why the corps has been such a dynamic arm of the service in vietnam. military police had to once again adapt themselves to an entirely different style of warfare and. in doing so, managed to forge whole new style of performance. some themselves conducting river patrol operation. let me kong delta. and others trained republic of vietnam and military police duties. ran between a hospital.

conducted interrogations. or initiated operations. they probably most remembered, however for their actions during the year of the tet 68 offensive. many who were there say that it was the 7/16 mob battalion that saved saigon during the all enemy surprise attack that day. paying tribute to the heroic unit that defended u.s. embassy ambassador ellsworth bunker wrote the alertness, aggressive mass and tenacity of these men, the viet cong assault on the embassy thwarted the enemy from its goal of destruction as a direct result of the combat capability, usually in vietnam. the military police corps was in 1968, designated as a combat

support of the u.s. army. there could have been no more fitting a testament to the military ability, score and arm and a service the rapidly changing nature of modern warfare means that the military police corps must adapt operations constantly to keep pace. these m.p. units engaged in support of a river crossing operation. yet the peacetime activity of the corps actually account for a greater of its overall effort. and have been the source of most of the gore's recent growth toward new responsibilities to. normally mvp's have the mission for maintaining law and order only in areas of military jurisdiction. but if requested, civilian authorities and directed by the president, they may also a hand in quelling civil disturbances. the navy's ability to deal effectively with these

situations, to break them up without injuring isn't just a matter. good luck. or. it's the result of crowd control training like this in the classroom and in the field. yet military police don't just respond to disruptive criminal actions. the actively works toward trying to keep them happening in the first place. throw variety of proven security methods.

there are military police investigators, trained to ferret out more sophisticated crimes, such as computer forgery of, cargo documents, military police have the responsibility in their crime prevention program for protecting both life and property and do through their extensive training and experience in the police sciences and. on many posts military police, physical security inspection teams are assigned to advise company commanders on both arms room and aerial security measures. but since not all crimes can be prevented, military police have to equipped to investigate and solve them as well. throughout the military, there are military police investigators handle local problems, such as theft cases. this private has been accused of stealing and selling another soldier story or send send for

more serious crimes. grand larceny or felonies. the had specially agents take over many of them began their investigative careers as military police. some have even trained to become specialists in the use the polygraph better known as the lie detector. when necessary. military police investigations are backed up by the criminal investigation laboratory, manned by experts in criminalistics. these modern facilities services like ballistic and chemical reports for military police units all over the world. those military men arrested, convicted of crimes soon find themselves amidst another whole area of military police jurisdiction, corrections. the military police administer and extensive network of facilities which include the installation, detention at several posts in the united.

the united disciplinary barracks at fort leavenworth. and the retraining brigade at fort riley, kansas. each of these facilities is designed to handle a different kind of problem solver. but at them all look for a disciplinary approach as directed toward rehabilitation and correction, rather than punishment of these offenders. inmates receive frequent counseling from military, police personnel, whoever received training and counseling techniques in order to accomplish this job. while other branches of the army with things the military believes primarily concerned with people. that's what makes the corps such a unique part of the service. are the corps members here teach or supervised the extensive vocational training programs which are designed to enable inmates to find a responsible

place, military or civilian society upon release. looking at the career training, an honor system privileges many of these offenders enjoy. it's clear that the confinement system administered by today's military police has come a long way since the dark days of civil war. like andersonville. even in their most conspicuous role, traffic enforcement there is a lot we don't realize about the movies. they're not waiting. and that patrol car just looking to give you trouble. they're looking out trouble. part of the movie's duties are to know and provide useful information about the post whether a station. what's more the military policed about considerable effort to work. we don't often see such as traffic patterns which help eliminate at dangerous intersections and curbs.

individual have to know how to safely clear an accident scene. take care of the injured injured or. an interview witnesses in order to get the facts facts. there are two greatest weapons are probably diplomacy and tact.

and when they do latch onto a potentially dangerous individual, they have to know how to him without endangering themselves or any innocent bystanders. the continuing evolution of movie due to use has changed training procedures a great deal since. even the days when school classes looked like this over the years training has grown more and more towards simulations of real life situations. at fort gordon in the sixties, entire mock village known as mvc allowed trainees to experience close approximation of what they would soon be dealing with. in actuality. in 1975, the renovation of this military police campus at fort mcclellan, alabama, marked the

end the core search for a permanent home and the beginning of a new for military police development. though mp training is still includes a few basics from the past, such as hand to hand skills. students at the military, police school now have available realistic facilities on a large scale. a modern, fully equipped m.p. headquarters with its own mock cell. a military court room. a traffic accident site. more mock confinement facilities facilities. and even a model enemy prisoner of war, internment camp. today, the history of the military police is about to move

forward toward perhaps its most dynamic structure. new graduates, the corps have a much greater choice of opportunities than ever before and at the same time carry a greater responsibility. in recent years has been an increasing prevalence of violent public demonstrations. and at the same time a greater emphasis on the constitutional rights. the accused. even the nature warfare itself continues to change, and new members the corps can expect to find more future emphasis on training in areas such as. stability operations and rear area combat security fields. that will require more of the navy's attention in coming years. all of these represent new challenges and new for the military police of tomorrow. today's military police are

already confronted by situations requiring more and more knowledge of psychology and criminology than were predecessors of world war two. but as was true for those counterparts of the past. there is still a high value placed on the ability to make quick sound decisions under pressure and the courage to persist. the face of danger. next time, see the mvp's remember that they are more than law enforcement officers. they are symbols of a proud service that our forces around the world have come respect and depend on a service that is and has always been of the troops and the troops.