18. In the Context of Freedom With the British or Continued Slavery With the Patriots, Thousands of Slaves Chose the British
In 1779, General Henry Clinton, the British commander in chief in America, issued the Phillipsburgh Proclamation, which decreed that any slaves who fled their rebel masters and made it to British lines were free. Bondsmen took up the offer and fled by the thousands to trade slavery under the Americans for freedom with the British. In South Carolina, a quarter of the slave population – about 25,000 slaves – fled to the British. So did a quarter of Georgia’s slaves, and about 30,000 in Virginia.
Many runaways were caught and savagely punished by their masters, then returned to slavery. However, those who reached British territory were free, and during the war, over 100,000 slaves made their way to freedom behind British lines. They aided the British as laborers, guides, spies, and fighters. Unsurprisingly, after years of mistreatment and indignities, many were eager to spill the blood of their former masters when given the chance. Many fought with conspicuous courage, and sported sashes that read “Liberty to Negroes” – freedom fighters in the most literal sense of the word.
