James armistead lafayette biography
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James Armistead Lafayette
African American slave and double agent
This article is about the enslaved African-American and American Revolutionary War double agent. For the photographer, see James Lafayette.
James Armistead Lafayette ([1] or [2] — [1] or )[2] was an enslaved African American who served the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War under the Marquis de Lafayette, and later received a legislative emancipation.[3][4] As a double agent, he reported the activities of Benedict Arnold after he had defected to the British, and of Lord Charles Cornwallis during the run-up to the siege of Yorktown. He fed the British false information while disclosing very accurate and detailed accounts to the Americans.
Early life
[edit]James was born to an enslaved mother either in North Carolina or Virginia. He became the property of Colonel John Armistead of New Kent County, Virginia. Well before the Colonel's death in he became the first slave owned by and personal manservant of Armistead's son William.[5] Most sources believe that he was born in ,[1] though others put his birth around [2] James' owner taught him to read and write.
American Revolution
[edit]His en
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James Armistead Soldier, ()
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James Armistead Lafayette
James Armistead Lafayette
Spy
Continental Army
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Engraved portrait of James Armistead Lafayette by John B. Martin, circa Library of Virginia
It is the pinnacle of irony that the United States was born from a war for independence that depended, in part, on people who were enslaved. Historians estimate that between 5, to 8, free and enslaved Black men fought on the side of the colonists during the Revolution. The Continental Army had approximately , militiamen and Soldiers, meaning that Black Soldiers made up % of patriot troops. Most of these brave men’s names have been lost to history, but a few have been remembered for their exemplary actions toward a cause and a country that did not consider them fully human. One such man was James Armistead Lafayette, who put himself at constant risk to act as a double agent to spy on the British.
The American Revolution began on April 19, , and the Continental Army was officially formed less than two months later on June 14, George Washington was immediately and unanimously confirmed as the Army’s commander-in-chief. Washington, like many important and influential men of the time, was a slave-holder and was therefore uncomfortable with the idea of armed free and enslaved Black men in the Army.