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The Cramoisy Queen A Life of Caresse Crosby 1st
Edition Professor Linda Hamalian Digital Instant
Download
Author(s): Professor Linda Hamalian
ISBN(s): 9780809329014, 0809329018
Edition: 1st
File Details: PDF, 10.43 MB
Year: 2005
Language: english
The Cramoisy Queen
The Cramoisy Queen
A Life of Caresse Crosby

Linda Hamalian

Southern Illinois University Press - Carbondale

Copyright ©  by the Board of Trustees,
Southern Illinois University
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
       

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Hamalian, Linda.
The Cramoisy queen : a life of Caresse Crosby / Linda Hamalian.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
. Crosby, Caresse, – . Poets, American—th century—Biography. . Publishers
and publishing—France—Biography. . Americans—France—Paris—History—
th century. . Literature publishing—France—Paris—History—th century.
. Paris (France)—Intellectual life—th century. I. Title.
PS.RZ 
'.—dc
ISBN --- (alk. paper)

Printed on recycled paper.

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American
National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed
Library Materials, ANSI Z.-. ∞
For Leo
 Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Preface xi

1. Spunky Little Rich Girl 

2. Polly Meets Harry 
3. How Polly Became Caresse 
4. A Woman of Many Trades 
5. Treasures for the Black Sun Press 
6. The Death of Harry Crosby 
7. Business or Pleasure 
8. Atlantic Crossings 
9. Mind Over Matter 
10. Old Friends, New Friends 
11. A Woman of Influence 
12. Back in the Avant-Garde 
13. Mondialization 
14. Fame 
15. A Thirty-Year Plan 
16. How to Run a Castle 
17. Keeping the Faith 

Notes 
Bibliography 
Index 
 Illustrations
Following page 100
Caresse Crosby, 
Richard Rogers Peabody, 
Harry and Caresse, wedding day, 
Caresse and Narcisse Noir, 
Caresse and Harry, 
Clytoris (mate of Narcisse Noir), Harry, Caresse, and Auguste, 
Gretchen and Pete Powel, 
Kay Boyle and Harry, 
Constance Crowninshield Coolidge, Laurence Vail, Kay Boyle, Hart Crane, and
Caresse, 
Harry, D. H. Lawrence, and Frieda Lawrence, April 
Richard Leo Simon and Caresse, 
Caresse peering down at her guests, 
Caresse, Billy, and Polleen with Nina de Polignac and her son
Jacques Porel
Kay Boyle and Caresse, 
Caresse with Roger Lescaret at the Black Sun Press, 
Caresse and Lescaret outside the Black Sun Press
Blair Clarke, Bert Young, Caresse, Stuart Kaiser, and Billy, 
Hampton Manor, 
Salvador Dalí, 
Gala Dalí and Salar, 
Bert Young, 
Canada Lee and Bill Barker, Rome
Caresse Crosby, “Cittadina del Mondo,” with students, 
Caresse at Rocca, 

ix
x Illustrations

Caresse with Mai and Frans de Geetere, Amsterdam

Anaïs Nin
Caresse and Peggy Guggenheim, photographed by Roloff Beny, 
Caresse with her lawyers, 
Caresse arriving in Rome from Greece
Caresse and woman beneath One World Flag at Rocca
Caresse at Rocca
 Preface
Caresse Crosby (–) and her husband Harry Crosby (–)
founded the Black Sun Press in Paris in . As patrons of expatriate writ-
ers, they befriended and published such influential figures as D. H. Lawrence,
Hart Crane, Kay Boyle, Ernest Hemingway, and James Joyce and reprinted
literary classics in letterpress editions. After Harry’s death in , Caresse
directed the press for the next thirty years, adding to its list works by Marcel
Proust, William Faulkner, Dorothy Parker, and Paul Eluard. She published four
volumes of Harry’s poetry, introduced by T. S. Eliot, D. H. Lawrence, and Ezra
Pound. Her own first volume of poetry appeared under the Houghton
Mifflin imprint in , and Dial Press published her autobiography, The
Passionate Years, in . After she returned to the United States, her life in-
tersected with such figures as Henry Miller, Romare Bearden, Salvador Dalí,
Buckminster Fuller, and Anaïs Nin. She published several volumes of Port-
folio, an international journal of literature and the arts. Furthermore, she
spent a small fortune advocating world peace and women’s rights.
My principal research has been conducted at the Crosby archives at
Morris Library, Southern Illinois University. The Crosby collection totals 
boxes,  books, and  packages of materials related to the Black Sun Press.
Included are Harry’s letters to Caresse and his mother; letters to and from
D. H. Lawrence, Hart Crane, Kay Boyle, James Joyce, and Eugene Jolas; and
unpublished notebooks, manuscripts, newspaper clippings, and a nearly
complete collection of Black Sun books. There is a massive exchange of let-
ters between Crosby and her family and friends, and materials concerning
her literary and political activities from  to . An unpublished sequel
to her popular and highly praised autobiography throws light on how she
viewed her achievements and failures.

xi
xii Preface

The Harris Collection in John Hay Library at Brown University houses

a smaller Crosby archive, including ten volumes of Harry Crosby’s holograph
notebooks. Additional materials exist in the Berg Collection of the New York
Public Library, the Beinecke Library at Yale University, the University of
Connecticut at Storrs, and the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
at the University of Texas in Austin.
Crosby was a dedicated patron of the arts, an innovative and creative
publisher, a skillful writer of memoir (less so of poetry and drama), an ac-
tive promoter of world peace, a person who enjoyed her sometimes em-
battled career. The life of Caresse Crosby is a story about a woman who first
achieves recognition as a famous person’s wife, about a woman who suffers
criticism from family and friends because she pursues interests convention-
ally restricted to the men of her class. It is about a woman who believes in
her own moral agency. Caresse Crosby found her own way to reconcile her-
self to living in the shadow of Harry Crosby’s death. In the process, she far
surpassed her programmed role as the mirror companion of her husband.
She paid a high price to pursue the life of a defiant, spirited, and talented
woman, but she never lost her sense of humor.
I would like to thank David Koch, Associate Dean of Special Collections;
Shelley Cox, Rare Books Librarian; Katharine Salzmann, Archivist/Manu-
scripts Curator; Sheila Ryan, Interim Manuscripts Curator; and Diane Worrell,
Photographs Librarian, all of Morris Library, for their graciousness, gener-
osity, and erudition. As research assistant, Levi Burkett was meticulous in
navigating the photo collection.
I would also like to thank Jim Simmons, former editorial director of
Southern Illinois University Press, for his enthusiasm during the early days
of this project. I extend much gratitude to former press director Rick Stetter
and to editor-in-chief Karl Kageff for their continued support, patience, and
encouragement.
I am grateful to the following libraries, trusts, and individuals for per-
mission to consult and/or reprint from materials in their private collections
and/or under their jurisdiction:
Special Collections Research Center, Morris Library, Southern Illinois Uni-
versity Carbondale, Caresse Crosby Papers, Collection , Photo Collec-
tion 
Brown University Library, John Hay Library, Harris Collection, Black Sun
Press Archive
National Library of Canada and National Archives of Canada
 Preface xiii

Andrea Mihalovic-Lee, the Romare Bearden Foundation

Bob Rosenthal, the Allen Ginsberg Trust
Ian von Franckenstein and the Estate of Kay Boyle and the Watkins/Loomis
Agency
Carole Cleaver Rodman, the Estate of Selden Rodman
Barbara W. Stuhlmann, the Estate of Anaïs Nin
Allegra Fuller Snyder, the Estate of Buckminster Fuller
Fred Dennis, the Estate of Sylvia Beach
Stephen James Joyce, the Estate of James Joyce
Frances Lee Pearson, the Estate of Canada Lee
Pollinger Limited, the Estate of D. H. Lawrence
Penguin Group (U.S.A.), Inc., the Estate of Malcolm Cowley
Declan Spring, New Directions Publishing Corporation, the Estate of Ezra
Pound
Bradford Morrow, the Kenneth Rexroth Trust
John Ferry, Masters and Masterworks Production, Inc.

For generously granting interviews, allowing me to quote from their

correspondence, and providing me with vital information I would like to
thank Walter Phelps Jacob, R. J. Palcho, Charles Henri Ford, William Watt,
Richard Melville, Sharon Cowling, Stephen Kraft, William Jay Smith, Anne
Conover, Millicent Bell, Lilace Hatayama, Mark Brown, Barbara LaBorde,
Isabelle Fernandes, George deZwaan, Paul Schleuter, Timothy Engels, and
Holly Snyder. I am most grateful to Bill Barker for the afternoon in Hudson,
New York, when he shared with me his memories of Caresse and re-created
her aura.
For professional advice, hard to find addresses, and sharing remote liter-
ary sources, I would like to thank Camille Billops and James V. Hatch, Mar-
jorie and Harry Keyishian, Donna Perry and Neill Rosenfeld, Alice Deakins,
Edward Burns, Amy Cherry, Bob Rosen, Marjorie and Jeffrey Appel, Debbie
Lennartsson, Sheila Feig Brown, Virginia Ramey Mollenkott, Kathleen Kageff,
Judith Jobin and Daniel Leary, and Valerie and Kumar Krishna.
I also wish to thank the National Endowment for the Arts for a Travel to
Collections Grant, and William Paterson University for awarding me a sab-
batical and released time for research and writing.
My friends, colleagues, and family, especially my parents, Adele and Edward
Bearman, kept me afloat following the death of my husband, Leo Hamalian.
Without their support, love, and wisdom, I would not have had the heart
to finish this work.
The Cramoisy Queen
Spunky Little Rich Girl
1
C
aresse Crosby was born at home in New York City on April , , and
christened Mary Phelps Jacob. Polly, as she was called by her family, was
a headstrong little girl with large blue eyes set far apart, brown hair, a
square forehead, a full chin, and a mouth that smiled halfway. She was the
oldest of three children, the only daughter, and the first grandchild. Among
her paternal ancestors were a knight of the Crusades and a great-grandfa-
ther whose stag hunts were featured in the Sporting Magazine. Grandfather
Jacob (the name was changed from Allardyce after the War of the Roses) had
come to the United States and made a fortune in real estate. Grandmother
Emma Lawrence Jacob had contributed a handsome dowry to his ventures:
her affluent father manufactured Broughams, four-wheeled, one-horse car-
riages originally designed by the former lord chancellor of England.
The maternal side of Caresse’s family descended from William Bradford,
who sailed on the Mayflower to Massachusetts and became its first gover-
nor, and from Robert Fulton, the inventor of the steamboat. Her great-
grandfather was the first ambassador from the United States to Great Brit-
ain. Her grandfather, Walter Phelps, for whom her youngest brother was
named (he was called Buddy), was a coal and iron magnate who as General
Phelps led the Union Army to victory at the Battle of Antietam. The women
of the family, all Daughters of the American Revolution, exerted on their
family and friends a kind of domestic autocracy. True to her upbringing,

1
2 Spunky Little Rich Girl

Mary Phelps, Caresse’s mother, was bossy but benevolent, a combination of

qualities Caresse learned to appreciate in retrospect.
Caresse did not regard her parents as wealthy. “My mother and father
were never rich or even well off. They married on an allowance provided by
my grandparents.”1 She liked to emphasize that her father, William, was
cursed by a poor business sense and, unlike her mother, seven years his jun-
ior, was easily duped by sharper types. Nor was he capable of curbing his aris-
tocratic predilections, so that “to eat duck without Burgundy or ices without
champagne seemed utterly foolish, and not to eat them at all, impossible,”2
especially when he was dining out with Caresse’s mother. In Caresse’s opin-
ion, his high style of living was more a function of habit than choice. Al-
though she eventually cast off the trappings of that precious world, Caresse
remained at heart an aristocrat. Her assessment of her parents’ position in
the world as “not well off ” suggests as much.
Indeed the Jacob family could have fit neatly into the society that Edith
Wharton depicts in The Age of Innocence, not so much as objects for satire
but as paradigms of a class. The family lived at  West Fifty-ninth Street,
an elegant brownstone, and the present site of the Plaza Hotel. Caresse’s
grandparents lived seven blocks south; Rockefeller Center stands there now.
This was a neighborhood where fathers left for their leather-desktop offices
every morning, and where after breakfast, mothers gave the day’s instructions
to servants who kept home and heirlooms in pristine condition. Meanwhile
in plush nurseries far removed from drawing and dining rooms, nannies and
governesses taught the children to read and write English and French, and
to learn the etiquette for passing through the shops of European dressmak-
ers and haberdashers, the halls of Exeter and Andover, Harvard and Yale, and
the reception lines at cotillions and charity balls. The atmosphere was se-
rene; everyone was polite; no one aired dirty laundry. In her own words,
Caresse grew up “in a world where only good smells existed.”3
The Jacobs would leave New York City, first during the summers only to
East Island on Long Island Sound, a real estate investment of her father’s,
and then in  to a year-round expansive home in New Rochelle. Polly was
five, her brother Len was three (born June , ), and Buddy was a little
more than a year old (born March , ). Delighted with the move, Polly
enjoyed idyllic days divided between acting out adventure fantasies in her
own tree house and dressing up in her mother’s discarded finery stored in
the attic. At the end of the day, she awaited the return of her father, who
found just enough time for a game of “catch the fox” before supper. Subse-
 Spunky Little Rich Girl 3

quent summers were spent on East Island or at Keyport, New Jersey, where
Polly played hard on the family’s private beach, unless her grandmother had
come for a visit and she was required to sit demurely in a pretty pinafore
while her brothers ran free. Clever and defiant, she often got into danger-
ous scrapes, feeling challenged rather than guided by the wisdom of her
parents’ rules and restrictions. Once, she nearly drowned because she seized
upon a bait hook more than twice her size in order to catch minnows that
were eluding her brothers.
There was as yet no formal schooling for Polly. When she turned eight,
she was called upon to provide company for Ben Barnum, a first cousin on
her mother’s side, who lived a few miles away in Quaker Ridge at Windward.
Because he was a fragile child, his parents had imported a private tutor from
England, rather than have him attend boarding school as most boys in his
circle did. The Barnums felt, however, that such an arrangement would be
too lonely for the boy and proposed that Polly live at Windward Monday
through Friday so that they could be classmates. Amenable to the idea, the
Jacobs packed off their daughter to this grand home overlooking Long Is-
land Sound, complete with stables, greenhouses, and cow barns. Pleased with
this arrangement herself, Polly left her parents at the beginning of each week.
She showed no signs of being homesick.
A room at Windward had been decorated exclusively for Polly, an indul-
gence usually reserved for adults in her family. Polly reveled in a special new
status. She felt cozy, protected in her privacy but also courageous and ready
for adventures real and imaginary. Twenty years later, Caresse would try to
replicate this experience for her daughter: at home in Paris, she decorated a
bedroom for Polleen in a similar fashion. However, Hart Crane slept in it a
few days before her arrival and destroyed it during a drunken tryst with a
young lover.
Polly was busy at Windward. Oddly enough, she had not been taught to
read at home, but she made up for lost time under the instruction of Blanche
Kimber, her English tutor. When the headaches she developed were blamed
on constant reading, she was forced to engage in other activities, like dance
classes at Dodsworth’s (with its restricted clientele), and after a proper riding
habit was made by de Pinna, riding lessons at Dorland’s. As a member of
the Saturday Club, she visited the country homes of people like Natica Nast,
daughter of publisher Condé Nast. She was photographed by Charles Dana
Gibson, creator of the legendary “Gibson girl,” on one of these occasions,
and another time, with the permission of her parents, at his studio. A draw-
Another Random Scribd Document
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accurate

336 HISTORY OF THE NEGRO RACE IN AMERICA. In his

General Orders, issued from headquarters on the I2th of November,
1775, Washington said, — " Neither negroes, boys unable to bear
arms, nor old men unfit to endure the fatigues of the campaign, are
to be enlisted." * But the general repaired this mistake the following
month. Lord Dunmore had issued a proclamation declaring " all
indented servants, negroes, or others (appertaining to rebels) free."
Fear ing lest many Negroes should join the ministerial army, in Gen
eral Orders, 3Oth December, Washington wrote : — " As the General
is informed that numbers of free negroes are desirous of enlisting,
he gives leave to the recruiting officers to entertain them, and prom
ises to lay the matter before the Congress, who, he doubts not, will
approve of it." Lord Dunmore's proclamation is here given : — "By
his Excellency the Right Honorable JOHN, Earl of DUNMORE, his
Majes ty 's Lieutenant and Governor-General of the Colony and
Dominion of Vir ginia^ and Vice-Admiral of the same, — "A
PROCLAMATION. "As I have ever entertained hopes that an
accommodation might have taken place between Great Britain and
this Colony, without being compelled by my duty to this most
disagreeable but now absolutely necessary step, ren dered so by a
body of armed men, unlawfully assembled, firing on his Majesty's
tenders ; and the formation of an army, and that army now on their
march to attack his Majesty's troops, and destroy the well-disposed
subject of this Colony : To defeat such treasonable purposes, and
that all such traitors and their abettors may be brought to justice,
and that the peace and good order of this Colony may be again
restored, which the ordinary course of the civil law is unable to
effect, I have thought fit to issue this my Proclamation ; hereby
declaring, that, until the aforesaid good purposes can be obtained, I
do, in virtue of the power and authority to me given by his Majesty,
determine to execute martial law, and cause the same to be
executed, throughout this Colo ny. And, to the end that peace and
good order may the sooner be restored, I do require every person
capable of bearing arms to resort to his Majesty's standard, or be
looked upon as traitors to his Majesty's Crown and Govern ment, and
thereby become liable to the penalty the law inflicts upon such
offences, — such as forfeiture of life, confiscation of lands, &c., &c.
And I do hereby further declare all indented servants, negroes, or
others, (appertaining to Rebels,) free, that are able and willing to
bear arms, they joining his Majes ty's troops, as soon as may be, for
the more speedily reducing this Colony to a proper sense of their
duty to his Majesty's crown and dignity. I do further Sparks's
Washington, vol. iii. p. 155, note.
The text on this page is estimated to be only 27.73%
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MILITARY EMPLOYMENT OF NEGROES. 337 order and

require all his Majesty's liege subjects to retain their quit-rents, or
any other taxes due, or that may become due, in their own custody,
till such time as peace may be again restored to this at present most
unhappy country, or demanded of them, for their former salutary
purposes, by officers properly authorized to receive the same. "Given
under my hand, on board the Ship William, off Norfolk, the seventh
day of November, in the sixteenth year of his Majesty's reign. "
DUNMORE. " God save the King ! " ' On account of this, on the 3ist
of December, Gen. Washington wrote the President of Congress as
follows : — " It has been represented to me, that the free negroes,
who have served in this army, are very much dissatisfied at being
discarded. As it is to be apprehended, that they may seek employ in
the ministerial army, I have pre sumed to depart from the resolution
respecting them, and have given license for their being enlisted. If
this is disapproved of by Congress, I will put a stop to it." 2 This
letter was referred to a committee consisting of Messrs. Wythe,
Adams, and Wilson. On the i6th of January, 1776, they made the
following report : — "That the free negroes who have served
faithfully in the army at Cam bridge may be re-enlist — therein, but
no others." 3 This action on the part of Congress had reference to
the army around Boston, but it called forth loud and bitter criticism
from the officers of the army at the South. In a letter to John
Adams, dated Oct. 24, 1775, Gen. Thomas indicated that there was
some feeling even before the action of Congress was secured. He
says, — " I am sorry to hear that any prejudices should take place in
any- Southern colony, with respect to the troops raised in this. I am
certain the insinuations you mention are injurious, if we consider
with what precipitation we were obliged to collect an army. In the
regiments at Roxbury, the privates are equal to any that I served
with in the last war ; very few old men, and in the ranks very few
boys. Our fifers are many of them boys. We have some negroes ;
but I look on them, in general, equally serviceable with other men
for fatigue ; and, in action, many of them have proved themselves
brave. " I would avoid all reflection, or any thing that may tend to
give umbrage ; but there is in this army from the southward a
number called riflemen, who are 1 Force's American Archives, 4th
Series, vol. iii. p. 1,385. 2 Sparks's Washington, vo\. iii. p. 218. 3
Journals of Congress, vol. ii. p. 26.
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HISTORY OF THE NEGRO RACE IN AMERICA. as indifferent

men as I ever served with. These privates are mutinous, and often
deserting to the enemy; unwilling for duty of any kind; exceedingly
vicious ; and, I think, the army here would be as well without as
with them. But to do justice to their officers, they are, some of
them, likely men." The Dunmore proclamation was working great
mischief in the Southern colonies. The Southern colonists were
largely engaged in planting, and, as they were Tories, did not rush to
arms with the celerity that characterized the Northern colonists. At
an early moment in the struggle, the famous Rev. Dr. Hopkins of
Rhode Island wrote the following pertinent extract : — " God is so
ordering it in his providence, that it seems absolutely necessary
something should speedily be done with respect to the slaves among
us, in order to our safety, and to prevent their turning against us in
our present struggle, in order to get their liberty. Our oppressors
have planned to gain the blacks, and induce them to take up arms
against us, by promising them liberty on this condition; and this plan
they are prosecuting to the utmost of their power, by which means
they have persuaded numbers to join them. And should we attempt
to restrain them by force and severity, keeping a strict guard over
them, and punishing them severely who shall be detected in
attempting to join our opposers, this will only be making bad worse,
and serve to render our inconsistence, oppression, and cruelty more
criminal, perspicuous, and shocking, and bring down the righteous
vengeance of Heaven on our heads. The only way pointed out to
prevent this threatening evil is to set the blacks at liberty ourselves
by some public acts and laws, and then give them proper
encouragement to labor, or take arms in the defence of the
American cause, as they shall choose. This would at once be doing
them some degree of justice, and defeating our enemies in the
scheme that they are prosecuting." * On Sunday, the 24th of
September, 1775, John Adams re corded the following conversation,
that goes to show that Lord Dunmore's policy was well matured : —
" In- the evening, Mr. Bullock and Mr. Houston, two gentlemen from
Georgia, came into our room, and smoked and chatted the whole
evening. Houston and Adams disputed the whole time in good
humor. They are both dabs at disputation, I think. Houston, a lawyer
by trade, is one of course, and Adams is not a whit less addicted to
it than the lawyers. The question was, whether all America was not
in a state of war^and whether we ought to con fine ourselves to act
upon the defensive only? He was for acting offensively, next spring
or this fall, if the petition was rejected or neglected. If it was not
answered, and favorably answered, he would be for acting against
Britain and Britons, as, in open war, against French and Frenchmen ;
fit privateers, and take their ships anywhere. These gentlemen give
a melancholy account of 1 Hopkins's Works, vol. ii. p. 584.
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MILITARY EMPLOYMENT OF NEGROES. 339 the State of

Georgia and South Carolina. They say that if one thousand regular
troops should land in Georgia, and their commander be provided
with arms and clothes enough, and proclaim freedom to all the
negroes who would join his camp, twenty thousand negroes would
join it from the two Provinces in a fortnight. The negroes have a
wonderful art of communicating intelli gence among themselves; it
will run several hundreds of miles in a week or fortnight. They say,
their only security is this ; that all the king's friends, and tools of
government, have large plantations, and property in negroes ; so
that the slaves of the Tories would be lost, as well as those of the
Whigs." * The Negroes in Virginia sought the standards of the minis
terial army, and the greatest consternation prevailed among the
planters. On the 2/th of November, 1775, Edmund Pendleton wrote
to Richard Lee that the slaves were daily flocking to the British army.
" The Governour, hearing of this, marched out with three hundred
and fifty soldiers, Tories and slaves, to Kemp's Landing; and after
setting up his standard, and issuing his proclamation, declaring all
persons Rebels who took up arms for the country, and inviting all
slaves, servants, and apprentices to come to him and receive arms,
he proceeded to intercept Hutchings and his party, upon whom he
came by surprise, but received, it seems, so warm a fire, that the
ragamuffins gave way. They were, however, rallied on discovering
that two companies of our militia gave way; and left Hutchings and
Dr. Reid with a vol unteer company, who maintained their ground
bravely till they were overcome by numbers, and took shelter in a
swamp. The slaves were sent in pursuit of them ; and one of Col.
Hutchings's own, with another, found him. On their approach, he
discharged his pistol at his slave, but missed him ; and was taken by
them, after receiving a wound in his face with a sword. The number
taken or killed, on either side, is not ascertained. • It is said the
Governour went to Dr. Reid's shop, and, after taking the medicines
and dressings neces sary for his wounded men, broke all the others
to pieces. Letters mention that slaves flock to him in abundance ;
but I hope it is magnified."2 But the dark stream of Negroes that
had set in toward the English troops, where they were promised the
privilege of bear ing arms and their freedom, could not easily be
stayed. The proclamation of Dunmore received the criticism of the
press, and the Negroes were appealed to and urged to stand by
their "true friends." A Williamsburg paper, printed on the 23d of
Novem ber, 1775, contained the following well-written plea: — 1
Works of John Adams, vol. ii. p. 428. 2 Force's American Archives,
4th Series, vol. iv. p. 202.
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340 HISTORY OF THE NEGRO RACE IN AMERICA.

"CAUTION TO THE NEGROES. "The second class of people for whose
sake a few remarks upon this proclamation seem necessary is the
Negroes. They have been flattered with their freedom, if they be
able to bear arms, and will speedily join Lord Dunmore's troops. To
none, then, is freedom promised, but to such as are able to do Lord
Dunmore service. The aged, the infirm, the women and children, are
still to remain the property of their masters, — of masters who will
be pro voked to severity, should part of their slaves desert them.
Lord Dunmore's declaration, therefore, is a cruel declaration to the
Negroes. He does not pretend to make it out of any tenderness to
them, but solely upon his own account ; and, should it meet with
success, it leaves by far the greater number at the mercy of an
enraged and injured people. But should there be any amongst the
Negroes weak enough to believe that Lord Dunmore intends to do
them a kindness, and wicked enough to provoke the fury of the
Americans against their defenceless fathers and mothers, their
wives, their women and children, let them only consider the difficulty
of effecting their escape, and what they must expect to suffer if they
fall into the hands of the Americans. Let them further consider what
must be their fate should the English prove conquerors. If we can
judge of the future from the past, it will not be much mended. Long
have the Americans, moved by compassion and actuated by sound
policy, endeavored to stop the progress of slavery. Our Assemblies
have repeatedly passed acts, laying heavy duties upon imported
Negroes ; by which they meant altogether to prevent the horrid
traffick. But their humane intentions have been as often frustrated
by the cruelty and covetousness of a set of English merchants, who
prevailed upon the King to repeal our kind and merciful acts, little,
indeed, to the credit of his humanity. Can it, then, be supposed that
the Negroes will be better used by the English, who have always
encouraged and upheld this slavery, than by their present masters,
who pity their condition ; who wish, in general, to make it as easy
and comfortable as possible ; and who would, were it in their power,
or were they permitted, not cnly prevent
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MILITARY EMPLOYMENT OF NEGROES. 341 of Lord

Dunmore. On the I4th of December a proclamation was issued "
offering pardon to such slaves as shall return to their duty within ten
days after the publication thereof." The follow ing was their
declaration : — " By the Representatives of the People of the Colony
and Dominion of Vir ginia, assembled in General Convention, "A
DECLARATION. "Whereas Lord Dunmore, by his Proclamation dated
on board the ship * William,' off Norfolk, the seventh day of
November, 1775, hath offered free dom to such able-bodied slaves
as are willing to join him, and take up arms against the good people
of this Colony, giving thereby encouragement to a general
insurrection, which may induce a necessity of inflicting the severest
punishments upon those unhappy people, already deluded by his
base and insidious arts ; and whereas, by an act of the General
Assembly now in force in this Colony, it is enacted, that all negro or
other slaves, conspiring to rebel or make insurrection, shall suffer
death, and be excluded all benefit of clergy; — we think it proper to
declare, that all slaves who have been or shall be seduced, by his
Lordship's Proclamation, or T>ther arts, to desert their masters'
service, and take up arms against the in*"* Chants of this Colony,
shall be liable to such punishment as shall hereafter *>e directed by
the General Convention. And to the end that all such wh<> ^2ve
taken this unlawful and wicked step may return in safety to their
di^y, and escape the punishment due to their crimes, we hereby
promise p**7don to them, they surrendering themselves to Colonel
William Woodfo"^ or any other commander of our troops, and not
appearing in arms s-^tcr the publication hereof. And we do further
earnestly recommend it to all humane and benevolent persons in
this Colony to explain and make kr^wn this our offer of mercy to
those unfortunate people." I Gen, ' -ashington was not long in
observing the effects of the proclamation. He began to fully realize
the condition of affiars at the South, and on Dec. 15 wrote Joseph
Reed as follows : — " If the Virginians are wise, that arch-traitor to
the rights of humanity, Lord Dunmore, should be instantly crushed, if
it takes the force of the whole army to do it; otherwise, like a snow-
ball in rolling, his army will get size, some through fear, some
through promises, and some through inclination, joining his standard
: but that which renders the measure indispensably neces sary is the
negroes ; for, if he gets formidable, numbers of them will be
tempted to join who will be afraid to do it without." * 1 Force's
American Archives, 4th Series, vol. iv. pp. 84, 85. * Life and
Correspondence of Joseph Reed, vol. i. p. 135.
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342 HISTORY OF THE NEGRO RACE IN AMERICA. The

slaves themselves were not incapable of perceiving the cunning of
Lord Dunmore. England had forced slavery upon the colonists
against their protest, had given instructions to the royal governors
concerning the increase of the traffic, and therefore could not be
more their friends than the colonists. The number that went over to
the enemy grew smaller all the while, and finally the British were
totally discouraged in this regard. Lord Dunmore was unwilling to
acknowledge the real cause of his fail ure to secure black recruits,
and so he charged it to the fever. "LORD DUNMORE TO THE
SECRETARY OF STATE. [No. I.] "Snip 'DUNMORE,' IN ELIZABETH
RIVER, VIRGINIA, 3oth March, 1776. " Your Lordship will observe by
my letter, No. 34, that I have been en deavouring to raise two
regiments here — one of white people, the other of black. The
former goes on very slowly, but the latter very well, and would have
been in great forwardness, had not a fever crept in amongst them,
which carried off a great many very fine fellows." [No. 3.] "SHIP
'DUNMORE,' IN GWIN'S ISLAND HARBOUR, VIRGINIA, June 26,
1776. " I am extremely sorry to inform your Lordship, that that fever,
of which I informed you in my letter No. I, has proved a very
malignant one, and has carried off. an incredible number of our
people, especially the blacks. Had it not been for this horrid disorder,
I am satisfied I should have had two thousand blacks ; with whom I
should have had no doubt of penetrating into the heart of this
Colony." * While the colonists felt, as Dr. Hopkins had written, that
some thing ought to be done toward securing the services of the
Negroes, yet their representatives were not disposed to legislate the
Negro into the army. He was there, and still a conservative policy
was pursued respecting him. Some bold officers took it upon them
selves to receive Negroes as soldiers. Gen. Greene, in a letter to
Gen. Washington, called attention to the raising of a Negro regi
ment on Staten Island. "CAMP ON LONG ISLAND, July 21, 1776, two
o'clock. "Sm; Colonel Hand reports seven large ships are coming up
from the Hook to the Narrows. " A negro belonging to one Strickler,
at Gravesend, was taken prisoner (as 1 Force's American Archives,
5th Series, vol. ii. pp. 160, 162.
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MILITARY EMPLOYMEN1 OF NEGROES. 343 he says) last

Sunday at Coney Island. Yesterday he made his escape, and was
taken prisoner by the rifle-guard. He reports eight hundred negroes
collected on Staten Island, this day to be formed into a regiment. " I
am your Excellency's most obedient, humble servant, "N. GREENE. "
To his Excellency GEN. WASHINGTON, Headquarters, New York." x
To the evidence already produced as to the indiscriminate
employment of Negroes as soldiers in the American army, the
observations of a foreign officer are added. Under date of the 23d of
October, 1777, a Hessian officer wrote :2 — " From here to
Springfield, there are few habitations which have not a negro family
dwelling in a small house near by. The negroes are here as fruitful as
other cattle. The young ones are well foddered, especially while they
are still calves. Slavery is, moreover, very gainful. The negro is to be
considered just as the bond-servant of a peasant. The negress does
all the coarse work of the house, and the little black young ones wait
on the little white young ones. The negro can take the field, instead
of his master; and therefore no regiment is to be seen in which
there are not negroes in abundance: and among tJictn there are
able-bodied, strong, and brave fellows. Here, too, there are many
families of free negroes, who live in good houses, have prop erty,
and live just like the rest of the inhabitants." 3 In the month of May,
1777, the Legislature of Connecticut •sought to secure some action
on the subject of the employment of Negroes as soldiers." "In May,
1777, the General Assembly of Connecticut appointed a Com mittee
* to take into consideration the state and condition of the negro and
mulatto slaves in this State, and what may be done for their
emancipation.' This Committee, in a report presented at the same
session (signed by the •chairman, the Hon. Matthew Griswold of
Lyme), recommended — "'That the effective negro and mulatto
slaves be allowed to 'enlist with the Continental battalions now
raising in this State, under the following regulations and restrictions :
viz., that all such negro and mulatto slaves as can procure, either by
bounty, hire, or in any other way, such a sum to be paid to their
masters as such negro or mulatto shall be judged to be reasonably
worth by the selectmen of the town where such negro or mulatto
belongs, shall be allowed to enlist into either of said battalions, and
shall thereupon be, de facto, free and emancipated ; and that the
master of such negro or mulatto shall be exempted from the support
and maintenance of such negro or mulatto, in case 1 Force's
American Archives, 5th Series, vol. i. p. 486. 2 During a few months
of study in New-York City, I came across the above in the library of
the N. Y. Hist. Soc. 3 Schloezer's Briefwechsel, vol. iv. p. 365.
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344 HISTORY OF THE NEGRO RACE IN AMERICA. such

negro or mulatto shall hereafter become unable to support and
maintain, himself. " ' And that, in case any such negro or mulatto
slave shall be disposed to enlist into either of said battalions during
the [war], he shall be allowed so to do : and such negro or mulatto
shall be appraised by the selectmen of the town to which he belongs
; and his master shall be allowed to receive the bounty to which
such slave may be entitled, and also one-half of the annual wages of
such slave during the time he shall continue in said service ;
provided, however, that said master shall not be allowed to receive
such part of said wages after he shall have received so much as
amounts, together with the bounty, to the sum at which he was
appraised.' " In the lower house the report was put over to the next
session, but when it reached the upper house it was rejected. "You
will see by the Report of Committee, May, 1777, that General
Varnum's plan for the enlistment of slaves had been anticipated in
Connecti cut; with this difference, that Rhode Island adopted it,
while Connecticut did not. " The two States reached nearly the same
results by different methods. The unanimous declaration of the
officers at Cambridge, in the winter of 1775, against the enlistment
of slaves, — confirmed by the Committee of Congress, — had some
weight, I think, with the Connecticut Assembly, so far as the formal
enactment of a law authorizing such enlistments was in question. At.
the same time, Washington's license to continue the enlistment of
negroes was regarded as a rule of action, both by the selectmen in
making up, and by the State Government in accepting, the quota of
the towns. The process of draughting, in Connecticut, was briefly
this: The able-bodied men, in each town, were divided into ' classes
; ' and each class was required to furnish oneor more men, as the
town's quota required, to answer a draught. Now, the Assembly, at
the same session at which the proposition for enlisting slaves was
rejected (May, 1777), passed an act providing that any two men
belonging tothis State, ' who should procure an able-bodied soldier
or recruit to enlist into either of the Continental battalions to be
raised from this State,' should them selves be exempted from
draught during the continuance of such enlistment Of recruits or
draughted men thus furnished, neither the selectmen nor com
manding officers questioned the color or the civil status : white and
black, bond and free, if 'able-bodied,' went on the roll together,
accepted as the representa tives of their ' class,' or as substitutes for
their employers. At the next session (October, 1 777), an act was
passed which gave more direct encouragement to the enlistment of
slaves. By this existing law, the master who emancipated a slave
was not released from the liability to provide for his support. This
law was now so amended, as to authorize the selectmen of any
town, on the application of the master, — after 'inquiry into the age,
abilities, circum stances, and character' of the servant or slave, and
being satisfied 'that it was likely to be consistent with his real
advantage, and that it was probable that he would be able to
support himself,' — to grant liberty for his emancipation, and to
discharge the master 'from any charge or cost which may be
occasioned by
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MILITARY EMPLOYMENT OF NEGROES. 345 maintaining or

supporting the servant or slave made free as aforesaid.' This
enactment enabled the selectmen to offer an additional inducement
to enlist ment, for making up the quota of the town. The slave (or
servant for term of years) might receive his freedom : the master
might secure exemption from draught, and a discharge from future
liabilities, to which he must otherwise have been subjected. In point
of fact, some hundreds of blacks — slaves and freemen — were
enlisted, from time to time, in the regiments of the State troops and
of the Connecticut line. How many, it is impossible to tell; for, from
first to last, the company or regimental rolls indicate no distinctions
of color. The name is the only guide : and, in turning over the rolls of
the Connecticut line, the frequent recurrence of names which were
exclusively appropriated to negroes and slaves, shows how
considerable was their proportion of the material of the Connecticut
army ; while such surnames as * Liberty,' ' Free man,' « Freedom,'
&c., by scores, indicate with what anticipations, and under what
inducements, they entered the service. " As to the efficiency of the
service they rendered, I can say nothing from the records, except
what is to be gleaned from scattered files, such as one of the
petitions I send you. So far as my acquaintance extends, almost
every family has its traditions of the good and faithful service of a
black servant or slave, who was killed in battle, or served through
the war, and came home totell stories of hard fighting, and draw his
pension. In my own native town, — not a large one, — I remember
five such pensioners, three of whom, I believe, had been slaves,
and, in fact, were slaves to the day of their death ; for (and this
explains the uniform action of the General Assembly on petitions for
emancipation) neither the towns nor the State were inclined to
exonerate themaster, at a time when slavery was becoming
unprofitable, from the obligation to provide for the old age of his
slave." * Gen. Yarn urn, a brave and intelligent officer from Rhode
Island, early urged the employment of Negro soldiers. He
communicated his views to Gen. Washington, and he referred the
correspondence to the governor of R'hode Island. GEN.
WASHINGTON TO GOV. COOKE. "HEADQUARTERS, 2d January,
1778. " SIR : — Enclosed you will receive a copy of a letter from
General Varnum to me, upon the means which might be adopted for
completing the Rhode Island troops to their full proportion in the
Continental army. I have nothing to say in addition to what I wrote
the 2pth of the last month on this important subject, but to desire
that you will give the officers employed in this business all the
assistance in your power. " I am with great respect, sir, " Your most
obedient servant, "G. WASHINGTON. " To GOVERNOR COOKE." 2 1
An Historical Research (Liver-more), pp. 114-116. 2 R. I. Col. Recs.,
vol. viii. p. 640.
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346 HISTORY OF THE NEGRO RACE IN AMERICA. The

letter of Gen. Varnum to Gen. Washington, in reference to the
employment of Negroes as soldiers, is as follows : — GEN. VARNUM
TO GEN. WASHINGTON. " CAMP, January 2d, 1778. "SiR: — The two
battalions from the State of Rhode Island being small, and there
being a necessity of the state's furnishing an additional number to
make up their proportion in the Continental army; the field officers
have repre sented to me the propriety of making one temporary
battalion from the two, so that one entire corps of officers may
repair to Rhode Island, in order to receive and prepare the recruits
for the field. It is imagined that a battalion of negroes can be easily
raised there. Should that measure be adopted, or recruits ob tained
upon any other principle, the service will be advanced. The field
officers who go upon this command, are Colonel Greene, Lieutenant
Colonel Olney, and Major Ward ; seven captains, twelve lieutenants,
six ensigns, one paymaster, one surgeon and mates, one adjutant
and one chaplain. " I am Your Excellency's most obedient servant,
"J. M. VARNUM. " To His EXCELLENCY GENERAL WASHINGTON." 1
Gov. Cooke wrote Gen. Washington as follows : — " STATE OF
RHODE ISLAND, &c. " PROVIDENCE, January igth, 1778. " SIR : —
Since we had the honor of addressing Your Excellency by Mr.
Thompson, we received your favor of the 2d of January current,
enclosing a proposition of Gen. Varnum's for raising a battalion of
negroes. "We in our letter of the I5th current, of which we send a
duplicate, have fully represented our present circumstances, and the
many difficulties we labor under, in respect to our filling up the
Continental battalions. In addition thereto, will observe, that we
have now in the state's service within the govern ment, two
battalions of infantry, and a regiment of artillery who are enlisted to
serve until the i6th day of March next; and the General Assembly
have ordered two battalions of infantry, and a regiment of artillery,
to be raised, to serve until the i6th of March, 1779. So that we have
raised and kept in the field, more than the proportion of men
assigned us by Congress. "The General Assembly of this state are to
convene themselves on the .second Monday of February next, when
your letters will be laid before them, and their determination
respecting the same, will be immediately transmitted to Your
Excellency. " I have the honor to be, &c., "NICHOLAS COOKE. "To
GEN. WASHINGTON." 2 1 R. I. CoL Recs., vol. viii. p. 641. * Ibid.,
vol. viii. p. 524.
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MILITARY EMPLOYMENT OF NEGROES. 347 The governor

laid the above letters before the General Assem bly, at their February
session ; and the following act was passed : — " Whereas, for the
preservation of the rights and liberties of the United States, it is
necessary that the whole powers of government should be exerted
in recruiting the Continental battalions ; and whereas, His Excellency
Gen. Washington hath enclosed to this state a proposal made to him
by Brigadier General Varnum, to enlist into the two battalions, raising
by this state, such slaves as should be willing to enter into the
service ; and whereas, history affords us frequent precedents of the
wisest, the freest, and bravest nations having liberated their slaves,
and enlisted them as soldiers to fight in defence of their country ;
and also whereas, the enemy, with a great force, have taken
possession of the capital, and of a greater part of this state ; and
this state is obliged to raise a very considerable number of troops for
its own immediate defence, whereby it is in a manner rendered
impossible for this state to furnish recruits for the said two
battalions, without adopting the said measure so recom mended. " It
is voted and resolved, that every able-bodied negro, mulatto, or
Indian man slave, in this state, may enlist into either of the said two
battalions, to serve during the continuance of the present war with
Great Britain. " That every slave, so enlisting, shall be entitled to,
and receive, all the bounties, wages, and encouragements, allowed
by the Continental Congress, to any soldier enlisting into their
service. "It is further voted and resolved, that every slave, so
enlisting, shall, upon his passing muster before Col. Christopher
Greene, be immediately discharged from the service of his master or
mistress, and be absolutely FREE, as though he had never been
encumbered with any kind of servitude or slavery. " And in case such
slave shall, by sickness or otherwise, be rendered unable to maintain
himself, he shall not be chargeable to his master or mistress; but
shall be supported at the expense of the state. " And whereas,
slaves have been, by the laws, deemed the property of their owners,
and therefore compensation ought to be made to the owners for the
loss of their service, — "It is further voted and resolved, that there
be allowed, and paid by this state, to the owner, for every such slave
so enlisting, a sum according to his worth ; at a price not exceeding
^120 for the most valuable slave; and in pro portion for a slave of
less value. " Provided, the owner of said slave shall deliver up to the
officer, who shall enlist him, the clothes of the said slave ; or
otherwise he shall not be entitled to said sum. " And for settling and
ascertaining the value of such slaves, — "It is further voted and
resolved, that a committee of five be appointed, to wit: " One from
each county ; any three of whom, to be a quorum, to examine the
slaves who shall be so enlisted, after they shall have passed muster,
and to set a price upon each slave according to his value, as
aforesaid. " It is further voted and resolved, that upon any
ablebodied negro, mulatto, or Indian slave, enlisting as aforesaid,
the officer who shall so enlist him, after
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348 HISTORY OF THE NEGRO RACE IN AMERICA. he shall

have passed muster, as aforesaid, shall deliver a certificate thereof,
to the master or mistress of said negro, mulatto, or Indian slave;
which shall discharge him from the service of his said master or
mistress, as aforesaid. "It is further voted and resolved, that the
committee who shall estimate the value of any slave, as aforesaid,
shall give a certificate of the sum at whicin he may be valued, to the
owner of said slave ; and the general treasurer of this, state.is
hereby empowered and directed to give unto the said owner of the
said! slave, his promissory note, as treasurer, as aforesaid, for the
sum of money at which he shall be valued, as aforesaid, payable on
demand, with interest at the rate of six per cent, per annum ; and
that said notes, which shall be so givenr shall be paid with the
money which is due to this state, and is expected from Congress ;
the money which has been borrowed out of the general treasury, by
this Assembly, being first re-placed." l This measure met with some
opposition, but it was too weak to effect any thing. The best thing
the minority could do was to enter a written protest. "PROTEST
AGAINST ENLISTING SLAVES TO SERVE IN THE ARMY. "We, the
subscribers, beg leave to dissent from the vote of the lower house,
ordering a regiment of negroes to be raised for the Continental
service, for the following reasons, viz. : " ist. Because, in our
opinion, there is not a sufficient number of negroes in the state, who
would have an inclination to enlist, and would pass muster, to
constitute a regiment; and raising several companies of blacks,
would not answer the purposes intended; and therefore the attempt
to constitute said regiment would prove abortive, and be a fruitless
expense to the state. "2d. The raising such a regiment, upon the
footing proposed, would sug gest an idea and produce an opinion in
the world, that the state had purchased a band of slaves to be
employed in the defence of the rights and liberties of our country,
which is wholly inconsistent with those principles of liberty and
constitutional government, for which we are so ardently contending ;
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