By the time it was over 100 British soldiers were dead or wounded. The Patriots revealed themselves and fired rapidly, decimating the ranks, and the attack quickly turned into a panicked retreat. The British troops were within fifty feet of the Patriots who were hiding. He decided to attack the Patriots at Great Bridge (in present-day Chesapeake, Virginia.)Įarly in the morning on December 10, 1775, The Royal Ethiopian regiment marched across the bridge with the other British troops. This clear victory for the British made Lord Dunmore overconfident. Lord Dunmore’s disciplined regulars returned fire and most of the Patriot Militia scattered.
Virginia’s inexperienced Militia fired too soon. Militia companies from Princess Anne County, Virginia (present-day Virginia Beach) assembled to fight the British. On November 15, Lord Dunmore called in his British troops to Kemp’s Landing to defend a large store of gunpowder that had been recently moved there from Norfolk. Their uniforms were emblazoned with the words, “Liberty to Slaves.” The Attack On Great Bridge In Chesapeake Virginia The Virginia Gazette advised slaves to “cling to your kind masters.” But in the end, around 800 runaway slaves fought in Dunmore’s Ethiopian Regiment.
The Patriots were terrified knowing their runaway slaves would now have guns. Within a week of Dunmore signing the proclamation, over 300 enslaved workers ran to Norfolk, Virginia to join his army. 300 Enslaved African Americans Join Dunmore’s Army
KEMP BATTLE SLAVES FREE
Dunmore did not free the enslaved workers belonging to Loyalist Masters and he did not free his own slaves. In November 1775, Lord Dunmore, the last royal Governor of Virginia signed a proclamation stating that any able bodied slave of a rebel master could run to his Royal Ethiopian regiment to fight the Americans and gain their freedom. African American Soldiers And The Revolutionary War In Virginia
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