In 1781 my 5th great grandfather (a free man of Color) walked 120 miles from his home to his service post. That was the 3rd time he had been drafted in the Revolution and as soon as he made it he began helping bury the dead, many from smallpox. He witnessed the surrender of Cornwallis and escorted prisoners on foot in freezing temperatures from Yorktown to Winchester. Once his final task was complete he began his 150 mile walk home, but this time as a free man of Color with no proof, he had to dodge slave traders all the way home.

It wasn't until I learned more about my family history that I realized how grueling life as a Revolutionary War Patriot was. I never considered the journey it took just to get to the fight and the obstacles some of these men faced just to get back home. As a white woman, I was shocked to learn not only of my Black Ancestors, but of the risks they took just so their Children and then eventually I, could live in a free country.

I strongly urge anyone to research their family lineage and look for information about their family's Revolutionary War history. My Vietnam Vet Dad raised me as a Patriot, just as his WWII vet dad did him, but for some reason I had never felt it as deeply as I did when I read about my 5th great grandfather.