In 1777, brothers William and Benjamin Frank enlisted in the Second Rhode Island Regiment of the Continental Army. Freeborn men of color, they gambled that military service would earn them what freedom alone had not: equality, land, and a better future.
In this episode of the Ben Franklin’s World podcast, historian Shirley Green draws on genealogical research rooted in her own family history to reveal what daily life looked like for free Black soldiers in the Continental Army and in Revolutionary Rhode Island.
In Revolutionary Blacks: Discovering the Frank Brothers, Freeborn Men of Color, Soldiers of Independence (Westholme Publishing, 2023) historian Shirley L. Green takes the reader on a journey based on her family’s history, rooted in its oral tradition.
You can listen here.
Ben Franklin’s World is an award-winning podcast. It’s for people who love history and for those who want to know more about the historical people and events that have impacted and shaped our world. Each episode features an interview with a historian who shares their unique insights into our early American past.
Illustration: Soldiers at the siege of Yorktown (1781), by Jean Baptiste-Antoine DeVerger.
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