BLACK FLIGHT: TRACING BLACK REFUGEES THROUGHOUT THE REVOLUTIONARY ATLANTIC WORLD 1775-1812 By JENNIFER K. SNYDER A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2013 1 © 2013 Jennifer K. Snyder 2 To Mom(my), Dad, Lauren and Papa. 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost, I would like to thank my entire committee for their thoughtful comments, critiques, and unwavering patience. My chairs, Dr. Jessica Harland-Jacobs and Dr. Jon Sensbach, have my eternal gratitude. Thanks to Dr. David Colburn for his unwavering support, Dr. Elizabeth Dale for pushing me along in this process, Dr. Steve Noll for his wonderful advice and Dr. Lynn Leverty for always being a source of encouragement. A special thanks to Dr. Liam Riordan and Dr. Brian Ward who’s expert advice and editorial guidance helped craft my two favorite chapters. Many members of the outstanding administrative staff at the History Department have worked tirelessly to keep me on track. Thanks to Linda Opper, Erin Smith, and Hazel Phillips for their ongoing help. Likewise, the Depart of Archives and History in South Carolina, the Georgia Historical Society, and the National British Archive volunteers and staff who have assisted my research in countless ways. I am tremendously indebted to the fellowships and awards I received along the way. The generous support of those listed below funded my work and made my dissertation possible. I would like to thank the wonderful staff at the Clements Library for the Research Fellowship – specifically Brian Leigh Dunnigan. “Tea Time” contributed to many great finds in the archives. The O. Ruth McQuown Scholarship was such an amazing honor; I sincerely appreciate the entire committee’s wonderful suggestions and faith in my topic. Thanks to Gary and Eleanor Simons for funding the Dissertation Award in Early American History, Dr. William Link for the Milbauer Research grants, the Red Herring Award (a wonderful surprise by an anonymous donor named Mr. Barber), the Graduate Student Council for Travel grants, and the UF History Department for its overall funding. 4 To my family and friends – what can I say other than thank you. For the countless hours you have given me, for the love, support and frequent eye rolling. To my Mom and Dad who have carried me the entire way; Lauren, Carl and Papa, this dissertation is dedicated to you. To my dear friends: Dr. Patrick Cosby, Dr. Tim Johnson, and Amanda Allard for the gracious use of your time and editorial guidance. Dr. Thomas Berson without whose advice and help I might still be floundering in one of his beloved springs. To the countless un-named and un-thanked people who are not listed here – thank you. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................ 4 LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................... 8 ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. 9 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 11 Atlantic Shift ..................................................................................................... 17 Structural Outline .............................................................................................. 24 2 FREE AND ENSLAVED MOVEMENT IN THE SOUTHERN THEATER ................ 27 Lord Dunmore .................................................................................................. 31 Back To St. Augustine....................................................................................... 40 Aftershocks Ripple across the Southern Colonies ............................................... 51 3 REVOLUTIONARY CHAOS ENGULFS SAVANNAH AND CHARLESTON ........... 56 Black Unrest Grows in the South ....................................................................... 58 Black Experiences During the British Southern Invasion ...................................... 64 Regulating Property in British Occupied Savannah ............................................. 71 Black Activity in British Charleston ..................................................................... 87 4 EVACUATION AND EXODUS IN THE SOUTHERN STATES.............................. 93 Savannah Evacuation ....................................................................................... 94 Charleston Evacuation ...................................................................................... 98 Migration to St. Augustine ............................................................................... 101 The Florida Claims Commission: A Window into Black Experiences ................... 107 Slaves Sold, Migrated, Transferred .................................................................. 109 Runaway Slaves ............................................................................................. 112 Victims of Trickery .......................................................................................... 116 Arrival of the Spanish and Confusion in the Black Community............................ 118 Exodus .......................................................................................................... 120 5 BLACK DIASPORIA FOLLOWING THE REVOLUTION .................................... 129 Edge of Empire: The Mosquito Coast ............................................................... 134 Mosquito Coast Evacuation ............................................................................. 138 Exodus into the Caribbean .............................................................................. 142 6 Migration to Belize .......................................................................................... 146 The Bahamas: Another Caribbean Migration .................................................... 152 6 USE AND MISUSE OF EX-SLAVES IN THE BRITISH CARIBBEAN .................. 161 The Question to Arm Blacks ............................................................................ 162 Early Attempts to Raise a Black American Caribbean Regiment ........................ 165 Plan to Find a Pacific Waterway....................................................................... 167 Black Carolina Corps ...................................................................................... 169 Negotiating Control over the Black Carolina Corps ............................................ 172 Troops as Barrack Builders ............................................................................. 178 How to Distinguish Slaves from the Negro Corps .............................................. 182 Across the Caribbean...................................................................................... 184 7 TREATY OF PARIS AND BEYOND ................................................................. 190 Treaty of Paris ................................................................................................ 192 Jay’s Treaty.................................................................................................... 194 War of 1812 ................................................................................................... 196 Treaty of Ghent .............................................................................................. 201 LIST OF REFERENCES ....................................................................................... 204 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .................................................................................... 215 7 LIST OF TABLES Table page Table 3-1. List of Slaves requested by the Board of Police, 1780. .............................. 92 Table 4-1. Samuel Bonneau’s List of Slaves ........................................................... 122 Table 4-2. List of American Families and their Black Servants traveling from St. Augustine to Philadelphia ............................................................................ 123 Table 4-3. List of Black Slaves Registered in St. Augustine 1783-1785..................... 124 Table 5-1. A List of Slaves Attributed to Sarah Cunningham in a 1816 Census of Loyalist Refugee Settlers in Belize. .............................................................. 159 Table 5-2. American Loyalists and the Number of White Companions and Slaves Moved to the Mosquito Coast. ..................................................................... 160 Table 6-1. List of Seized and Condemned Slaves Registered in St. Augustine on July 22, 1779 .............................................................................................. 189 8 Abstract of Dissertation Presented to the Graduate School of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy BLACK FLIGHT: TRACING BLACK REFUGEES THROUGHOUT THE REVOLUTIONARY ATLANTIC WORLD 1775-1812 By Jennifer K. Snyder August 2013 Cochair: Jon Sensbach Cochair: Jessica Harland-Jacobs Major: History Preparing to evacuate in the waning days of the American Revolution, British soldiers, civilians, and American Loyalists crowded into the last British-held Atlantic seaboard towns of New York, Charleston, Savannah and St. Augustine. Thousands of free and enslaved Africans joined them, some freed by the British during the war, some still held in slavery by the Loyalists, some of ambiguous