User:EdPim/Prince Whipple

Prince Whipple (1750-1797) was an African American slave and later freedman. He was a soldier and a bodyguard during the American Revolution under his master General William Whipple of the New Hampshire Militia who granted him his freedom during the war. Prince is depicted in Emanuel Leutze's painting Washington Crossing the Delaware and Thomas Sully's painting Passage of the Delaware.

Early Life
Prince and his brother Cuffee were sent by their parents to study in America. During the journey, they were kidnapped by a slave trader and sent to a prison in the Caribbean. Prince, his brother, and hundreds of other slaves at the prison were sold to a sea captain. A majority of the prisoners were sent to sugar and tobacco plantations in the West Indies and the Southern British Colonies. Prince and Cuffee were not among those sold in the plantations, but instead were sent to Portsmouth, New Hampshire to be house slaves. There they were purchased by William Whipple Jr. who was a successful businessman and owner of the slave ship that purchased the slaves from the prison.

Prince was well liked in Portsmouth. As William Nell stated "He was also known as 'Caleb Quotom" of Portsmouth'" and got along well with the other slaves. Prince joined William as a servant in large weddings, dinners, balls, and parties held by the White population of New Hampshire and was well received.

American Revolution
When the Revolution started, William Whipple was assigned as a captain in the Continental Army and took Prince with him. Initially, Prince served as a bodyguard to William because of military regulations that forbid Blacks from serving in the army or militia. Despite the restrictions, Blacks had been reported to fought alongside the colonists in many battles including Lexington and Bunker Hill. The British offered freedom to American slaves if they were to serve in the British Army against the American Colonies. In 1780, the Southern Colonies began to draft free Blacks and a select number of enslaved men for military service as a response to the British's actions. The conscription of Blacks was also an answer to the diminishing manpower with the Thirteen Colonies following suit. The increased need of men allowed Prince to serve as a military aide to William and a soldier in the New Hampshire Militia.

Service under William Whipple
In 1777, William was promoted to brigadier general and was ordered to go to Vermont. Prince joined him, but challenged his position as a slave. Prince argued with William saying "You are going to fight for your Liberty, but I have none to fight for." William offered Prince his freedom if he continued his military service. Prince agreed and by the end of the war, William ended Prince's servitude and granted his freedom on February 22, 1781.

Freedom Petition
In 1779 Prince joined with nineteen other freed slaves who referred themselves as the "Natives of Africa" in Portsmouth. These men went to the House and Council sitting of New Hampshire and petitioned for their freedom to be kept. They stated the following:"God of Nature gave them Life and Freedom, upon the Terms of the most perfect Equality with other men, That Freedom is an inherent right of the human Species, not to be surrendered, but by Consent, for the Sake of social Life; that private or public Tyranny and Slavery, are alike detestable to Minds conscious of the equal Dignity of human Nature …"This plea for freedom was made public in the New Hampshire Gazette. Although Prince was not a freedman at the time of the signing of the petition, he was an advocate for the protection of freedmen rights and liberties.

After the War
Prince returned to Portsmouth as a freedman and reunited with his brother Cuffee. He married a woman named Dinah who was a slave in New Castle and was granted freedmen status by her master at the age of twenty one. For his service in the war, Prince was given a small plot of land to which he, his brother, and his wife built a house on. They converted the house into the Ladies Charitable African School to teach young children. Dinah would serve as the teacher for the school until her death. Prince died in Portsmouth in 1797.

Legacy
Prince's legacy during the Revolution did not go unnoticed among artists. His service with William and George Washington is depicted in two art pieces.

Washington Crossing the Delaware
[Current Article Legacy Here]

The Passage of the Delaware
In 1819, American painter Thomas Sully created his interpretation of the Battle of Trenton. The painting depicts Washington on a white horse around three white officers and a Black man. The Black soldier in the painting is shown wearing red clothing speaking to an officer. The man in this picture is confirmed to be Prince Whipple as Sully had heard about Prince and incorporated him into his painting. Much like the Leutze painting, Prince was most likely not present at Trenton during Washington's crossing.