434 Freeborn Black Soldiers in the American Revolution

Ben Franklin's World

Liz Covart

History, Society & Culture

4.4 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 24 February 2026

⏱️ 72 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What would you fight for if you were free but still not equal? In 1777, brothers William and Benjamin Frank answered that question by enlisting 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. Historian Shirley Green, author of Revolutionary Blacks: Freeborn Men of Color, Soldiers of Independence, joins us to tell their story. Drawing on genealogical research rooted in her own family history, Green reveals what daily life looked like for free Black families in Revolutionary Rhode Island, how the Frank Brothers fought at the Battles of Red Bank, Monmouth, and Rhode Island, and how the Revolution ultimately divided them—one brother serving through Yorktown, the other crossing to the British side and resettling in Nova Scotia as a Black Loyalist. Their story is a window into the full range of Black experiences during the Revolution, and a reminder that for men like William and Benjamin Frank, choosing a side was never simple. It was a calculated gamble, shaped by promises made—and promises broken. Shirley’s Website | Book |Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/434 EPISODE OUTLINE00:00:00 Introduction00:01:19 The Frank Brothers' Revolutionary Choices00:05:14 Discovering the Frank Brothers Through Family Oral History00:09:01 Blending Genalogy and Microhistory00:15:22 Life for Free Black Families in Early Rhode Island00:20:50 Why Free Black Men Joined the Continental Army00:24:00 Motivations: Land, Pay, and Equality00:29:15 The Gamble of Military Service Amid Policy Shifts00:41:13 Daily Life and Combat in the Integrated Regiments00:44:46 Ben Frank's Desertion00:52:51 The Book of Negroes01:00:02 Postwar Outcomes: Did Promises of Land, Pay, and Equality Hold?01:02:47 Lessons from Black Soldiers' Experiences01:07:26 ConclusionRECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES🎧 Episode 118: The Business of Slavery in Rhode Island🎧 Episode 157: African American Soldiers in the Continental Army🎧 Episode 301: From Inoculation to Vaccination, Part 1🎧 Episode 333: Disruptions in Yorktown🎧 Episode 348: Valley Forge🎧 Episode 413: Dr. Joseph Warren & the Battle of Bunker Hill🎧 Episode 424: Dunmore's Proclamation & the American Revolution in Virginia🎧 Episode 427: How States Are Planning the 250th of the American RevolutionSUPPORT OUR WORK🎁 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin’s WorldREQUEST A TOPIC📨 Topic Request Form📫 liz@benfranklinsworld.comWHEN YOU'RE READY🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener Community🌍 Join the History Explorers ClubTAKE THE QUIZ🧭 Discover How You Explore History (under 2 minutes)👉 https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/quizLISTEN 🎧🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music🛜 PandoraCONNECT🦋 Liz on Bluesky👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn🛜 Liz’s WebsiteSAY THANKS💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts💚 Leave a rating on Spotify*Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:00.0	The French Revolution set Europe ablaze. It was an age of enlightenment and progress, but also
0:06.1	of tyranny and oppression. It was an age of glory and an age of tragedy. One man stood above
0:12.0	it all. This was the Age of Napoleon. I'm Everett Rummage, host of the Age of Napoleon podcast.
0:19.1	Join me as I examine the life and times of one of the most
0:22.0	fascinating and enigmatic characters in modern history. Look for the age of Napoleon wherever you find
0:28.2	your podcasts. You're listening to an Airwave Media podcast. Personally, I don't look at been being
0:36.3	disloyal to the American cause. I mean, that's the question
0:40.2	that we can ask because the Americans won, right? I think he had his own personal and professional
0:45.6	reasons for leaving. I believe he may have thought the Americans couldn't win. What I do think,
0:51.2	though, is that he was disloyal to his brother. He was disloyal to the other soldiers that he fought alongside of. that he was disloyal to his brother.
1:12.1	He was disloyal to the other soldiers that he fought alongside of, and he was disloyal to his family. Because the other question I usually get is, if he deserted, why didn't you just go back home to Johnston? Why don't you go back to his wife? And he didn't do that. And there's a reason I think he couldn't have done that because I don't think he could
1:12.1	gone home to Johnson, Rhode Island, knocked on the door, and Rufus Frank was going to look at him
1:17.4	with open arms and say, hey, come on in.
1:20.0	Because I believe the first question that Rufus Frank would ask him was, where's your brother?
1:32.4	No. Where's your brother? Hello, and welcome to episode 434 of Ben Franklin's World.
1:38.0	The podcast dedicated to helping you learn more about how the people and events of our early American past have shaped the present
1:44.5	day world we live in. And I'm your host, Liz Covart. What would you fight for if you were free,
1:51.3	but still not equal? In 1777, two brothers, William and Benjamin Frank answered that question
1:57.6	by joining the Continental Army. They were freeborn black men in Rhode Island,
2:02.3	and they gambled that military service would earn them what freedom alone had not. Equality, land,
2:08.9	and a better future. But the American Revolution had other plans. By the war's end, one brother
2:14.6	had served through the Battle of Yorktown, the other had crossed
	...

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