were afraid that enslaved people who were armed would cause slave rebellions. Slave owners became concerned that military service would eventually free their people. In May 1775, the Massachusetts Committee of Safety enrolled enslaved people in the armies of the colony. The action was adopted by the Continental Congress when they took over the Patriot Army. But Horatio Gates in July 1775 issued an order to recruiters, ordering them not to enroll "any deserter from the Ministerial army, nor any stroller, negro or vagabond. . ." in the Continental Army. Most Black men were integrated into existing military units, but some segregated units were formed. African American Loyalists in British military service In 1779, Sir Henry Clinton issued the Philipsburg Proclamation, which stipulated that all enslaved people, regardless of age or gender owned by Patriots would be accepted at British lines. This greatly increased the number of enslaved African Americans who fled to British lines, and many regiments were formed during this period. The largest regiment made up of escaped African Americas was the Black Company of Pioneers, a pioneer unit. This regiment was placed in a support role, with orders to "attend the scavangers, assist in cleaning the streets & removing all newsiances being thrown into the streets" when they were stationed in Philadelphia. A smaller unit of 24 escaped slaves fought under the command of Colonel Tye, raiding Patriot settlements in New Jersey. In Savannah, Augusta, and Charleston, when threatened by Patriot forces, the British filled gaps in their troops with African Americans. In October 1779, about 200 Black Loyalist soldiers assisted the British in successfully defending Savannah against a joint French and American Patriot attack. In total, historians estimate that approximately 20,000 African Americans joined the British during the Revolutionary War, while 5,000 African-Americans joined the Patriot cause. Somerset vs. Stewart Despite Britain's utilization of African American slaves in the Revolutionary War, a monumental court decision would quickly put in motion efforts to end slavery in Britain itself, though Britain did not ban the international slave trade in its Empire until 1807, the same year that then-President Thomas Jefferson and the U.S. Congress passed a law banning the international slave trade in the U.S. A slave trader named Charles Stewart purchased Somerset, a slave who had been brought to America during the middle passage. Somerset ran away from Stewart's home on October 1, 1771, but was caught