This did not deter Blacks , free and slave , from participating in the Revolution . Crispus Attucks , a free Black tradesman , was the first casualty of the Boston Massacre and of the ensuing American Revolutionary War . 5,000 Blacks , including Prince Hall , fought in the Continental Army . Many fought side by side with White soldiers at the battles of Lexington and Concord and at Bunker Hill . But when George Washington took command in 1775 , he barred any further recruitment of Blacks
Boston Massacre
Boston Massacre
African-American history