Ethiopian Regiment
| Ethiopian Regiment | |
|---|---|
Soldier from the Ethiopian Regiment
|
|
| Active | 1775–1776 |
| Country |
 Great Britain
|
| Allegiance |
 British Army
|
| Branch | infantry, dragoons (mounted infantry), labor duty |
| Type | British provincial unit |
| Role | guerilla warfare, maneuver warfare |
| Size | company (250) |
| Nickname(s) | Lord Dunmore's Ethiopian Regiment, Dunmore's Ethiopian Regiment, Royal Ethiopian Regiment |
| Motto(s) | Liberty to Slaves |
| Engagements |
|
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Governor Lord Dunmore Captain Samuel Leslie Captain Charles Fordyce |
Lord Dunmore's Ethiopian Regiment or Ethiopian Regiment was the name given to a British colonial military unit organized during the American Revolution by John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore, and last Royal Governor of Virginia. It has nothing to do with the present day country of Ethiopia. Composed of slaves who had escaped from Patriot masters, it was led by British officers and sergeants. Black Loyalists also served in guerrilla units such as the elite Black Brigade, as well as together with British troops and white Loyalist militia recruited in the colonies.
In 1775, Lord Dunmore, Royal Governor of Virginia, issued a proclamation offering freedom to all slaves of revolutionaries who were willing to join him under arms against the rebels in the American Revolutionary War. Five hundred Virginia slaves promptly abandoned their Revolutionary masters and joined Dunmore's ranks. The governor formed them into the Ethiopian Regiment, also known as Lord Dunmore's Ethiopian Regiment.
During the war, tens of thousands of slaves escaped, having a substantial economic effect on the American South. An estimated 25,000 slaves escaped in South Carolina; 30,000 in Virginia, and almost one-quarter of the slave population in Georgia. Slaves also escaped in New England and New York, often joining the British forces occupying New York for freedom. While thousands went to the British lines for freedom (and the British evacuated nearly 4,000 Black Loyalists to Nova Scotia and other colonies after the war), others took advantage of the wartime confusion to migrate to other areas of the colonies.
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Wikipedia