There were at least 21 men of African descent in the militia at Lexington and Concord in April 1775, and in the pursuit of retreating British red coats down Battle Road back to Boston. All were members of the militia. Some were "minute men" -- the elite militia force expected to move faster when called.

When Rhode Island needed more soldiers, early in 1778, both for its own defense against British invasion, and to contribute to the main Continental Army under General George Washington, the legislature reached into ancient practice, observing "history affords us frequent precedents of the wisest, the freest and bravest nations having liberated their slaves and enlisted them as soldiers to fight in defence of their country."

Long after the Revolution, myths developed of “the Continental soldier as American yeoman — the small farmer/landowner who grabbed his rifle from above his fireplace and marched willingly to war.” Not so. Less than ten percent owned property. One quarter were Irish, one eighth German, young, landless and unskilled.

Oneida resisted British invasion of their homeland during the American Revolutionary War, including the Battle of Oriskany, providing essential support to the Continental Army in the victory at Saratoga in 1777.