Silas Royal
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Silas Royal (1740s–1826), originally known as Silas Varnum and sometimes written as Ryal Varnum, was an enslaved person and black patriot in the Revolutionary War. Though bought as an infant slave for the Varnum family, he was eventually set free and fought in the Continental Army and as an American privateer.
Silas Varnum was raised by the Varnum family of Dracut, Massachusetts, to be the servant of young J.B. Varnum. The family had unorthodox views on the institution of slavery and the role of African Americans in colonial society, and would advocate for black soldiers to serve in the army during the war. J.B. Varnum developed a strong friendship with Silas, and later wrote the bill in Congress banning the slave trade.
When Silas reached adulthood, the patriarch of the Varnums decided to set him free. As a freedman Silas could have left the Varnum estate, but chose to stay and work as a paid servant. He took the name "Silas Royal" to celebrate his liberation.
War Service
When hostilities broke out Royal joined the provisional army around Boston. James Mitchell Varnum, brother of Royal's former owner, was assigned to command "Varnum's Regiment" by the Rhode Island assembly. Royal joined the regiment as a trusted servant to General Varnum and developed a dignified reputation.[1] Varnum's Regiment saw action at the Battle of Bunker Hill and would eventually become the 1st Rhode Island, the only regiment in the Continental Army consisting of a majority of African American and Native American soldiers.
Later, Royal served as a privateer aboard the Franklin, one of several small ships disrupting British supply lines during the continuing Siege of Boston. This was a dangerous and sometimes lucrative posting, and Royal once drew £30 as his share of prize money after a voyage.[2] Marines from the Marblehead Regiment, many of them also black, were attached to this vessel. Royal may have joined the Marblehead mariners at the Delaware Crossing.