THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 25, 1996 TAG: 9602240051
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHARLISE LYLES, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 134 lines
THE PLAIN STEEL marker on Sleepy Hole Road in Suffolk pings in the winter wind. It says that James Bowser was the only Negro from Nansemond County to fight in the American Revolution.
Karyn Landy knows little more about her great-great-great-great-grandfather, only that he gave his age as 50 and described his complexion as ``yellow'' when he signed up that day, Sept. 1, 1780, to join the Virginia Continental Line.
Years ago, at a family reunion, Landy of Newport News and other family members erected the humble monument to honor their ancestor, a man who marched off to battle at an age when modern men think of retiring.
``I don't know what persuaded him,'' sighs Landy, a petite, carefully spoken woman with the dignified carriage of a cadet. But she knows it was not a promise of freedom for his enslaved brethren.
Soon, a memorial may rise alongside the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., to honor Bowser, and all of the 5,000 slaves, free men or runaways who fought as patriots in the American Revolution.
Last week, representatives of the non-profit Patriots Foundation testified before a congressional advisory committee, requesting that 500,000 commemorative coins be minted to raise $5 million needed to break ground by October. The coins would cost $30 each. A portion would cover minting expenses; the remainder would pay for the monument.
If approved by Congress, the coin would be the first struck in honor of African Americans since the early 1950s when George Washington Carver and Booker T. Washington were cast in currency.
So far, the Black Revolutionary War Patriots Commemorative Coin Act has won the support of 30 senators, including such unlikelies as Jesse Helms and Lauch Faircloth of North Carolina. Virginia senators have yet to endorse.
Minton Francis, foundation president, says he's confident of approval, but a wee bit anxious. If funding fails, the site on the National Mall, which Congress granted in 1987 for the Patriots monument, could be lost.
The stretch in Constitution Gardens between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial is the last open space on what many consider hallowed ground. As many as 69 groups have already petitioned for it - just in case the project falls through.
To make sure that doesn't happen, volunteers such as retired lawyer Joanne Jones are traveling the country spreading the word to churches, professional groups, fraternities and everyday people. This month, she brought her message to Hampton Roads, speaking to doctors, lawyers, teachers, anyone who would listen.
``I feel it is absolutely essential that the true story of the founding of this country be known to all,'' says Jones, who knows of three ancestors on her mother's side who fought in the Virginia regiment.
Jones is urging people to telephone or fax their congressman to support the coin legislation.
The frozen thatch of earth that may become the monument cannot be seen from the small foundation office on K Street in Washington. It is obscured by tall buildings.
But Francis and other military men are phoning, faxing, fund-raising to make real a vision. General Motors has been a major ongoing corporate sponsor, giving up to $1 million.
The foundation has chosen Edward Dwight, a pilot/astronaut-turned-sculptor, to design the monument. Based in Denver, Dwight has designed statues of Martin Luther King at Morehouse College in Atlanta, labor leader A. Phillip Randolph at Union Station in Washington, and Duke Ellington at the Smithsonian.
For the Patriots monument, Dwight has designed two 90-foot-long swirls. Each starts at three feet and rises to nearly eight, similar in style to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Viewers can walk between the swirls. One in granite will offer engraved historical text. In bronze, the other will depict 87 figures, their faces locked in defiant determination and the agony of battle. Symbolizing black freedom that wouldn't be won until the next century, one statue will face the Lincoln Memorial.
Women are included. The monument praises contributions of all blacks from 1600 to 1783.
So far, the piece has survived a stringent checklist of design and landscape requirements from the National Capital Memorial Commission to the federal fine arts commission.
All the effort is so that Americans, black and white, might know what they do not know.
The story of Crispus Attucks stepping forward that March night in 1770 is legendary. A free black, Attucks fell in the Boston Massacre, one of the first to die for the revolutionary cause.
Still, in the early years of the war, blacks were officially forbidden in battle. The Colonial Assembly permitted free blacks and mulattoes only as drummers, fifers and trumpeters. None were allowed to bear arms. Gen. George Washington ordered recruiting officers not to enlist ``any stroller, Negro or vagabond.''
But runaway slaves flocked to the British side. Lord Dunmore, the ex-governor of Virginia, lured them with a promise of freedom. Many from Virginia believed, and stole away to British ships along the coast. Dunmore called the blacks who made up half of his 600 troops the Ethiopian Regiment. ``Liberty to Slaves'' was scrawled on their uniform shirts.
Dunmore's proclamation forced Washington to reverse his policy on free blacks, allowing them to enlist in the Continental Line. He aimed ``to counteract the mass defection to the British,'' according to Norfolk State University archivist Tommy Bogger.
As the struggle intensified and victory grew doubtful throughout the Colonies, all restrictions of color and age were eventually abandoned. Some blacks fought as substitutes for their masters, others as free men. Though no official law permitted slaves to bear arms, they did.
That's when James Bowser made his move.
When he left Nansemond County, parting from his wife and children, Bowser marched into history with about 170 other blacks from Virginia. They fought as sailors and soldiers. Some were free men like Bowser, who was apparently a former indentured servant from England.
From battles at Kemp's Landing and Great Bridge to Charleston, Savannah and Yorktown, they paid dues for liberty.
There was William Flora, a free man from Portsmouth. Whites praised his daring exploits at Great Bridge. He was the last sentry to leave post as the British advanced.
There was James Carter, another free black, who fought in battles at Camden and Yorktown.
A slave from Norfolk named Saul served in the army, spying on the British.
Many served as double agents. Since whites believed them dullards ``unable to engage in sustained mental activity,'' blacks often proved to be excellent spies, wrote Bogger.
Karyn Landy traced her roots to great-great-great-great grandfather Bowser through bounty papers, which show he was granted 200 acres for his service.
Today the simple marker stands on that ground given for his patriotism. Tomorrow in Washington, a monument may rise in his name. MEMO: Contributions can be mailed to The Patriots Foundation, 1612 K Street
N.W. Suite 1104, Washington, D.C. 20006. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Drawing
The bronze figure above, by Denver sculptor Edward Dwight, would be
part of the Washington, D.C., monument.
Right: an artist's rendering of the monument's swirling design.
by CNB