tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post6389362508362378810..comments2024-03-14T13:25:20.613-05:00Comments on Boston 1775: Aaron White’s Tale of Bunker HillUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-47407285341745187142009-09-29T11:38:10.853-05:002009-09-29T11:38:10.853-05:00Yes, it’s clear that abolitionists kept the story ...Yes, it’s clear that abolitionists kept the story of a black man killing Maj. Pitcairn in the public eye. When White’s account was published, it was part of an argument for enlisting African-American soldiers based on Revolutionary precedent. <br /><br />It’s striking that abolitionists had to put such effort into telling and retelling that story since the record from 1775 is perfectly clear that the provincial army included black soldiers. And people were crediting “a negro man” with killing Pitcairn within a dozen years of the battle. <br /><br />What made those facts so much more emotionally and politically meaningful than other facts about the same battle was the persistence of slavery and racial inequality in American society.J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-33699232427368403602009-09-29T10:48:06.000-05:002009-09-29T10:48:06.000-05:00I found your blog while searching for details of t...I found your blog while searching for details of the life of Aaron White.<br /><br /><i>"Aaron White’s account comes to us with a wrapping of unimpeachability. He obviously believed it, and believed it was important."</i><br /><br />One reason it might have been important to him was that his family were strong abolitionists who were desirous of improving the image of the Negro and countering the arguments of the slavery apologists.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com