Tag: William Pitkin

Politics During the War (1775-1783) Posted on

Two Encounters: Captain Abraham Van Dyck, the “Negro Man,” and Prince Pitkin

Captain Abraham Van Dyck of New York faced military justice twice during the Revolutionary War: first by the British for burning his hometown, and then by his fellow Continental Army officers for killing a Black soldier in camp. In each case, imperfect evidence presents historians with a puzzle. Notably, African American men were central to […]

by Benjamin L. Carp