Because February is Black History month I will be doing my research paper on the lives four blacks and what effect they had on American History. I will start out by asking the question, why most American history books don’t cover in written the history of individual black’s involvement in shaping of American in greater detail. The Two topics I will be covering are the Revolutionary War and The Civil War as far what blacks’ involvement. The first three paragraphs of this research paper will cover the events and history of three African Americans whose importance was not greatly covered during the Revolutionary War section of this book. I also am writing researching Mary Elizabeth Bowser, a free black woman. I will discuss what she during …show more content…
Armistead was a double spy during the American Revolution who volunteered to join the American Army on 1781 only after gaining consent from his owner and served in the French Army under the command of Marquis de Lafayette. Armistead was deployed to infiltrate the British Army; he did this by posing as a runaway slave which helped him enter the headquarters of General Charles Cornwallis as a spy against American for the British Army. While pretending to be a British spy, Armistead gained the confidence of General Benedict Arnold a treasons soldier who at one point had fought valiantly for American who is believed to have switched sides because he may have felt unappreciated and General Cornwallis. Arnold was convinced that Armistead as a runaway slave that he could use to guide British troops through local roads. Armistead often traveled between their camps spying on British officers, who would speak openly about their strategies in front of him. Armistead documented this information in written reports, delivered them to other American spies, and then returns to his owe camp. Although there were many spies during this time period Armistead information and notes proved to the most valuable of anyone else. Armistead, provided information that help Americans win the battle of Yorktown in the summer of 1738 which …show more content…
Her slave owner John Van Lew, was a wealthy hardware merchant who died sometime in 1843. That same year Mary along with other slaves gained their freedom by Elizabeth and Elizabeth mother. Even though Marry gained her freedom she still worked for the family as a free, paid servant. Mary was at an African American Quaker school when tension which would cause the civil war. Elizabeth Van Lew asked Mary to become a spy on April 12, 1861 for the Union Army. Mary agreed to help Elizabeth infiltrated the Confederate White House and work a servant slave, something she did up until the end of the Civil War. Things she did during her time in the Confederate White House where she changed her name to Ellen Bond so no one would know her actual indemnity. Mary even went as far as to having Varian Davis, Jefferson’s’ wife believe that she was not too bright, illiterate, slightly crazy, dim-witted she even acted as if she made them believe didn’t understand what they were talk about. Mary gain most of her information from the dusting off Jefferson Davis desk, she was use her photographic memory to memorize the papers on his desk as she went through them. Mary also gained information when she would serve dinner to visiting Confederate generals, as cleared the dishes or cleaned the kitchen. Mary would pass this information off to a baker name Thomas McNiven that would come to the