Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

During the American Revolutionary War, minority groups were vital to the American victory, and were involved on both the Patriot and Loyalist sides as soldiers, sailors, craftsmen, laborers, and farmers. Although the original call to arms was aimed at men, there were several women who fought as American patriots. In 1782, Deborah Sampson Gannett of Plympton, Massachusetts disguised herself as a man named Robert Shurtleff and joined the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment. Many soldiers in the war were enslaved Africans and African Americans who were promised freedom in exchange for their service. Approximately 20,000 African Americans fought against the rebellion as Black Loyalists, while around 9,000 became Black Patriots. Immigrants from the Caribbean, France, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Scotland, Spain, and other European regions travelled to support the Patriot cause as foreign troops. Various Native American tribes fought on both sides as well, faced with the challenges of preserving their land and independence amidst the war.