Private James Anthony*
James Anthony was a Black and Indigenous veteran of the Revolutionary War from Natick. He is believed to be one of over 100 Praying Indians and one of over 5,000 Black Patriots of Massachusetts who enlisted in Continental Army. Praying Indians were Indigenous people who converted to the Puritan religion, established homesteads in Praying towns like Natick and Mashpee, and sometimes intermarried with Black and White neighbors. Anthony is a common name of the Narragansett Tribe of the Charlestown, RI area.
On April 21, 1775, two days after the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the Massachusetts Committee on Safety voted to enlist 8,000 of men and organize them into regiments. A few weeks later, on May 2, 1775, James Anthony enlisted in the company of Capt. James Mellen, in Col. Jonathan Ward’s regiment. Ward's Regiment, also known as the 21st Continental Regiment, was raised April 23, 1775, as a Massachusetts militia regiment at Cambridge, Massachusetts. The regiment joined the Continental Army in June 1775. Private Anthony and the regiment saw action during the Siege of Boston. The Siege of Boston was the eleven-month period from 19 April 1775 to 17 March 1776 when colonial militiamen effectively contained British troops within Boston, and after the Battle of Bunker Hill, to the peninsula of Charlestown. Private Anthony served honorably with the 21st Continental Regiment for 8 months.
Private Anthony enlisted for three years in the Continental Army on March 14, 1777. He initially served in Capt. Reuben Slayton’s company in Col. William Shepard’s 4th Massachusetts Regiment. This unit fought valiantly at both Battles of Saratoga and then spent the winter at Valley Forge. In 1778, Private Anthony and the 4th Massachusetts Regiment fought in the Battle of Rhode Island. Having completed his enlistment, Private Anthony was honorably discharged on March 14, 1780.
Natick is listed as Private Anthony’s hometown on the list of Massachusetts’ African American Soldiers, Marines and Patriots of the Revolutionary War.
Note: More often than not, service, vital, and/or other historical records were created and kept by men of English and European backgrounds. They employed a wide range of descriptive terms, such as "mulatto," negro," and "dark complexion." These terms cannot fully capture any soldier's identity, but they do offer clues. In some cases, the surname of a soldier of color connects him to a Natick family that is well documented. Often, these soldiers are Indigenous men. The biographies in this project make it possible to say more not only about a soldier's identity or background, but also about the life he led in Natick and beyond.