Tobiah was a patriot. With the political principles of his master, and so many others of the residents of that tory neighborhood, he had no sympathy. He had, indeed, no very precise idea of the issues involved in the war. Books and papers afforded him but scant information, for he had little ability or leisure for reading. But he was skillful in learning from others. He listened attentively to the conversation of persons who came to the inn, to the stories of soldiers that had been in the army, and even what was said by the tories themselves in their denunciations of the war and of all who were engaged in it. It was enough that it was a struggle for freedom. Liberty was to Tobiah a word of transcendent import, and he could not hesitate, when this was the question in dispute, on which side to bestow his sympathy.
The same thing was true, as a general rule, with the colored people throughout the colonies. Though slavery existed under the colonial laws, yet it was of a far milder type than that which was maintained in the West Indies. The slave trade was carried on in English ships, and under the authority and patronage of the British crown. When the colonies had attempted to abolish the infamous traffic, their enactments were overruled and annulled by the acts of Parliament. It was one of the most stinging charges hurled against King George III., in the first draft of the Declaration of Independence, that he had thus protected the slave trade; and though the paragraph was finally stricken out of that immortal document before it was adopted, yet everybody knew it was true. Said Jefferson, its author,–
Not only, therefore, on general grounds of political right, but also as specially connected with the condition of their own race, were the colored people of that day friends to the cause of Independence. The very leader of the mob that assailed the British troops at the time of the famous Boston Massacre, and the first that was shot down by them, was Crispus Attucks, who, twenty years before, had been advertised in the Boston Gazette as a runaway slave, with a reward of ten pounds offered for his return to his master. At the battle of Bunker Hill, one of the most memorable events was the shooting of Major Pitcairn, of the British army, by the colored soldier, Peter Salem, a fact appropriately commemorated by Colonel Trumbull in his celebrated painting of that battle.
Another event in which a negro bore a conspicuous
part was the capture of the British General Prescott,
at Newport, in 1777.
These events, and many others in which colored men showed their bravery and fidelity to the cause of the colonies, were much talked of, at the time, throughout the country, and Tobiah was very proud of them. The battle of Bunker Hill particularly excited his most intense enthusiasm. Though it was apparently a defeat for the patriot troops, yet in its effects – inspiring courage and hope – it was equivalent to a victory. That the raw Yankee troops should dare to meet the veteran soldiers of Britain, – the veritable red-coats; – should stand their fire and return it with such deadly effect, and, but for the failure of their ammunition, should have had the certainty of victory, was too much almost for belief. Tobiah loved to repeat the story, with such embellishments as his own fervid imagination suggested. Especially did he never omit to mention the brave deed of Peter Salem.
Tobiah's patriotism at last won for him the boon
which, more than all things else, he craved - his
freedom. I have before spoken of the law which authorized
the towns to permit the emancipation of
slaves on condition of their enlistment into the army.
In pursuance of this law, we find, in the records of
Derby, that at a town meeting, held January 8, 1781,
From a considerable period before the Revolution
there has prevailed among the negroes a singular custom,
which may not improperly be mentioned here.
It is that of choosing annually, from among themselves,
a governor of Connecticut.
Such a day, of course would be one of high account among the colored people. Those who lived within any moderate distance of the capital were sure to be there, arrayed in their very best. Not a few, from the more distant parts, came also as servants in attendance upon their masters. It followed, therefore, that the colored people of the state were well represented on these occasions, and in imitation of their superiors, they, too, elected a governor, who was uniformly treated with great attention, and always addressed by that title.
At the election in May, 1776, Governor Cuff, who had held his office ten years, resigned, and a successor was appointed. This event was formally announced to the public in the following proclamation:–
Hartford, May 11, 1776.
It will hardly be believed that this farcical affair awakened great alarm among the white authorities. The Governor Skene whose servant succeeded to the sable gubernatorial dignity was a tory who had been in command of the forts at Ticonderoga and Crown Point at the time of their capture by Colonel Ethan Allen, and was now a prisoner on parole at Hartford.
It was feared that this choice of his servant had been instigated by him with the design of bringing the negroes of the colony under the influence of the tory party. It was a critical time in public affairs, and the people were jealous and alarmed at the rustling of every leaf. Skene denied having had anything to do with the appointment, and after a rigid examination of both him and the blacks, it was concluded that there was no cause for alarm. Still, there was so much apprehension of possible evil that neither the new governor nor any of the suspected tory negroes were permitted to pay anything for the expenses of the election. A dance and entertainment were held at the tavern at a cost of fifty shillings, which was paid by Majors French and Dermet.
In consequence, doubtless, of the impossibility of assembling from all parts of the state at the capital, the practice or choosing a governor for the whole commonwealth gradually ceased, and different localities chose each such a dignitary for itself. In Derby and the vicinity, this has continued to the present time. Tobiah was early elevated to this high office, and bore its honors and responsibilities with all becoming dignity. Of late years, we are informed, the election has generally been bestowed by rotation. The occasion is celebrated by a military parade, a procession, horseback and on foot, and music, ending with a supper and dancing. And though those engaged in it have been often laughed at by their more fortunate fellow-citizens of a lighter hue, it may at least be truly said that the day has rarely been disgraced by fighting or drunkenness. While never a St. Patrick's Day nor a Fourth of July passes without broken heads and bloody noses, the blacks, who have been despised as inferior to Saxon and Celt, have enjoyed their harmless fun without disturbing the peace, or sending new recruits to the almshouse or penitentiary.