George Washington appointed Egbert Benson, William S. Smith, and Daniel Parker to be Commissioners of Embarkation and oversee the British evacuation from the United States at the conclusion of the Revolutionary War. Benson and Parker sent this letter from New York City to General Washington, reporting that the British were not following the agreements made in the treaty that ended the war.
Per the Preliminary Articles of Peace, signed in Paris on November 30, 1782, the United Kingdom was to return all property seized during the War, including slaves. After trying to restore a horse taken from a Mr. James Vanderburgh, the commissioners reported that “We conceive it is now reduced to a certainty, that all applications for the delivery of property will be fruitless, and We shall therefore desist from them.”
The commissioners also reported on former slaves being evacuated by the British and asked Washington what to do about it. Per the treaty, the United States demanded the return of escaped slaves. But Sir Guy Carleton, commander of British forces during the Revolutionary War, countered that, under the King’s orders, slaves reaching British lines were to be freed. Sir Carleton intended to keep the promise of freedom that was made to African Americans who joined and fought for the British.
The “Book of Negroes, or “Inspection Roll of Negroes” as the American version is called, listed those who were evacuated – to tally the loss of “property” for which the British government might compensate the United States at a later date. (No record of that payment has been found.) In 1792, over 1,000 of the new African Canadians continued on and settled back on the continent of Africa, establishing the city of Freetown, Sierra Leone.
