Jump to content
 







Main menu
   


Navigation  



Main page
Contents
Current events
Random article
About Wikipedia
Contact us
Donate
 




Contribute  



Help
Learn to edit
Community portal
Recent changes
Upload file
 








Search  

































Create account

Log in
 









Create account
 Log in
 




Pages for logged out editors learn more  



Contributions
Talk
 



















Contents

   



(Top)
 


1 Early life  





2 Military service  



2.1  Battle of Bunker Hill  







3 Later life and death  





4 Media portrayals  





5 References  



5.1  Sources  







6 External links  














Peter Salem: Difference between revisions






Español
Français

 

Edit links
 









Article
Talk
 

















Read
Edit
View history
 








Tools
   


Actions  



Read
Edit
View history
 




General  



What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Cite this page
Get shortened URL
Download QR code
Wikidata item
 




Print/export  



Download as PDF
Printable version
 




Print/export  







In other projects  



Wikimedia Commons
 
















Appearance
   

 





Coordinates: 42°1810N 71°2617W / 42.3028°N 71.4380°W / 42.3028; -71.4380

Help
 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 


Browse history interactively
 Previous editNext edit 
Content deleted Content added
Tag: Reverted
thanks, that image is almost certainly a copyright violation then ... remove it along with other unneeded parameters
(26 intermediate revisions by 14 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:

{{Short description|American Revolutionary War soldier (1750–1816)}}

{{Short description|American Revolutionary War soldier (1750–1816)}}

{{Infobox military person

{{Infobox military person

| honorific_prefix =

| honorific_prefix =

| name = Peter Salem

| name = Peter Salem

| honorific_suffix =

| honorific_suffix =

| image =

| image_size =

| image = Peter Salem.jpg

| image_size =

| alt =

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_name =

| caption = Salem {{circa|1770s}}

| native_name =

| other_name =

| native_name_lang =

| nickname =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1750|10|01}}

| birth_name =

| birth_place = [[Framingham, Massachusetts|Framingham]], [[Province of Massachusetts Bay|Massachusetts]], [[British America]]

| other_name =

| death_place = Framingham, [[Massachusetts]], U.S.

| nickname =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1750|10|01}}

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1816|08|16|1750|10|01}}

| placeofburial_label =

| birth_place = [[Framingham, Massachusetts|Framingham]], [[Province of Massachusetts Bay|Massachusetts]], [[British America]]

| death_place = Framingham, [[Massachusetts]], U.S.

| placeofburial = Framingham Old Burying Ground

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1816|08|16|1750|10|01}}

| placeofburial_label =

| placeofburial = Framingham Old Burying Ground

| placeofburial_coordinates = {{Coord|42.3028|-71.4380|display=inline,title}}

| placeofburial_coordinates = {{Coord|42.3028|-71.4380|display=inline,title}}

| allegiance = United States

| allegiance = United States

| branch = [[Continental Army]]

| branch = [[Continental Army]]

| serviceyears = 1775–1780

| serviceyears = 1775–1780

| rank = Private

| rank = Private

| servicenumber = <!-- Do not use data from primary sources such as service records -->

| servicenumber = <!-- Do not use data from primary sources such as service records -->

| unit =

| unit =

| commands =

| battles_label =

| commands =

| battles_label =

| battles = {{plainlist|

| battles = {{plainlist|

* [[Battle of Lexington]]

* [[Battle of Lexington]]

* [[Battle of Bunker Hill]]

* [[Battle of Bunker Hill]]

Line 34: Line 32:

* [[Battle of Stony Point]]

* [[Battle of Stony Point]]

}}

}}

| awards =

| awards =

| memorials =

| memorials =

| spouse = Katy Benson (1783–1816)

| relations =

| spouse = Katy Benson (1783–1816)

| relations =

| laterwork =

| laterwork =

| signature =

| signature_size =

| signature =

| signature_alt =

| signature_size =

| signature_alt =

| website = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->

| website = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->

| module =

| module =

}}

}}



Line 57: Line 55:


===Battle of Bunker Hill===

===Battle of Bunker Hill===

Salem, another hero of this event, fought with his company in the [[Battle of Bunker Hill]]. According to Samuel Swett, who chronicled the battle, Salem had mortally wounded [[Royal Marines]] officer [[John Pitcairn]] who died from a [[musket]] shot.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.voicesfortroops.org/content/publications-and-media/news-articles/2019-news-articles/Rising-Through-the-Ranks |title=MOAA - Rising Through the Ranks |website=www.voicesfortroops.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726203345/http://www.voicesfortroops.org/content/publications-and-media/news-articles/2019-news-articles/Rising-Through-the-Ranks/ |archive-date=2019-07-26}} </ref> This has been disputed.<ref name="ANB">{{cite web title=Salem, Peter|url=http://www.anb.org/articles/06/06-00893.html|website=American National Biography Online publisher=Oxford University Press|access-date=24 March 2017|quote=The identification of the black soldier in Trumbull's painting has since been widely disputed, and other African Americans in the colonial forces have been proposed as models for the figure.}}</ref><ref name="Davis">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.nybooks.com/articles/1989/05/18/it-wasnt-peter-salem/ |title=It Wasn't Peter Salem |newspaper=The New York Review of Books (Letter to the Editor) |date=May 18, 1989 |author=Davis, David Brion |access-date= December 18, 2015}}</ref> About a dozen other free African Americans took part in the battle, including Phillip Abbot of Andover Mass{{KIA}},<ref>[https://archive.org/details/vitalrecordsofan02ando/page/572 Vital records of Andover Mass p,573]</ref> [[Barzillai Lew]], [[Salem Poor]], Titus Coburn,<ref>[https://archive.org/details/vitalrecordsofan02ando/page/572 Died May 5,1821 age 81 Andover Mass Vital record .p.573]</ref> Alexander Ames, Cato Howe, and [[Seymour Burr]].

Salem, another hero of this event, fought with his company in the [[Battle of Bunker Hill]]. According to Samuel Swett, who chronicled the battle, Salem had mortally wounded [[Royal Marines]] officer [[John Pitcairn]] who died from a [[musket]] shot.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.voicesfortroops.org/content/publications-and-media/news-articles/2019-news-articles/Rising-Through-the-Ranks |title=MOAA - Rising Through the Ranks |website=www.voicesfortroops.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726203345/http://www.voicesfortroops.org/content/publications-and-media/news-articles/2019-news-articles/Rising-Through-the-Ranks/ |archive-date=2019-07-26}} </ref> This has been disputed.<ref name="ANB">{{cite web|title=Salem, Peter|url=http://www.anb.org/articles/06/06-00893.html|website=American National Biography Online|publisher=Oxford University Press|access-date=24 March 2017|quote=The identification of the black soldier in Trumbull's painting has since been widely disputed, and other African Americans in the colonial forces have been proposed as models for the figure.}}</ref><ref name="davis">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.nybooks.com/articles/1989/05/18/it-wasnt-peter-salem/ |title=It Wasn't Peter Salem |newspaper=The New York Review of Books (Letter to the Editor) |date=May 18, 1989 |author=Davis, David Brion |access-date= December 18, 2015}}</ref> About a dozen other free African Americans took part in the battle, including Phillip Abbot of Andover Mass{{KIA}},<ref>[https://archive.org/details/vitalrecordsofan02ando/page/572 Vital records of Andover Mass p,573]</ref> [[Barzillai Lew]], [[Salem Poor]], Titus Coburn,<ref>[https://archive.org/details/vitalrecordsofan02ando/page/572 Died May 5,1821 age 81 Andover Mass Vital record .p.573]</ref> Alexander Ames, Cato Howe, and [[Seymour Burr]].



Salem reenlisted for another year in the [[4th Continental Regiment]] on January 1, 1776. When that enlistment expired, he signed up for three years in the [[6th Massachusetts Regiment]] of Colonel Thomas Nixon, a brother of Colonel John Nixon. He was honorably discharged on December 31, 1779, having served a total of four years and eight months.<ref name="Revolutionary War pp. 743">''Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War.'' Vol. 13, pp. 743–744.</ref>

Salem reenlisted for another year in the [[4th Continental Regiment]] on January 1, 1776. When that enlistment expired, he signed up for three years in the [[6th Massachusetts Regiment]] of Colonel Thomas Nixon, a brother of Colonel John Nixon. He was honorably discharged on December 31, 1779, having served a total of four years and eight months.<ref name="Revolutionary War pp. 743">''Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War.'' Vol. 13, pp. 743–744.</ref>


Revision as of 00:59, 5 April 2024

Peter Salem
Born(1750-10-01)October 1, 1750
Framingham, Massachusetts, British America
DiedAugust 16, 1816(1816-08-16) (aged 65)
Framingham, Massachusetts, U.S.
Buried
Framingham Old Burying Ground
42°18′10N 71°26′17W / 42.3028°N 71.4380°W / 42.3028; -71.4380
AllegianceUnited States
Service/branchContinental Army
Years of service1775–1780
RankPrivate
Battles/wars
  • Battle of Bunker Hill
  • Battle of Saratoga
  • Battle of Stony Point
  • Spouse(s)Katy Benson (1783–1816)

    Peter Salem (October 1, 1750 – August 16, 1816)[1] was an African-American from Massachusetts who served as a U.S. soldier in the American Revolutionary War. Born into slavery in Framingham, he was freed by a later master, Major Lawson Buckminster, to serve in the local militia. He then enlisted in the Continental Army, serving for nearly five years during the war. Afterwards, he married and worked as a cane weaver. A monument was erected to him in the late 19th century at his grave in Framingham.

    Early life

    Peter Salem was born on October 1, 1750, to an enslaved mother in Framingham, Province of Massachusetts Bay.[2][3] His enslaver was Jeremiah Belknap,[4] who later sold him to Major Lawson Buckminster.[4] When Buckminster became a major in the Continental Army, he emancipated Salem in 1775 so he could enlist in the Massachusetts militia in what soon became the Revolutionary War.[5][6]

    Salem's last name may have been given to him by his original enslaver Belknap, who may have chosen the name after Salem, Massachusetts, where he once lived.[5] His last name may also be derived from the Arabic word "salaam", meaning peace.[7]

    Military service

    Salem took part in the war's first battles at Concord on April 19, 1775. He is on the roll of Captain Simon Edgell's militia company from Framingham as having served four days from April 19, 1775.[8] On April 24, he enlisted in Captain Drury's company of Colonel John Nixon's 6th Massachusetts Regiment.[9]

    Battle of Bunker Hill

    Salem, another hero of this event, fought with his company in the Battle of Bunker Hill. According to Samuel Swett, who chronicled the battle, Salem had mortally wounded Royal Marines officer John Pitcairn who died from a musket shot.[10] This has been disputed.[5][11] About a dozen other free African Americans took part in the battle, including Phillip Abbot of Andover Mass ,[12] Barzillai Lew, Salem Poor, Titus Coburn,[13] Alexander Ames, Cato Howe, and Seymour Burr.

    Salem reenlisted for another year in the 4th Continental Regiment on January 1, 1776. When that enlistment expired, he signed up for three years in the 6th Massachusetts Regiment of Colonel Thomas Nixon, a brother of Colonel John Nixon. He was honorably discharged on December 31, 1779, having served a total of four years and eight months.[14]

    Salem apparently extended his enlistment for two months and served with Captain Claye's Company of Colonel Nixon's Regiment from January 1 to March 1, 1780.[14]

    Salem fought at the battles of Saratoga and Stony Point.[11][15]

    Later life and death

    Salem spent the rest of his life living peacefully. He married Katy Benson in Salem, Massachusetts in September 1783,[9] and he later built a cabin near Leicester, where he worked as a cane weaver.[1]

    Peter Salem died on August 16, 1816, aged 65.[1] He was buried in the Old Burying Ground in Framingham, and the town spent $150 to erect a monument in his memory in 1882.[9]

    Media portrayals

    At one time Salem was thought to have been depicted in John Trumbull's painting The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker's Hill, June 17, 1775. Modern authorities differ. David Barton[16] identifies Salem standing to Thomas Grosvenor's right. Professor David Brion Davis, citing evidence from Professor Sidney Kaplan,[11] states that the African American to Thomas Grosvenor's right "was Peter Salem".

    Peter Salem is one of the supporting characters in the 2015 television miniseries Sons of Liberty. He is played by British actor Jimmy Akingbola.[17]

    References

    1. ^ a b c BlackPast.org "Salem, Peter"
  • ^ Smithsonian NMAAHC
  • ^ Celebrate Boston "Peter Salem"
  • ^ a b American National Biography "Salem, Peter"
  • ^ a b c "Salem, Peter". American National Biography Online. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 24 March 2017. The identification of the black soldier in Trumbull's painting has since been widely disputed, and other African Americans in the colonial forces have been proposed as models for the figure.
  • ^ Barry, William (1847). A History of Framingham, Massachusetts: Including the Plantation, from 1640 to the Present Time, with an Appendix, Containing a Notice of Sudbury and Its First Proprietors; Also, a Register of the Inhabitants of Framingham Before 1800, with Genealogical Sketches. Framingham, Massachusetts: J. Monroe and Company. p. 160. Retrieved 2013-08-13. Peter Salem.
  • ^ "African Muslims in Early America". National Museum of African American History and Culture. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  • ^ History of Framingham, p. 278.
  • ^ a b c Quintal, George (2004). Patriots of Color: A Peculiar Beauty and Merit, African Americans and Native Americans at Battle Road and Bunker Hill. Boston, MA: Division of Cultural Resources, Boston National Historical Park. pp. 190–196. ISBN 0160749808. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
  • ^ "MOAA - Rising Through the Ranks". www.voicesfortroops.org. Archived from the original on 2019-07-26.
  • ^ a b c Davis, David Brion (May 18, 1989). "It Wasn't Peter Salem". The New York Review of Books (Letter to the Editor). Retrieved December 18, 2015.
  • ^ Vital records of Andover Mass p,573
  • ^ Died May 5,1821 age 81 Andover Mass Vital record .p.573
  • ^ a b Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War. Vol. 13, pp. 743–744.
  • ^ Sidney and Emma Nogrady Kaplan, The Black Presence in the Era of the American Revolution, Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 1989 revised edition.
  • ^ David Barton,Setting the Record Straight: American History in Black & White, WallBuilder Press; 1st edition (September 1, 2004), p.5
  • ^ IMDb "Sons of Liberty: The Uprising"
  • Sources

    External links


    Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Peter_Salem&oldid=1217301692"

    Categories: 
    1750 births
    1816 deaths
    18th-century American slaves
    People from Leicester, Massachusetts
    People from Framingham, Massachusetts
    African-American history of Massachusetts
    Black Patriots
    Free people of color
    Hidden categories: 
    Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
    Articles with short description
    Short description is different from Wikidata
    Coordinates not on Wikidata
    Articles with FAST identifiers
    Articles with VIAF identifiers
    Articles with WorldCat Entities identifiers
    Articles with LCCN identifiers
     



    This page was last edited on 5 April 2024, at 00:59 (UTC).

    This version of the page has been revised. Besides normal editing, the reason for revision may have been that this version contains factual inaccuracies, vandalism, or material not compatible with the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.



    Privacy policy

    About Wikipedia

    Disclaimers

    Contact Wikipedia

    Code of Conduct

    Developers

    Statistics

    Cookie statement

    Mobile view



    Wikimedia Foundation
    Powered by MediaWiki