"Men of Color, Men of Valor - African-Americans on board the Frigate South Carolina" and is dated "01/22/2015".
"Men of Color, Men of Valor - African-Americans on board the Frigate South Carolina, Pt. II - Additional Information" and is dated "10/10/2015".
This individual post may be very short because the new information located references only a single man - Anthony Porcy -and might possibly be conjectural in nature.
The information presented in this post is taken from the following sources:
Grundset, Eric G., editor. Forgotten Patriots: African-American and American Indian Patriots in the Revolutionary War, (Washington, DC: National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, 2008.)
Grundset, Eric G. and Jean David Strahan, editors. "Chapter Twelve: Miscellaneous Naval Records" in African-American and American Indian Patriots of the Revolutionary War, (Washington, DC: National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, 2001.)
Holcomb, Brent H., compiler. Index of the 1800 Census of South Carolina, (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1980.)
Lewis, James A. Neptune's Militia: The Frigate South Carolina during the American Revolution, (Kent, OH: The Kent State University Press, 1999.)
In the two earlier posts cited above, the writer of this blog has introduced the topic of African-Americans who served on board the frigate South Carolina. In the opinion of the writer of this blog, this is a fascinating facet of American history. The patriot military forces fielded during the course of the American Revolution were the last American combat force prior to the Korean War that was integrated in any fashion. Especially in a maritime realm, the African-American sailors found a greater degree of freedom and responsibility due to their skills at handling ships and larger coastal water-craft. Through the course of this overall blog, the writer of this blog has been able to document the services of at least six African-Americans on board the frigate South Carolina. Their names are as follows:
South Carolina
Dublin Gillon
Pompey Gazer (or Grazer)
Premius Griffen (or Griffin, Griffon, Grisson)
Hector McKenzie
Anthony Porcy (or Povey, Percy)
As has already been stated, the first two mentioned - South Carolina and Dublin Gillon - are almost certainly enslaved individuals. These men, more than likely, held as enslaved individuals to someone on board the frigate South Carolina, possibly Commodore Alexander Gillon. At issue here is the status of the remaining four men. At least some of them were certainly free men who volunteered for service on board the patriot frigate. But, as has been the case with many, many other African-American servicemen, nothing else is recorded concerning their subsequent services or their lives after the cessation of hostilities with Great Britain. But, the writer of this blog has come across a small bit of information that might possibly "fill out" the life details a bit more for one of these men. Again, the information shared in this specific post might be completely conjectural in nature, but there does exist the possibility that it could actually inform on the life of one of the above cited African-American men - that of Anthony Porcy (or Povey or Percy).
Just a bit of information in the way of the special relationship that existed between the African-American community and the seaboard areas of the rebelling colonies. According to Grundset's work, Forgotten Patriots, page 653:
"The navies of the various states provided a major venue for the participation of African Americans and Indians who lived in the coastal areas and ports...
Negroes served in the improvised American navy and were thus actively identified with the birth of this arm of the service. On nearly every ship they were utilized as cooks, landsmen, sailors, carpenter's mates or marines. Vessels like the Aurora, the Julius Caesar, the Hazard, the Adventure, and the South Carolina were only a few of the ships carrying Negroes in their crews...
The lack of detailed ship crew lists or lists that indicate the color of crewmen makes identification of these men all the more difficult.".
Above, the writer of this blog has cited both the titles and posting dates of the two previous posts concerning the services of the identified African-Americans who served on board the frigate South Carolina. The writer sees no need for a repetition of information contained within these two previous posts. The individual titles of both of these posts are cited here so that someone can reference these separate posts for additional information.
The individual in question here - Anthony Porcy - has his last name spelled in various different ways. According to Lewis's work, Neptune's Militia, section entitled "Appendix: Crew and Marines of the South Carolina", page 161 cites his name as "Anthony Porcy (Povey)". According to Grundset's work, Forgotten Patriots, under the section headed "Miscellaneous Naval Service Records", page 655, he is cited as "Anthony Porcy". Yet, according to this same work, page 595, he is cited as "Anthony Porcy/Povey/Percy". As can be seen from these various different examples of the spellings of his name, the first name is consistently "Anthony" and the last name has three possible variants - "Porcy, Povey or Percy".
According to Holcomb's work, Index to the 1800 Census of South Carolina, page 193, the following incomplete and cryptic entry is found:
Name: County (District): Page Number:
Pirssey (free black) Spartanburg 171
(Note: the place of occurrence of this name in the index is rather unusual. It should have been alphabetically included in the "Pirs--" section of the work/index and should thus appear correctly categorized on page 189. Instead, it appears between the "Pris--" and the "Prit---" on page 193 and is thus improperly categorized due to a misspelling of the last name of this otherwise unidentified individual.)
No first name is provided for this individual only known as "Pirssey". This man's last name could easily be the phonetic spelling of "Percy" or even a phonetic misspelling of "Porcy". The writer of this blog has cursorily skimmed the Holcomb work and found no other citations that have the parenthetical addition that occurs after the entry for "Pirssey" - that of "free black".
There is one factor concerning this entry that could possibly indicate that the individual is not Anthony Porcy/Percy. The individual is referenced in the census as it was taken in Spartanburg County, SC. In 1800, the date of the census, this newly formed county was located at the extreme opposite corner of South Carolina from Charleston, SC, which was the large maritime port of the state. One would assume that a person of common means who had made his life in seaborne pursuits would have settled permanently near the ocean. Spartanburg County, SC is no where near the ocean in terms of South Carolinian geography. But, any number of reasons could have compelled or induced Anthony Porcy/Percy to remove form the coastal areas of South Carolina and move to Spartanburg County, SC. Possibly, his land allotment was located there. Also, he might have had members of his immediate family, possibly grown children, who resided there. But, as with so many of the other crew members and marines who served on board the frigate South Carolina during the American Revolution, he might have also felt that he needed a "fresh start" after the cessation of hostilities. The promise of the new country could easily have drawn him to leave the familiar and seek his fortune or new life to the west.
Once again, this is all conjectural in nature. This indeed may not be Anthony Porcy/Percy. But, the addition - "free black" - at least cast some degree of possibility that this could be one and the same man. The possibility does exist...