The situation is dire. Washington needs more men—and he needs them fast—if he wants his shrinking army to survive in the coming year. Washington’s northern generals impress upon him the practical wisdom of allowing blacks to serve in the army. As Massachusetts General John Thomas puts it regarding black soldiers he led at Bunker Hill: “I look upon them in general [as] equally serviceable with other men … many of them have proved themselves brave.” Washington also learns that the black soldiers who served so well in the Massachusetts militia are now resentful that they can’t join the new
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