The American Revolution's Unsung Heroes.

Historically in America, history of independence has always been recounted in titles of great men: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, etc. What if the real spirit of the American Revolution is actually not among signers of the Declaration of Independence or war generals but among regular people whose history has not so frequently been recounted?

When the American colonies rose up in the 18th century, the fight for liberty was not fought on battlefields or in deceitful politics inside governments. It was fought on streets, in homes, and in the hearts of ordinary Americans. The most unsung heroes of the period were women, Native Americans, and African slaves—all playing their parts to determine the fate of the country.

The New York Spy Ring

The biggest spy scandal of the American Revolution was the "Culper Spy Ring," a woman's ring operated under a woman named Anna Strong. The spy ring gave George Washington intelligence that enabled the Continental Army to prepare for the British soldiers and achieve mammoth victories. Anna was merely a simple Long Island woman who masterfully utilized a clothesline as an escape mechanism to utilize as a passageway of messages—her genius in everyday life and hiding secret messages.

Her women spy network worked behind the scenes, and never openly as the men did, but were priceless. They are the world's unknown spymasters—living anonymously in an age when women's lives customarily lived in the home.

The Native American Role

The Revolutionary War was a challenging time for Native American states, whose homelands and existence were crumbling as they encountered expanding colonialism. All but the majority contributed to the war effort, such as the Oneida, the Mohawk, and the Cherokee. A few stayed with the Americans in the hope that there would be more control over the new republic, while some sided with the British on the understanding that they would continue to be immune to invasion by colonies in the future.

The Oneidas, naturally, are best known generally for the invaluable service of the tribe to the American war cause during the war. The tribe contributed soldiers who fought under General Benedict Arnold during the Battle of Saratoga, the turning point of the war and who worked to try to persuade France to join the side of America. Without the Oneidas' soldiers, the war quite possibly might have been won in a very different way.

And where Native Americans were neglected and forgotten nearly in the construction of the post-war new nation state, for their service, their lands taken away from them, their cultures suppressed, no one ever could doubt their role in the cause of freedom by their act in the fight against.

Enslaved Africans and the Promise of Freedom

The most unseen and most heart-wrenching tales of the Revolution are those of the African slaves who were taught to view war as a gateway to possible freedom. The Americans promised freedom to the slaves who would fight and serve on their side, and the British to those slaves who would fight against the Americans. Thousands of slaves like Continental spy and Virginia slave James Armistead wagered everything on the broken vow. James Armistead's spy work contributed to Britain's defeat at Yorktown, but his reward, freedom, came hard and after fighting hard to achieve it.

The struggle for liberty was also the struggle of the colonists and that of the slaves. Whatever these people brought to the country, with most not being able to witness the fruit of their labor because they did not survive, is a reflection of the will of the nation and its birth.

The Rebirth of the Nation

Following the war, the state that was formed was not one that it had dreamed of. The state was a precarious balancing act, constructed on dreams of justice and liberty. But to make these ideals a reality with the harsh realities of slavery, women's suffrage, and the sovereignty of Native Americans would be a specter that would haunt America for centuries to come.

But even in these difficult times, the revolutionary mood of the American Revolution—the mood of freedom, the cry of equality—was more intense than in the movements that followed and transformed the nation. From the battle against abolition and the battle for suffrage to the battle for civil rights and fights for equality today, the Revolution is invoked.

Conclusion

Though American Revolution revolutionaries are most famously associated with powdered wigs, the power of the Revolution itself lies in the unbridled passion of all Americans—those whose histories are not known to us and those who continue to fight for the dream of liberty and justice. The American Revolution is at once a story of victory and a history of perseverance in constructing a nation that answers to the vision of its creators. Through recalling the Revolution's lesser-known heroes, we honor their labor and ensure the fire of liberty will never grow cold for future generations.