Black Company of Pioneers | |
---|---|
Active | 1777–1783 |
Country | British America |
Allegiance | Britain |
Branch | British provincial unit |
Type | Labour detail, (auxiliary troops) |
Role | Construction, street cleaning, garbage collection |
Size | Company (50–70) |
Nickname(s) | Black Pioneers, Clinton's Black Pioneers |
Motto(s) | Liberty to Slaves |
Engagements | American Revolutionary War (no combat experience, except for former soldiers, coming from the disbanded Ethiopian Regiment) |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | General Sir Henry Clinton Major James Moncrief |
The Black Company of Pioneers, also known as the Black Pioneers and Clinton's Black Pioneers, were a British Provincial military unit raised for Loyalist service during the American Revolutionary War. The Black Loyalist company was raised by General Sir Henry as a non-combatant replacement force for the disbanded Ethiopian Regiment in Philadelphia in late 1777 or early 1778. Pioneers were soldiers employed to perform engineering and construction tasks. In 1778, the Pioneers merged into the Guides and Pioneers, led by Colonel Beverley Robinson in New York. Its company commanders were Captain Allen Stewart and Captain Donald McPherson. In 1783, the company was disbanded in Port Roseway, Canada, now Shelburne, Nova Scotia.