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Prince Estabrook

A monument dedicated to Prince Estabrook near Buckman Tavern in Lexington. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Prince Estabrook was born around 1740. Prince resided just east of Lexington Center with the family of his enslaver, Benjamin Estabrook.  It is likely that Prince was the son of a man named Tony, who was also enslaved by the Estabrook family.

On April 19, 1775, Prince was 35 years old and was a member of the Lexington militia.  He mustered with that militia under the command of Colonel John Parker during the early morning hours of April 19th. Prince Estabrook was struck by a musket ball in his left shoulder, making him the first Black soldier injured during the American Revolution.

A document entitled “Appendix – Soldiers of Color on April 19, 1775” states that a 35-year-old black slave from Lexington named Prince Estabrook serving in Colonel Parker’s militia was actively engaged in fighting and was wounded that day. A separate document titled ‘LIST of the Names of the PROVINCIALS who were Killed and Wounded in the late Engagement with His Majesty’s Troops at Concord, &c.’, under a heading listed as ‘Wounded Of Lexington’, the name ‘Prince Easterbrooks (a Negro Man)’ appears.

Over the course of the next eight years, he served several tours with the militia and with the Continental Army.  Unlike many enslaved and indentured soldiers, Prince Estabrook’s payment for serving in the military went to him.  

Prince Estabrook served the following tours:

Grave marker in Ashby for Prince Estabrook. (Photo courtesy findagrave.com)
  • Captain Parker’s company in Cambridge (now Lexington) (1775)
  • Colonel Jonathan Reed’s regiment at Fort Ticonderoga (1775 – 1776)
  • Colonel Eleazer Brook’s regiment at Cambridge (1776 – 1777)
  • Part of a group of men raised to reinforce the Continental Army (1780 – 1781)
  • Colonel John Greaton’s regiment (1782)
  • Colonel Michael Jackson’s regiment (1783)

It is unclear if Benjamin Estabrook had manumitted Prince Estabrook before he mustered out of Colonel Michael Jackson’s regiment in 1783.  However, we do know that Prince Estabrook was no longer enslaved in 1783. Through the Worcester Cases, also known as the Quock Walker Cases, Massachusetts became the first state to abolish slavery in in 1783.

Little record exists of Prince’s personal life, such as marriage records or if he had any children. He died in 1830 at around age 90, and was buried at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Ashby burial ground. A grave marker was erected there in 1930 by the U.S. War Department to honor Prince Estabrook’s service during the Revolutionary War.

Information Provided by Sean Osborne

Military Record Index
Military Record Index
Military Record Index