Descriptive List of Captain Lincoln's Company

This “Descriptive List” list of fifty-one noncommissioned officers and soldiers in Captain Rufus Lincoln’s Company of the 7th Massachusetts Regiment provides fascinating personal details of men—including five African Americans—who served in the final campaigns of the War of Independence. Captain Lincoln’s men came from several Massachusetts counties, reflecting a growing scarcity of recruits that forced officers to search widely for new soldiers. By this stage in the conflict, many military and political leaders who had earlier resisted the enlistment of enslaved and free African Americans changed their opinions. Black soldiers had performed admirably in battle, and in many states they provided a much needed source of manpower to keep the regiments full. Historians estimate that more than five thousand African Americans enlisted in the Continental Army, most serving in integrated units like Captain Lincoln’s Company