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Caesar Tarrant[a] (1740–1797) was an American boat pilot who served as a patriot in the American Revolutionary War. Born a slave, Tarrant's skill as a pilot aboard the Patriot led to his manumission by the state after the war.[1][2]

Early life

Tarrant was from Hampton, Virginia, home to many river boat pilots. Though a slave, by the time he was a young adult he had learned how to pilot vessels through the nearby riverways. He was sold once after gaining this skill and it increased his sale price. He married Lucy, a woman enslaved by a different owner, and they had three children.[1]

Revolutionary War

Lord Dunmore, governor of the Colony of Virginia, responded in 1775 to early revolutionary actions by recruiting Virginians to strike back. He issued Dunmore's Proclamation, offering freedom to any enslaved people who fought for the crown.[1] Hundreds signed up to fight with him, but Tarrant decided instead to fight for the patriots.[3][1]

The Virginia Navy hired Tarrant as a pilot, placing him on several vessels during the war. While serving on the Patriot in 1778, Tarrant participated in a battle at the Virginia Capes, a high priority area for the navy.[4] Tarrant out-maneuvered and rammed the Lord Howe, a British privateer vessel. Both sides took injuries and the British ship escaped, but Tarrant garnered praise from his captain, who said he "behaved gallantly".[1][4]

After the war

Having served in the state navy for three years,[b] Tarrant returned home to Hampton. The state and fledgling United States governments had not promised freedom to slaves fighting on the patriots' side. Tarrant remained enslaved and was passed on to his owner's daughter after his death in 1784.[1]

The act is titled An act for the purchase and manumitting negro Cæsar. It provides for the purchase of Caesar from owner Mary Tarrant, after which the state will manumit him. The full text of the act follows. An act for the purchase and manumitting negro Cæsar. (Passed the 14th of November, 1789.) WHEREAS it is represented to this Assembly, that Mary Tarrant of the county of Elizabeth City, hath her life in a negro named Cæsar, who entered very early into the service of his country, and continued to pilot the armed vessels of this state during the late war; in consideration of which meritorious services it is judged expedient to purchase the freedom of the said Cæsar; Be it therefore enacted by the General Assembly, that the executive shall appoint a proper person to contract with the said Mary Tarrant for the purchase of the said Cæsar, and if they should agree, the person so appointed by the executive shall deliver to the said Mary Tarrant a certificate expressing such purchase and the sum, and upon producing such certificate to the auditor of the accounts, he shall issue a warrant for the same to the treasurer, to be by him paid out of the lighthouse fund. And be it further enacted, that from and after the execution of a certificate aforesaid, the said Cæsar shall be manumitted and set free to all intents and purposes.
The 1789 Virginia General Assembly statute that freed Tarrant from slavery

In 1789, the Virginia General Assembly directed the executive branch to purchase Tarrant and manumit him. The purchase was concluded that year, and the newly-free Tarrant began freeing the rest of his family.[1]

Legacy

In his will, written in 1796, Tarrant willed his property in Hampton to his wife, with half to go to their daughter Nancy upon Lucy's death. His son Sampson also inherited some property. Lucy sold part of the estate to free their daughter Lidy from slavery.[7][1][c]

Two schools in Hampton were named after Tarrant. Cesar Tarrant Elementary closed in 2015. Cesar Tarrant Middle School was renamed from Jefferson Davis Middle School in 2018, with support for the renaming increasing in part due to backlash against the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.[8]

Notes

  1. ^ Sometimes spelled "Cesar" or "Terrant"
  2. ^ Historian Luther Porter Jackson writes that Tarrant "was a pilot for four years",[5] but he later refers to Tarrant's daughter seeking a land grant bounty for her father's "three years' services".[6]
  3. ^ His daughter's name is sometimes spelled "Lydia". (Hucles 2000)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Hucles, Michael E. (February 2000). "Tarrant, Caesar (1740–1797), patriot". American National Biography. doi:10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.0200310.
  2. ^ Jackson 1942, p. 274.
  3. ^ Jackson 1942, p. 249.
  4. ^ a b Tormey 2016, p. 84.
  5. ^ Jackson 1942, p. 268.
  6. ^ Jackson 1942, p. 276.
  7. ^ Jackson 1942, pp. 283–284.
  8. ^ Hammond, Jane (August 31, 2018). "After 2 years of discussion, Davis Middle to open with new name honoring slave, war hero from Hampton". Daily Press. Virginia. Retrieved June 2, 2022.

Bibliography

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesar_Tarrant