Prince Estabrook was an enslaved Black man from Massachusetts who became one of the very first soldiers – and very likely the first Black soldier – wounded in the American Revolution, fighting on Lexington Green on April 19, 1775. His story matters because it highlights how enslaved Africans were fighting for American independence even while they themselves were denied freedom.

Who was Prince Estabrook?

  • Prince Estabrook was born around 1740–1741, in or near Lexington/Ashby, Massachusetts, and was enslaved by the Estabrook family, particularly Benjamin Estabrook.
  • As an enslaved man, he took his enslaver’s surname “Estabrook,” which was common practice in New England slavery.
  • Despite laws and customs that restricted Black participation in militia training, he joined the Lexington militia (Minutemen) by about 1773.

A contemporary broadside listing the wounded at Lexington described him simply as “a Negro Man” and recorded him among the casualties, which is one of the key primary sources confirming his presence and injury in the battle.

What did he do on April 19, 1775?

  • At dawn on April 19, 1775, Estabrook stood with more than 70–80 men of Captain John Parker’s Lexington militia on Lexington Green as British regulars approached, in what became the first clash of the Revolutionary War.
  • During the brief but deadly skirmish, he was shot and wounded, making him one of the first Americans to shed blood in the war and widely regarded as the first Black soldier wounded in the American Revolution.

This moment is symbolically powerful: a Black enslaved man being wounded in the opening shots of a war that was publicly about “liberty” and “rights.”

His continued Revolutionary War service

Prince Estabrook did not stop serving after Lexington Green.

  • He served with local militia during the Siege of Boston in 1775, including short-term duty in Cambridge as part of detachments ordered by Massachusetts authorities.
  • He later served intermittently in the Continental Army, including:
    • Guarding British prisoners of war in Cambridge around 1777–1778.
* Enlisting for multiple terms, including a six‑month enlistment in 1780 and further service up to about 1783, likely in the Massachusetts 3rd Regiment, working on fortifications in New York and serving in active field units.

In many early phases of his service, the pay for his military duty was recorded as going to his enslaver, underlining the contradiction that he was fighting for “freedom” while still legally property.

By the end of his long wartime service, Massachusetts’ highest court had effectively abolished slavery in the state, and Estabrook was living as a free man.

Why Prince Estabrook matters in American history

Prince Estabrook’s contribution to American history can be understood on several levels:

  • Early Black participation in the Revolution
    He is one of the earliest documented Black combatants in the American Revolution and likely the first Black soldier wounded in the conflict. This challenges older narratives that sidelined African Americans from the founding story.
  • Symbol of the “double struggle”
    His life embodies the “double struggle”: fighting both for American independence and for Black freedom from slavery. The fact that an enslaved man bled on day one of the war exposes the gap between revolutionary ideals and social reality.
  • Evidence of large-scale Black military service
    Estabrook is one of thousands of African Americans who served on the Patriot side; his detailed record provides a concrete, personal example used by historians to illustrate that broader pattern.
  • Modern remembrance and public history
    In recent decades, historical societies, the National Park Service, and heritage groups have lifted his story into public memory through books, plaques, reenactments, and online profiles. His story now features in projects connected to the upcoming 250th anniversary of American independence, as Americans reconsider whose sacrifices built the nation.

Quick HTML fact table on Prince Estabrook

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<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Aspect</th>
      <th>Details</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>Full name</td>
      <td>Prince Estabrook (often spelled Easterbrooks in period records)[web:3][web:5]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Status</td>
      <td>Enslaved Black man in Lexington/Ashby, Massachusetts; later became free[web:1][web:3][web:5][web:7]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Born</td>
      <td>Around 1740–1741, in Massachusetts (Lexington or Ashby area)[web:1][web:3][web:5][web:8]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Enslaver</td>
      <td>Benjamin Estabrook and the Estabrook family of Lexington[web:1][web:3][web:5][web:8]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Military unit</td>
      <td>Lexington militia / Minutemen under Captain John Parker; later Massachusetts and Continental Army units[web:3][web:5][web:7][web:9]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Key battle</td>
      <td>Lexington Green (Battles of Lexington and Concord), 19 April 1775[web:5][web:7][web:8]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Claim to fame</td>
      <td>Among the first Americans wounded in the Revolution and widely regarded as the first Black soldier wounded in the war[web:1][web:5][web:7][web:8][web:9]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Later service</td>
      <td>Served during the Siege of Boston; guarded British POWs; later Continental Army service into early 1780s[web:1][web:3][web:5][web:7][web:9]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Historical significance</td>
      <td>Embodies the role of Black Patriots, the contradictions of slavery in a “free” republic, and the broader Black contribution to the founding of the United States[web:1][web:7][web:8][web:9]</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

TL;DR: Prince Estabrook was an enslaved Black Minuteman from Massachusetts who fought on Lexington Green, was badly wounded in the first battle of the American Revolution, continued serving through much of the war, and now stands as a powerful symbol of Black Americans’ early and often overlooked contribution to the nation’s founding.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.