America 250 in Color: Oliver Cromwell (1752-1853) By Charles Ray and Dr. Carlton McLellan - February 19, 2026
Oliver Cromwell, a free Black man, was born May 24, 1752, on a farm in Black Horse (now the Columbus section of Mansfield township, Burlington County) in the English Province of New Jersey. Trained as a farmer, he joined the 2nd New Jersey Regiment in 1777 and served until 1783.
During his military service, Cromwell, who never rose above the rank of private, served in several companies of the regiment, participating in the battles of Trenton (1776), Princeton (1777), Short Hills (1777), Brandywine (1777), Monmouth (1778), and the final siege of Yorktown (1781). Yorktown, where Washington’s forces were supported by the Marquis de Lafayette and French forces under the command of the Comte de Grasse, was the final major land battle of the war, when the Continental Army decisively defeated British forces commanded by Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis. Although it has never been authenticated, Cromwell, along with another Black soldier, was believed to be in George Washington’s boat when he crossed the Delaware River on the night of December 25-26, 1776, to surprise the British at Trenton.
After Yorktown, Cromwell left the army. George Washington, the Commander-in-Chief, personally signed his discharge papers. He returned to Burlington County, where he raised his family. When the US Congress passed a law in 1818 providing pensions to former Continental Army soldiers in need, Cromwell applied and was finally approved for a pension of $96 per year in 1820. He bought farm land outside Burlington, New Jersey, where he fathered 15 children.
In his later years, Cromwell lived in Burlington, where he died in January 1883, having lived more than 100 years and outlived all but one of his children. On May 4, 2022, the Daughters of the American Revolution unveiled a plaque on his home at 114 East Union Street in Burlington, finally honoring his service.
While Continental Army muster rolls didn’t indicate race, historians estimate that approximately 5,000 Black men served. Approximately 5 percent of the soldiers at the Battle of Bunker Hill were Black. Few have been recognized for their service in winning this nation’s independence, then or now. While the Congress and George Washington, after initially opposing the service of Blacks, finally approved the recruitment of free Blacks, in both northern and southern colonies, it was common practice for enslavers to hire or purchase an enslaved Black to take their place in the army. There was, however, no guarantee of freedom for these substitutes after the war. Oliver Cromwell’s story is one of the few where belated recognition has been given.
This is story number 2 of the 25 in this series