With America250 marking the semiquincentennial of the birth of the United States of America in 2026, a growing number events are looking back on Wilmington-area history from the time of the Revolutionary War.
On Feb. 24, the Battleship North Carolina Memorial held the first in a coming series of lectures tied to America250. About 25 people, with more watching online via video link, showed up to watch the Battleship’s museum educator, historian Trevor Freeman, give a presentation titled “Forgotten Heroes: North Carolina’s Black Patriots of the American Revolution.”
The lecture focused on the military service and post-war lives of the estimated 468 Black men from North Carolina who fought during the Revolutionary War, including some from Southeastern N.C. Of those 468, at least 50 are thought to have died during the war…