February 22, 2018

Born December 10, 1760 in New Kent, Virginia, James Armistead was a spy during the Revolutionary War.

As an enslaved man, James received consent from his “master” *insert eye roll* to join the army under the Marquis de Lafayette.

In the army he was used as a spy, reporting the activities of Benedict Arnold and Lord Cornwallis leading up to the Battle of Yorktown. He gave the British false information while feeding accurate, detailed information to the American side.

James moved from British camp to British camp where officers spoke openly in front of him concerning their strategies, as he had gained the trust of Benedict Arnold. He reported all of his information in written reports he handed to other American spies.

Ya mans was basically the reason the British were defeated during the Battle of Yorktown.

A year after James joined the army (1782), Virginia passed a manumission, allowing slaves to be freed by their owners. However James was not freed. A law in 1783 then allowed slaves to be freed SPECIFICALLY if their “master” had used them as a substitute for service in the army. The catch? James wasn’t technically a soldier, he was a spy.

In 1786, with the support of his “master” and a testimonial of his service written by the Marquis, James petitioned the Virginia Assembly for his freedom.

On January 9, 1787 the Virginia Assembly granted his petition, giving James his freedom.

James continued to live his life in Kent County with a wife and several children, where he became a farmer.

In 1824, the Marquis de Lafayette did a tour of the states and while in Virginia, he stopped his carriage when he saw James in the crowd; he rushed to embrace him.

James died on August 9, 183 in Virginia.