RECOGNITION AT LAST: High school students from Foundation Academies of Trenton have created an exhibit honoring Black soldiers who fought in the Battle of Princeton. Up until now, these men were uncredited.
By Anne Levin
Last June, the Princeton Battlefield Society (PBS) and Foundation Academies of Trenton announced a joint project to honor the Black soldiers — at least 14 of them — who fought in the Battle of Princeton. Other than the fact that they took part after marching from Trenton to Princeton, wearing threadbare coats and no shoes, not much was known about them.
The “Men W/O Shoes” exhibit, opening on Thursday, February 19 at Morven Museum and Garden, remedies that. Through archival history and research, 30 members of the charter school’s Black Student Union in grades 9-12 became historians, uncovering and retelling the lives of these overlooked patriots. The multimedia exhibit recognizes the 100th anniversary of Black History Month and the nation’s semiquincentennial. The opening night reception is from 5-7 p.m., and the exhibit is open to the public on Saturday, February 21 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“We’re very excited about this,” said Mark Herr, a member of the PBS and its spokesman. “It’s great when you have an idea sitting at your desk, and you see it come to fruition. As far as PBS is concerned, we wanted to recognize the common soldiers who have been left out of history. And nobody was more left out than the Black soldiers.”
But those men were not the only ones relegated to the background of history. Other rank and file are the subject of a second part of the project, which is underway with students at Princeton Day School, to be unveiled in June.
“History has to be told accurately, but without pandering. We should recognize all of the men who fought and went unrecognized,” said Herr. “When I came up with this idea, I thought one of the challenges was to make sure we tell history completely by engaging the next generation. Foundation Academies is a place with whom I had a relationship. I asked them if they were interested, and they jumped on it. They’ve been great. One of the most exciting things is that they’ve actually located descendants of some of the soldiers. We’re talking about convening a meeting, at some point, of descendants of the signers [of the Declaration of Independence] and descendants of the soldiers, if we can find enough of them.”
The Foundation Academies scholars began working on the project this past fall. They were led by advisors Casey Scott and Earl Wallace, who guided them in the process of becoming primary researchers and authors of history rather than simply studying existing narratives.
“There would be no 250th anniversary if it weren’t for these 14 men,” said Scott, a student success team school social worker, in a press release. “This project takes Black history and places it where it belongs, at the center of American history.”
The names of the soldiers in the exhibit are Charles Ailstock, James Ailstock, Edward “Ned” Bradley, Phillip James, Robert Prince Green, Primus Hall, Job Lathrop, Edward Hopps, Isaac Walker, Peter Jennings, Cato Smith, Jacob Francis, Oliver Cromwell, and Samuel Sutphin. Included are student-created, AI-generated monologues; a behind-the-scenes documentary; and a companion art installation inspired by JET magazine covers by Philadelphia visual artist Shaheed Rucker. The multimedia elements bring the 18th century soldiers’ stories to life using 21st century methods. The goal is to engage students and inspire dialogue and reflection.
“Our scholars’ exploration of Black soldiers who fought in the Battle of Princeton is more than a history lesson — it’s a powerful journey of discovery and identity,” said Sheria McRae, CEO of Foundation Academies. “Our scholars honor the legacy of these brave men by ensuring their stories are told for the countless students who will study what they documented.”
The project began, in part, when Herr tried to find out about the 30 men who were killed at the Battle of Princeton. He was able to find the names of 10, all of whom were officers. But no one had information about the enlisted men.
Herr asked a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution to delve into the research.
“She came up with about 500 names of guys. They found 14 Black names,” he said. “I reached out to Foundation Academies, and they were very interested in doing a research project for the 250th. This is a sort of natural partnership — the kids get to do an interesting, relevant history project, and tell us these stories. The American Revolution belongs to all of us.”
A separate research initiative for PBS is focused on identifying men from Princeton who fought in the Battle of Princeton. Herr now knows the names of 50 of them.
In the meantime, he is pleased that “Men W/O Shoes” has been completed. Particularly meaningful to him was a comment from one of the students involved.
“He said that it’s hard, as a kid, to be excited about anything that happened 250 years ago,” said Herr. “But he is very excited about this. If he is now interested in the history of this country, and what happened in Trenton and Princeton in the American Revolution, well, that’s a grand slam home run.”
Morven is located at 55 Stockton Street. For more information, visit PBS1777.org or foundationacademies.org.