A national public history project
Mapping the Invisibles of the Revolution
Recovering the names, hometowns, military service, and journeys of African-descended patriots who helped secure American independence.
The atlas
The project currently presents six completed state atlases. Each one connects individuals to places, service, pensions, movement, and public memory.
Search names, pensions, service, towns, counties, enslavers, roles, assignments, notes, and family fields in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
Why mapping matters
Traditional records often preserve individual lives in isolation. Mapping reveals relationships. By connecting service, residence, migration, family, and community, the atlas uncovers patterns that are difficult to see when records are viewed one document at a time.
Featured publications
Maurice A. Barboza and Gary B. Nash explain the public origins, obstacles, and historical importance of recovering African-descended Revolutionary service.
Open article
From research to public memory
The proposed Precursor Garden and future National Liberty Memorial extend the research into public space. Visitors will be able to search names, hometowns, service, and movement, connecting family memory to the geography of American independence.
The record behind the atlas
The information presented in this Atlas comes from a variety of published and archival sources, principally Forgotten Patriots: African American and American Indian Patriots in the Revolutionary War (2008). That research grew from commitments secured through the 1984 settlement of Lena Santos Ferguson’s membership discrimination complaint against the Daughters of the American Revolution. Mrs. Ferguson challenged the discriminatory membership practice, and her nephew, Maurice A. Barboza, advocated for more than two decades for the research commitment made in the settlement to be completed and made public. Nearly 40 years later, in 2023, the Society honored Mrs. Ferguson’s contributions by installing a permanent plaque in a garden beside Constitution Hall. The records have been standardized, corrected, supplemented, and geographically organized for presentation in the National Liberty Memorial Atlas.
