Honoring Connecticut Black Patriot Nero Hawley

Nero Hawley was born about 1742 and lived enslaved on the Hawley property in Stratford, Connecticut. While enslaved, he learned carpentry and brick-making — trades that would later shape his life as a free man.

Military Service, 1777–1781

In 1777, Nero Hawley enlisted in the Continental Army in place of Daniel Hawley, the man who held him in slavery. His service took him to the Battle of Whitemarsh, where he joined the ranks under General George Washington, and then through the brutal winter encampment at Valley Forge.

Hawley received an honorable discharge in 1781, having served through some of the most demanding campaigns of the Revolution.

Freedom, 1782

A year after his discharge, on November 5, 1782, Daniel Hawley signed a manumission document granting Nero Hawley his freedom. The emancipation paper — recorded in Stratford and preserved to this day — is one of the tangible records that anchors his story in the archive.

“After gaining his freedom, which was promised to many slaves during his time, Hawley opened up a brick factory, and he gained a lot of success from it. He was even able to buy freedom for his wife and daughters.”

— Steward, as quoted in SCSU Journalism

Life as a Free Man

Drawing on the brick-making trade he had learned in bondage, Hawley opened his own brick factory in Connecticut and built it into a successful business. With the proceeds, he purchased freedom for his wife and daughters — turning the skills forced on him in slavery into the means of freeing his family.

Timeline

• c.1742 — Born in Connecticut; enslaved on the Hawley property in Stratford. • Learns carpentry and brick-making while enslaved. • 1777 — Enlists in the Continental Army in place of Daniel Hawley. • 1777 — Serves at the Battle of Whitemarsh under General Washington. • 1777–1778 — Endures the winter encampment at Valley Forge. • 1781 — Honorably discharged from the Continental Army. • November 5, 1782 — Granted his freedom by Daniel Hawley. • Post-war — Opens a brick factory; purchases freedom for his wife and daughters.

Legacy

Nero Hawley's life is preserved in his 1782 emancipation paper, in Continental Army records, and in the 1975 book From Valley Forge to Freedom: A Story of a Black Patriot by E. Merrill Beach. The National Mall Liberty Fund has since sought to create a Washington, D.C. memorial recognizing the enslaved and free Black soldiers of the Revolution — men like Nero Hawley, whose service helped secure a liberty they were not yet permitted to enjoy.

“He fought for a country that did not yet see him as free — and by his service, and by his own hand, made freedom possible for his family.”