Black Canadians Fought For Their Freedom: Richard Pierpoint-- Part 1

From the February 25, 2013, Toronto Globe and Mail "In 1812, black Canadians fought for their freedom" by Rosemary Sadlier. //// The Bicentennial of the war continues and Black History Month winds down. The United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent continues, and, unfortunately, Black p[articipation in te War of 1812 is largely ignored. //// Richard Pierpoint was born around 1744 in Bondu, West Africa, (now Senegal). He was captured at the age of 16 and brought to the Americas and became the property of a British military officer. //// During the American Revolution he accepted British military service to achieve his freedom. He served in Butler's Rangers and like thousands of other black Loyalists, was granted land in Canada, working 200 acres near Twelve Mile Creek in Ontario. //// Other Blacks helped settle Niagara Falls, Niagara-on-the-Lake, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. //// --Brock-Perry