The following information was assembled from numerous sources and cannot be used directly as proof of Qualifying Service or Lineage.
It is considered a research aid and is intended to assist in locating sources that can be used as proof.
State of Service: MA
Qualifying Service: Private / Black Patriot
Birth: 07 Mar 1759 Northampton / / MA Death: 21 May 1848 Stockbridge / Berkshire / MA
Qualifying Service Description:
12th Massachusetts Regiment, Captain John Chadwick's Company, Colonel Samuel Brewer, 1777-1778
12th Massachusetts Regiment, Lt John 's Pray's Company, Major Tobias Fernald, Colonel Samuel Brewer, 1779
12th Massachusetts Battalion of Foot, 6th Company, Major Tobias Fernald, Colonel Samuel Brewer, 1779
Orderly for General John Paterson
In May, 1779, Hull was reassigned to Colonel Thaddeus Kosciuszko, a Polish engineer who was constructing the defenses at West Point at the time
Additional References:
Pension W.760
Agrippa Hull’s certificate of discharge from the Continental Army, dated July 24, 1783 and signed by Gen. George Washington, Museum & Archives of the Stockbridge Library Association
Gary B. Nash, "Agrippa Hull" revolutionary patriot", Black Past, 2008, accessed 12 March 2012
Gary B. Nash and Graham Russell Hodges (2008). "Why We Should All Regret Jefferson's Broken Promise to Kościuszko". Friends of Liberty. Retrieved 2013-04-16. excerpt at History News Network
Gary Nash and Graham Russell Hodges, Friends of Liberty: A Tale of Three Patriots, Two Revolutions, and the Betrayal that Divided a Nation: Thomas Jefferson, Thaddeus Kosciuszko, and Agrippa Hull, (New York: Basic Books, 2008), pg 258
Spouse: (1) Jane Darby; (2) Margaret/Peggy Timbroke Children: Charlotte; James;
Members Who Share This Ancestor
None*
*This means that the NSSAR has no applications for this Patriot on file.
Instead the information provided is best effort, and from volunteers who have either researched grave sites, service records, or something similar. There is no documentation available at NSSAR HQ to order.
Photo used with permission of Michael B. Gunn, Cincinnati Chapter, OHSSAR
Directions to Cemetery / Gravesite:
Photo: 1 of 1
Author: John William Whiteside III
Agrippa Hull – African American Soldier
By John Whiteside
Agrippa Hull, often called by his nickname “Grippy,” was born on March 7, 1759 as a free Black man in the small village of Northampton, Massachusetts. His father, Amos, would only live for two more years, dying in 1761, never getting to enjoy the exceptional son he fathered. Life became a financial struggle for Grippy’s mother Bathsheba, so she eventually sent him to live with another free Black farming family in Stockbridge, a nearby town, when he was six years old. It was there in Stockbridge with Joab and Rose Binney that he would develop lasting roots as both a farmer and a well-liked, American citizen.
Shortly after his eighteenth birthday, on May 1, 1777, Hull enlisted in the Continental Army for the duration of the war, first serving in Captain John Chadwick’s company of the 12th Massachusetts Regiment as a private. Shortly thereafter, Private Hull was assigned as an orderly to Major General John Paterson. Orderlies were often selected for their military bearing, intelligence, dependability, and trustworthiness. Hull surely possessed all of those values, and it is a testament to his exceptional military service for more than six years serving only for and with general officers.
Valley Forge muster roll records place Hull at Valley Forge at the beginning of the encampment there in December 1777. As an orderly and a Black soldier, it was likely that he was included in performing fatigue duty at Valley Forge. He, and other soldiers like him, would spend their time and efforts at building log huts to house the encampment there. After serving about two years under General Paterson, Hull was reassigned as a personal aide to then Polish Colonel Thaddeus Kosciuszko, an engineering expert. Their relationship would continue and grow closer throughout the remainder of the war.
Hull would accompany Colonel Kosciuszko north to Saratoga and West Point, New York, seeing combat along the way. As the war shifted to the southern states of Virginia, North and South Carolina, Hull and Kosciuszko would get to observe first hand, the increased poverty and cruelty affecting the enslaved population in those areas. Once again, Hull faced increasingly brutal combat in places like Ninety-Six, Eutaw Springs, and the Battle of Cowpens. At times during the bloody southern battles, Hull served as a surgeon’s assistant, participating with aid to the wounded soldiers and even helping with amputations, a task that would remain in his memory for his lifetime. Hull would eventually return to West Point where he would receive his discharge papers, personally signed by George Washington in July 1783. Despite an offer from Kosciuszko to return to Poland with him, Hull decided to return home to Stockbridge, Massachusetts.
Hull spent the remainder of his life working with an attorney friend to seek freedom for enslaved Blacks in the town, including his own wife, Jane Darby. She and Grippy would eventually have four children. After her death, Hull remarried Margaret Timbrooks. Hull worked hard as a household servant, saved his money and eventually became the largest Black landowner in Stockbridge. He began receiving a military pension in 1818. He was known throughout the local community as a man of great dignity, pride, character, and possessing a biting wit. He was a trusted friend to all the white, Black, and Native Americans living in the area. Agrippa Hull passed away on May 21, 1848 and is buried in Stockbridge cemetery, Berkshire County, Massachusetts.
Sources:
Moss, Bobby G. and Michael Scoggins, African-American Patriots in the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution, Blacksburg, S.C.: Scotia-Hibernia Press, 2004
HULL, AGRIPPA (Berkshire County, MA) [42.2855988 -73.3193970]
Born March 7, 1759, to a free black family at Northampton, Massachusetts. Agrippa's family attended the church of Great Awakening preacher Jonathan Edwards. As a young boy, he was sent to Stockbridge to live with another free black family when his birth family experienced economic hardship. He was a Massachusetts soldier in the Revolutionary War. He married (1) Jane Darby, (2) Margaret Timbroke (1780-1870) in 1813; and had several children including James b. 1798. Agrippa lived at Stockbridge, a unique town made up of English and Dutch settlers, free slaves and a large number of Indians, all living peacefully together.
In 1777, at the age of 18, Agrippa joined the Continental Army and became an orderly for General John Paterson. In this role, Hull was present at the surrender of British General John Burgoyne at Saratoga. He spent the winter of 1777-1778 at Valley Forge and participated in the Battle of Monmouth Courthouse. In May, 1779, Hull was reassigned to Colonel Thaddeus Kosciuszko, a Polish engineer who was constructing the defenses at West Point at the time. Hull would remain with Kosciuszko for the last four years of the war and they would become fast friends. Hull was particularly known for his wit, quick humor and practical jokes. Kosciuszko even found Hull wearing Kosciuszko's uniform and throwing a party for his black friends. During their time in the south, both Hull and Kosciuszko had a firsthand look at the effects of slavery that would mark them for the rest of their lives. Kosciuszko would denounce slavery and become an ardent abolitionist. For the last two years of the war, Hull often worked with the medical staff and learned how to do amputations and simple surgeries. He served in nearly every major battle of the southern campaign, including Cowpens, Guilford Courthouse, the Siege of Charleston and Eutaw Springs. In July, 1783, after six years of service, Agrippa Hull was discharged personally by George Washington at West Point. He returned to Stockbridge and became a servant in the home of lawyer and politician Theodore Sedgwick who had been a member of the Continental Congress and would later be a U.S. Senator. Sedgwick was known for representing Elizabeth Freeman, the first slave to win her freedom under the new Massachusetts Constitution, in her freedom suit. Freeman, known as "Mum Bet," worked alongside Hull for many years in the Sedgwick household.
Hull married (1) Jane Darby, (2) Margaret Timbroke; and had several children. He used extra money from his employment to buy land and eventually became the largest black landholder of Stockbridge. He was well-regarded by the entire town and viewed of as a father figure to all. In 1797, he had a warm reunion with Thaddeus Kosciuszko on his return visit to America. In 1831, he made a memorable journey to West Point to visit the U.S. Military Academy, where he had served with Kosciuszko 50 years before. Hull entertained the cadets, who had recently erected a monument to Kosciuszko, with stories of the Polish hero's exploits.
He died May 21, 1848, and was the last surviving veteran of the American Revolution at Stockbridge, Massachusetts. He was buried at Afro-American Cemetery, Grave 47, Stockbridge, Berkshire County, Massachusetts. Revolutionary War Graves Register. Clovis H. Brakebill, compiler. 672pp. SAR. 1993. SAR Revolutionary War Graves Register CD. Progeny Publishing Co: Buffalo, NY. 1998. SAR Ancestor # P-187591. He has a tombstone and a Revolutionary War marker.
Cemetery number #- 91753. Find-a-Grave Memorial #- 48417564.
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