Thomas Carney, a free Black man who fought for what would become the United States during the American Revolution, will finally be honored with a statue that will be placed near the original 18th-century entrance of Maryland’s State House in Annapolis in 2026.
According to The Baltimore Sun, Maryland’s Board of Public Works, approved $402,462 in total funding for the monument to Carney, $311,500 will be paid to the sculptor of the statue, Branly Cadet, who also created statues of Black luminaries like Jackie Robinson’s statue outside of Dodger Stadium, and a statue of former U.S. Rep Adam Clayton Powell, which is displayed outside of the New York state office in Harlem, which bears his name.
In addition to the payment to Cadet, a sum of $90,962
will be issued to Campion Hruby Landscape Architects, the group responsible for developing the site that displays Cadet’s sculpture on the southeast lawn of the State House, near its original entrance.Carney carries the distinction of being one of the few Black soldiers whose decision to fight for the United States during the American Revolution has been preserved for its historical significance, although many Black people fought on that side, despite some not having the same legal status as Carney.
“Carney was one of many Maryland African Americans who enlisted and served in integrated units during the Revolutionary War,” according to a description of the expenditure request in the public records obtained by The Sun, “a minority of whom were enslaved people.” As they noted, the existence and contributions of these patriots have been largely unknown in Maryland’s public history.
Carney is, however, the subject of a legend, which is also featured in his obituary, according to an entry in the American Battlefield Trust’s database.
“Carney —according to legend—carried wounded Maj. Gen. Perry Benson off the battlefield during the Siege of Ninety Six, helping to save the officer’s life,” the entry reads.
Per his obituary after Carney’s death in 1828, “Though Benson was considerably above the common size, [Carney] carried him on his shoulders some considerable distance, to the place at which the surgeon was stationed…At length, overcome by excessive fatigue and heat, as he laid the almost lifeless body of Benson at the feet of the surgeon, he fainted.”
Carney was one of the few
Black soldiers known to have achieved the rank of corporal, the lowest-ranking non-commissioned officer during his time serving during the Revolutionary War. Carney received his discharge from military service on Nov. 15, 1783, at which time he returned to Maryland and applied for a soldier’s pension.In the application, he was required to list the battles in which he participated, which he did. According to his application, he was part of battles in Germantown, Brandywine, White Plains, Monmouth, Camden, Guilford Courthouse, Ninety-Six, and Eutaw Springs.
Carney, who lived with his wife, Grace, and their two daughters, Alice and Rebecca, upon his return to Maryland, received his pension in 1818, 10 years before his death.
According to the meeting agenda, which The Sun obtained, the monument will not only honor Carney, but the Black Revolutionary War-era soldiers who fought for the United States.
“Their legacy is but one of the omitted chapters in the heritage of early Maryland’s extensive Black community,” the meeting agenda stated. “The purpose of the proposed monument is to honor these unsung patriots who were members of the Continental Army community and to expand public understanding of the people who contributed to the fight for American independence.”
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