This Day in History: Jordan Freeman, Slave turned War Hero

On this day in 1732, a baby boy is born. While that boy was born into slavery, he would go on to become a free man and a hero of our American Revolution.

Relatively little is known about Jordan Freeman’s early life, but we do know that he was born into the household of Richard Lord of Old Lyme, Connecticut. At some point, Jordan was sold to Groton merchant John Ledyard. John, in turn, gave Jordan to his son William to be his “man-servant.”

The two became friends, and William freed Jordan. The newly emancipated man would have acquired his last name, Freeman, at this time.

When the American Revolution began, William joined the militia, and Freeman chose to fight alongside his friend. The two were together when the British set their sights on New London, Connecticut.

Lt. Col. William Ledyard was then the commander of two forts near New London: Forts Trumbull and Griswold. The British hoped to take the forts and destroy the city, undermining American privateers in the area.

None other than Benedict Arnold—American traitor and new British officer—had been dispatched to lead the British effort. Was he trying to prove his place in the British army?  Did that attitude prompt the ruthless brutality that followed?

Arnold’s fleet left New York with about 1,800 soldiers on September 4, arriving near New London the following day. He’d intended to launch a surprise nighttime attack, but a sudden wind complicated things. By the time he finally got into the river, it was early on September 6, and Ledyard knew he was coming.

Ledyard had already put out a call for militia, but that call unfortunately hadn’t gone too well. There had been many false alarms in the past, so many militia simply didn’t respond. Thus, Ledyard was left badly outnumbered, hunkered down behind the walls of Fort Griswold.

He and his roughly 150 men, including Freeman, would nevertheless put up quite a fight!

When Arnold’s forces landed, they took Fort Trumbull and New London without too much trouble, but it was still noon before Arnold’s attention turned to Fort Griswold: He dispatched half of his men, led by Lt. Col. Edmund Eyre and Major William Montgomery, to attack the fort. 

He would later wonder if he should have sent more than 800 soldiers.

The Americans were defending the fort gallantly. Despite being outnumbered, they were at first inflicting much more damage than they were receiving. Unfortunately, the tide turned when Ledyard’s men began to run out of ammunition.

As the British stormed the fort, Ledyard tried to surrender.

“When Colonel Ledyard found that he was not able to withstand the attack upon the fort, he opened the gate to surrender,” Rhode Island soldier Joseph Wood later recounted in a pension application. “As he did so, the British commander asked, ‘Who commands this fort?’ Colonel Ledyard answered, ‘I did, but you do now.’ And presented to the British commander his sword. The British commander took the sword and thrust it through Colonel Ledyard. This I heard and saw.”

What followed has been described as a massacre.

It’s unknown at what point Freeman was killed, but it’s said that he was seen running a pike through Major Montgomery. Some accounts also claim that his body was later found with dozens of bayonet wounds.

It would seem that he’d gone down fighting!

Americans would win our independence at the Battle of Yorktown just over a month later. It’s said that “Remember Fort Griswold!” was one of the motivating cries that spurred Americans on at that battle.

More little-known sacrifices made that we might be free.

Primary Sources:

• Damien Cregeau, Historically Speaking: 240th Anniversary of the Battle of Groton Heights (The Bulletin; Aug. 29, 2021)

• Defenders of Fort Griswold: Sept 6th, 1781 (Historical Marker Database)

• Don Troiani & John U. Rees, Don Troiani’s Black Soldiers in America's Wars: 1754–1865 (2025)

• Gail Lumet Buckley, American Patriots: The Story of Blacks in the Military from the Revolution to Desert Storm (2002)

• Harry Schenawolf, African American Jordan Freeman Dies Defending Fort Griswold (Rev. War Journal; Feb. 15, 2023)

• Harry Schenawolf, Battle of Groton Heights and Massacre of Fort Griswold’s Garrison (Rev. War Journal; July 16, 2021)

• John C. Dann, The Revolution Remembered: Eyewitness Accounts of the War for Independence (1999)

• History (Jordan Freeman Chapter DAR)

• Kimberly Drelich, Freed slave and battle hero Jordan Freeman to be honored at Fort Griswold (The Day; Aug. 19, 2022)

• Michael Burgan, The Untold Story of the Black Regiment: Fighting in the Revolutionary War (2015)

• The History of Fort Griswold (Fort Griswold Battlefield: State Park Foundation, Inc.)

• Why is our chapter named after Jordan Freeman? (Jordan Freeman Chapter DAR)

• William Lloyd Garrison, The Loyalty and Devotion of Colored Americans in the Revolution and War of 1812 (1861)