A national public history project
Mapping the Invisibles of the Revolutionary War
Seeing is believing
Atlas brings together the lives and service of patriots of African descent in the American Revolution, including those whose records also document Indigenous ancestry. Explore how they served, where they lived, the battles and vessels connected to them, their families, occupations, pensions, postwar lives, and other surviving evidence. Each subject leads directly to the people and Atlas records behind it.
Explore the Atlas
How They Served
Choose a subject to meet the patriots connected with that service, place, experience, family relationship, or documented action. Each result leads directly to the supporting Atlas records.
Why mapping matters
A map changes what the record allows us to see.
Traditional records often preserve individual lives in isolation. Mapping reveals relationships. By connecting service, residence, migration, family, and community, the atlas uncovers patterns that are difficult to see when records are viewed one document at a time.