Prince Whipple was an African American slave and later freedman.
16 Facts About Prince Whipple
1.
2.
Prince Whipple was a soldier and a bodyguard during the American Revolution under his enslaver General William Whipple of the New Hampshire Militia who granted him his freedom after the war.
3.
The captain who brought the two boys over proved to be a treacherous villain, and carried them to Baltimore, where he exposed them for sale, they were both purchased by Portsmouth, New Hampshire men, Prince falling to General William Whipple.
4.
Prince Whipple was emancipated during the [Revolutionary] War, was much esteemed, and was once entrusted by the General with a large sum of money to carry from Salem to Portsmouth.
5.
Prince Whipple was attacked on the road, near Newburyport, by two ruffians; one was struck with a loaded whip, the other one he shot.
6.
Prince Whipple was known as "Caleb Quotom" of Portsmouth, where he died leaving a widow, Dinah, a freeperson and two children.
7.
Prince Whipple joined William as a servant in large weddings, dinners, balls, and parties held by the White population of New Hampshire and was well received.
8.
The increased need of men allowed Prince Whipple to serve as a military aide to William and a soldier in the New Hampshire Militia.
9.
Prince Whipple joined him, but challenged his position as a slave.
10.
Prince Whipple agreed and by the end of the war, William ended Prince Whipple's servitude and granted his freedom.
11.
In 1779 Prince Whipple joined with nineteen other freed slaves who referred themselves as the "Natives of Africa" in Portsmouth.
12.
Prince Whipple returned to Portsmouth as a freedman and reunited with his brother Cuffee.
13.
Prince Whipple married a woman named Dinah who was a slave in New Castle and was granted freedman status by her enslaver at age 21.
14.
Prince Whipple died in 1796 and is buried in Portsmouth's North Cemetery.
15.
At that time, General Prince Whipple was serving in the Continental Congress, which had fled Philadelphia and reconvened in Baltimore, a distance of 135 miles from Trenton.
16.
Much like the Leutze painting, Prince Whipple was most likely not present at Trenton during Washington's crossing.