Peter Salem

The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker Hill, by John Trumbull. Peter Salem is at the far right with a musket in his hands.

Peter Salem (sometimes known as Salem Middlesex) was a former slave who served as a soldier in the Battle of Bunker Hill, and is often times regarded as the hero of the battle.

Early Life

Salem was born in Framingham, and, in 1783, married Katie Benson, a granddaughter of Nero, living for a time near what is now the state muster field.

Career

Peter Salem was the colored man who particularly distinguished himself in the Revolutionary war by shooting down Major Pitcairn at the battle of Bunker Hill, as he was mounting a redoubt, and shouting, "The day is ours!" this being the time when Pitcairn fell back into the arms of his son. Peter Salem served faithfully in the war for seven years in the companies of minute men under the command of Captain John Nixon and Captain Simon Edgell, of Framingham, and came out of it unharmed. He was a slave, and was owned, originally, by Captain Jeremiah Belknap, of Framingham, being sold by him to Major Lawson Buckminister of that town, he becoming a free man when he joined the army.

Legacy

On the 10th of April, 1882, the town of Framingham voted to place a memorial stone over the grave of Peter Salem. The committee in charge of the matter placed a granite memorial over his grave, and it bears the following inscription: "Peter Salem, a soldier of the Revolution, died August 16, 1816. Concord, Bunker Hill, Saratoga. Erected by the town, 1882."

Later Life and Death

He removed to Leicester after the close of the war, his last abode in that town being a cabin on the road leading from Leicester to Auburn. He was removed to Framingham, where he had gained a settlement in 1816, and there he died.

In popular culture

Peter Salem was portrayed by Jimmy Akingbola in the 2015 mini-series Sons of Liberty.

See Also

• The Colored Patriots of the American Revolution