Pvt. Shadrach Battles (ca. 1746-ca. 1824)

Shadrach Battles, a free person of color born probably in Albemarle County, was a Revolutionary War soldier. By June 1775 he had joined the Albemarle Independent Company, a local militia unit. In Dec. 1776 he enlisted in the 10th Virginia Regiment (later renumbered the 6th). He fought at Brandywine, PA, Germantown, PA, and Monmouth, NJ, spent the winter of 1777-1778 at Valley Forge, and participated in the Southern Campaign. Battles was one of at least 5,000 black soldiers who served in the Continental Line. By 1778, Black men were a substantial presence in nearly every brigade. A carpenter, Battles lived in this vicinity after the war.

Department of Historic Resources, 2019