Caesar Augustus

Quick Facts

Significance:

Patriot of Color at Battle Road

Place of Birth:

Dorchester, Massachusetts(?)

The following is from the 2004 National Park Service study Patriots of Color researched and prepared by George Quintal:

Caesar Augustus was the servant of Mr. Tileston of Dorchester (MA).^I

He was taken prisoner on 19 April 1775 and was exchanged on 5 June 1775 with the other American prisoners.^II

The last Patriot casualty on Battle Road was a man of color:

A negro (the only one [who] was seen to fire at the King’s troops) was wounded near the houses close to the [Charlestown] Neck, out of which the Rebels fired to the last.^III

It is very probable that this man was Caesar Augustus.

Footnotes:

1. Essex Gazette. Salem, MA, 6 June 1775, page 3.
2. The New England Historical and Genealogical Register (1847-2002). 154 vols, 85[1931]:17.
3. Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society (1791-2002). 113 vols, Second Series, 5[1890]:394, “Description of the Battle of Lexington by Lieutenant Mackenzie of the Royal Welch Fusileers.”

Learn more about Quintal's study.