"The portrait will be unveiled to the public on Tuesday at the museum's Army at Home gallery in Chelsea, where it will be placed on permanent display to highlight the service of James and other Black soldiers during the Napoleonic wars. There's this misconception that there weren't any Black soldiers at Waterloo, said the museum's art curator, Anna Lavelle. That's not the fault of the public it's not been in the historical discourse."
"James, an illiterate percussionist in the 18th Light Dragoons, was likely to have been born enslaved in Montserrat, the West Indies, in 1789. Little is known about his early life. By the time he enlisted in 1809, he had made his way to Sussex, where slavery had been abolished, and was describing himself as a servant. He was awarded the Waterloo Medal after being wounded fighting a band of Prussian soldiers who had deserted and tried to loot his officers' belongings."
Private Thomas James fought in the Napoleonic wars and is one of only nine Black soldiers known to have received the Waterloo Medal, awarded to soldiers regardless of rank. The National Army Museum in London has identified him as the likely subject of a rare 1821 painting attributed to Thomas Phillips and will place the portrait on permanent display at the Army at Home gallery in Chelsea to highlight Black soldiers' service. James was likely born enslaved in Montserrat in 1789, enlisted in 1809 in Sussex as a servant, served as an illiterate percussionist in the 18th Light Dragoons, and earned the medal after being wounded defending officers' baggage.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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