Edward Hector, Soldier

Edward Hector by Ashley W.

Edward Hector thought that being a soldier was about following the rules, but sometimes it is about doing the right thing.

Not much is known about Hector's childhood. All we know is he was born in 1744.

Hector was one of the 5,000 African-Americans who served in the Revolutionary War. He was a wagoneer at the Battle of Brandywine. He manned cannons in Colonel Proctor's 3rd
Pennsylvania artillery regiment. In the late afternoon of September 11, 1777, The British and Hessians started to take over the American positions on the east side of Brandywine. Then, the
order was given to abandon everything and "save yourself". All the soldiers did what was told and fled the battlefield. But not Hector. He said, "the enemy shall not have my team; I shall save my horses and myself." He picked up some of the fallen guns and bravely fought off the British,
then escaped with his wagon.

After the war was over, Hector did not receive anything. We know that Hector was
never granted a pension, but years later he received a reward of forty dollars from a "grateful"
Pennsylvania Legislature. Nobody knew if Hector married. He lived in the Norristown area
where he died at about ninety. The date he died was Friday, January 3rd, 1834. Edward Hector
did not just save his own life, he saved thousands.