James Forten
Patriot James Forten (1766-1843)
was a Philadelphia businessman and abolitionist leader. James Forten was born free in Philadelphia in 1766. At the age of fifteen, he enlisted as a powder boy on the privateer ship Royal Louis. The privateer was captured on its second journey and James Forten was sent to the prison ship HMS Jersey. He spent seven months on the ship until his release in a prisoner exchange. James Forten operated his own sail making shop in Philadelphia and became one of the richest African Americans at that time.
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