Collect Day #14 SCIPIO PAGE
Most merciful God who knows the hearts within us all: Grant that we may see through clear eyes the strength of those like Scipio Page who take up the charge of leadership for a cause greater than themselves in the face of personal discrimination and enmity as he did from his own town. Teach us to practice the way of love – lifting up those whom we might think are not capable of much; for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.
DAY #14, March 20, 2019
DUNBARTON & COIT MOUNTAIN, NH
SCIPIO PAGE
Lynn Clark
Scipio Page was enslaved by Caleb Page of Dunbarton, NH, sometime before the Revolutionary War. During the war he was described as “Captain Caleb Page’s negro,” implying that he was still enslaved when he enlisted.
In 1783, Page married Dinah Colby and the two resided on land granted to Page near One Stack Brook, now known as Bela Brook. The Pages were part of a Black community of at least 20 people, including fiddlers Anthony Clark, later of Warner, and Sampson Battis of Canterbury. Locals referred to the area as “New Guinea.”
Caleb Stark’s history of Dunbarton, referring to Page, perpetuates the common myth that the former slave was dependent on the man who had enslaved him. However, Page’s life was anything but one of passive dependence.
While living in Dunbarton, Page commanded a Black militia made up of at least ten men from Dunbarton and surrounding towns. There is scant documentation for Black militias in New Hampshire, yet they existed in Dunbarton and Exeter. Black soldiers fought alongside White soldiers during the Revolutionary War. Black veterans faced discrimination in life and diminishment of their military records in town histories.
