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Joseph Munn

Joseph Munn (sometimes spelled “Mun”) was “snatched by the hand of Fraud and violence” while a child in Africa. He was sold as a slave for life to Thomas Seymour, Esq. of Hartford, Connecticut. Munn remained with Seymour for “some time” before being sold to Daniel Barber and several others whose names are not known.

In 1773, Munn was purchased by Waterbury resident William Nichols. He was given a verbal promise by Nichols to be granted his freedom following three years of faithful service. At the end of the three years, Munn asked for his freedom, but Nichols refused to give it to him. Munn was, however, allowed to enlist in the Continental army, joining Col. Thaddeus Cook’s regiment in 1776. Munn served as a private during the Revolutionary War.

On May 2, 1780, Joseph Munn petitioned the Connecticut General Assembly for his liberty, stating that he was “entitled to Freedom and the unalienable rights of Humanity.” William Nichols was a Loyalist and had left Waterbury during the Revolutionary War to fight for the British. Before leaving, he sold Munn to his cousin, Thomas Hickcox, Jr., who also lived in Waterbury, and who took possession of Nichols’ estate. Nichols’ estate was confiscated, and he moved to Nova Scotia after the war.

By 1780, Joseph Munn was a private in the 1st Connecticut Regiment, stationed in Farmington, Connecticut in Col. John Durkee’s regiment. According to his petition, Hickcox was at that time making an effort to hold Munn in “bondage and Slavery...contrary to the Laws of Nature and Humanity.”

Munn was discharged from the military for a broken arm and “stiff” knees on April 5, 1781. Some time afterwards, Hickcox, through his attorney, John Trumbull, withdrew his objection to Munn’s petition. Trumbull stated that the situation between Hickcox and Munn had been “long ago compromised.”

Munn’s petition was finally settled in May of 1785. The Lower House of the state Assembly initially voted to grant Munn his freedom, but the Upper House voted against it. Representatives from the two Houses were appointed to confer on the differing votes. In their final decision, both Houses voted against Munn’s petition for freedom.

The day before Joseph Munn was discharged from the army, Chauncey Deming, a soldier also stationed in Farmington, brought a suit against Joseph Munn because Munn owed him 22 shillings. In the process of settling the debt, an inventory of Munn’s possessions was taken. He owned only a few items, including four shirts, two forks, two bowls, a wooden box and a padlock.

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