This led to the American Revolution, with its ethos of freedom and equality. The spirit of the age was not lost on African Americans, who became involved in a parallel struggle for their own freedom.

Patrick Mantle, an East Rockaway, N.Y., history buff, needs a few good men and women—and even children—to fill the ranks of the Huntington Militia. Mantle isn’t some radical firebrand.

While the Patriots were ultimately victorious in the American Revolution, choosing sides and deciding whether to fight in the war was far from an easy choice for American colonists. The great ...