Prince Whipple was a native of Africa; where exactly is unknown although it is believed to be somewhere in Ghana. Both he and his brother Cuffee were kidnapped and then bought in Portsmouth by William Whipple Jr., the man who owned the slave ship they were transported on. They were bought to be ‘house slaves’ for the family. Both brothers were apparently fairly skilled musicians and did whatever was needed around the house in daily life and while entertaining guests.
Prince was well-liked in Portsmouth. He got along well with the other slaves and was well received by the white population while serving them. He was respected as a leader of the black community before and after he was freed. In 1779 he was among 19 other slaves of prominent families to petition the New Hampshire Legislature to abolish slavery on the grounds of their war contributions and because slavery contradicted the very things they claimed to be fighting the war for.
Prince accompanied Whipple Jr. when he received a commission to join the Continental Army. He served as his bodyguard in the NH militia initially. When General Washington ended the rule against Africans serving, Prince negotiated his freedom with Whipple Jr. in return for continued military service at which time he became a military aid. Whipple Jr. stayed true to his word and freed Prince Whipple on February 22, 1781.
After the war, he married his wife Dinah, who had been freed by her own master when she turned 21. In return for his military service, he was granted a plot of land on which he, his brother, and his wife built a house. Later, they would convert the school into the Ladies Charitable African School, created to teach young children. He died in Portsmouth at the age of 46. At the time he was well known not only as a leader in his community but as the black man who served alongside William Whipple Jr. It is rumored that he is the black man rowing the boat in the famous painting The Crossing of the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze, however, this cannot be proven. It has been confirmed that he is the man in the painting The Passage of the Delaware by Thomas Sully who is seen talking to a man identified as Whipple Jr. on the right side of the painting. Sully had heard about Prince and intentionally incorporated him into the painting. He has a headstone that simply reads ‘Prince Whipple, Cont’l Troops, Rev. War’ in the North Burying Ground in Portsmouth.
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