Jordan Strong (born 1749), born Akinbode, was a member of the Queen's Rangers of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. Strong was born to the Maasai tribe in Kenya and was taken from his home as a boy, being sent to work on Selah Strong's plantation in Setauket, Long Island in New York. The Dunmore Proclamation of 1776 set him free, and his talent for fighting led to the Tory ranger Robert Rogers recruiting him for the Queen's Rangers. Under Rogers' successor John Graves Simcoe, Strong became the second-in-command of the rangers (despite experiencing some racism), and he used his native name name "Akinbode" in the rangers. Simcoe granted him his freedom papers to gain his loyalty, but he decided to run away to Canada rather than stay with the loyalists.
Biography[]
Life in slavery[]
Akinbode was born in 1749 to the Maasai tribe of Kenya, and he was born a free man. However, he was later enslaved by Great Britain and sold to the household of Selah Strong and Anna Strong in Setauket, Long Island, and he was given the enslaved name of "Jordan". He worked with the Strong family for several years, but in 1776 he was freed from the Strong family by the Dunmore Proclamation, although he was forced to serve in the British Army to fight for his freedom.
Queen's Rangers[]
Jordan/Akinbode while serving in the Queen's Rangers in October 1777
Akinbode in his rangers uniform
Strong served as a laborer in New York until he got into an argument with Captain Titus, a black member of the Queen's Rangers. Strong broke his rake in half and used two sticks to fight against Titus and another Queen's Ranger, and he showed his Maasai fighting techniques. Robert Rogers, commander of the Queen's Rangers, had his men stop attacking Jordan and asked him to show him his moves with the two sticks. Strong said that only Maasai warriors could learn the tricks, and Rogers decided to settle the rivalry by having Jordan and Titus fight in front of the rangers. The rangers bet on opposing fighters, and Strong would use his melee techniques to defeat Titus; Rogers decided to allow him into the Queen's Rangers as a result. Strong would be appointed John Graves Simcoe's second-in-command when Simcoe took over the rangers in October 1777 because he was the only man that Simcoe knew for sure did not want to kill him; Simcoe granted Strong his manumission papers to allow him to make the free decision to serve as his second-in-command. He became an arrogant man, and he was fiercely loyal to Simcoe. However, in June 1778 he had the opportunity to meet with his former fellow slave Abigail Strong in Philadelphia when he delivered her son Cicero to her as a favor for his former master Anna, as Anna was aware that Jordan had an attraction to Abigail. Jordan delivered Cicero, and he offered to run away with her to Canada if she wanted, saying that he would run away after returning to New York.