Epic journeys of freedom : runaway slaves of the American Revolution and their global quest for liberty

During the American Revolution, thousands of slaves fled their masters to find freedom with the British. Epic Journeys of Freedom is the astounding story of these runaways and the lives they made on four continents. During the American Revolution, thousands of slaves fled from their masters to find freedom with the British. Having emancipated themselves-and with rhetoric about the inalienable rights of free men ringing in their ears-these men and women struggled tenaciously to make liberty a reality in their lives. This alternative narrative includes the stories of dozens of individuals-including Harry, one of George Washington's slaves-who left America and forged difficult new lives in far-flung corners of the British Empire. Written in the best tradition of history from the bottom up, this pathbreaking work will alter the way we think about the American Revolution.

About the Author:
Cassandra Pybus is Australian Research Council Professorial Fellow in History at the University of Sydney

Foreword (Ira Berlin) ix Prologue xiii A Note on Sources xix Part I Liberty or Death 3 Crossing over to Freedom's Shore 21 Marching to Catastrophe 37 Fleeing the Founding Fathers 57 Part II Starving in the Streets of London 75 Bound for Australia's Fatal Shore 89 Relief for London's Black Poor 103 Part III Recalcitrant Convicts in New South Wales 123 The Province of Freedom in Sierra Leone 139 At the End of the World in New South Wales 157 Promises Unfulfilled in Sierra Leone 169 In Bondage to This Tyrannous Crew 183 Epilogue 203 Acknowledgments 207 Biographies of Significant Black Refugees 209 Notes 221 Sources 253 Index 271 During the American Revolution, thousands of slaves fled their masters to find freedom with the British. Having emancipated themselves--and with the rhetoric about the inalienable rights of free men ringing in their ears--these men and women struggled tenaciously to make liberty a reality in their own lives