Liberty or Death by Margaret Whitman Blair

Liberty or Death: The Surprising Story of Runaway Slaves Who Sided With the British During the American Revolution by Margaret Whitman Blair

National Geographic

January 2010

64 pgs.

Summary

This book looks at the African Americans who fought for the British in the United States Revolution. Motivated by the 1775 proclamation by Virginia's Royal Governor that any slaves who bore arms on his behalf would gain their freedom, they fought bravely for a losing cause. Those who did not succumb to battle wounds or smallpox, which ran rampant on the ships where they were quartered, emigrated to Canada and ultimately, to West Africa. This is an inspiring and little known story of the "other freedom fighters" in the Revolutionary War.