The Revolutionary War The War For Freedom

The British Army-the best in the world-expected to easily win the war against the American colonies. It was a war that should have been a short footnote in the history of the British Empire. The Continental Army-made up of farmers, merchants, and craftsmen-scarcely fought with gunpowder, let alone guns. They could not possibly succeed in their quest to form a new nation. On the way to victory, the British met American Commander-in-Chief George Washington, a man with an indomitable will. He led an army that refused to lose, no matter how great the odds or how many times it was discounted. In the end, it was the British who were desperate for peace. This is the story of the Revolutionary War and how it produced a country forged on freedom.

An illustrated, chronological account of the American Revolutionary War.

Cassandra Pybus adds greatly to the work of [previous] scholars by insisting that slaves stand at the center of their own history . . . Her 'biographies' of flight expose the dangers that escape entailed and the courage it took to risk all for freedom. Only by measuring those dangers can the exhilaration of success be comprehended and the unspeakable misery of failure be appreciated.--Ira Berlin, from the Foreword 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. Having emancipated themselves, 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. This alternative narrative of freedom fought for and won is uniquely compelling; historian Cassandra Pybus's groundbreaking research has uncovered individual stories of runaways who left America to forge difficult new lives in far-flung corners of the British Empire. Harry, for example, one of George Washington's slaves, escaped from Mount Vernon in 1776, was evacuated to Nova Scotia in 1783, and eventually relocated to Sierra Leone in West Africa with his wife and three children. Ralph Henry, who ran away from the Virginia firebrand Patrick Henry in 1776, took a similar path to precarious freedom in Sierra Leone, while others, such as John Moseley and John Randall, were evacuated with the British forces to England. Stranded in England without skills or patronage during a period of high unemployment, they were among thousands of newly freed poor blacks who struggled just to survive. While some were relocated to Sierra Leone, others, like Moseley and Randall, found themselves transported to the distant penal colony of Botany Bay, in Australia. Epic Journeys of Freedom, written in the best tradition of history from the bottom up, is a fascinating insight into the meaning of liberty; it will change forever the way we think about the American Revolution.

"Watch as American history comes to life in full color for young patriots! In simple, entertaining story form, students are introduced to the leaders, the causes, and the challenges of the Revolutionary War. The adventures of statesmen, soldiers, sailors, spies, and Native American fighters illustrate how God worked both naturally and supernaturally to build a free nation out of 13 scattered English colonies."--Page [4] of cover.

Uncover the lives of thirteen African-Americans who fought during the Revolutionary War. Even as American Patriots fought for independence from British rule during the Revolutionary War, oppressive conditions remained in place for the thousands of enslaved and free African Americans living in this country. But African Americans took up their own fight for freedom by joining the British and American armies; preaching, speaking out, and writing about the evils of slavery; and establishing settlements in Nova Scotia and Africa. The thirteen stories featured in this collection spotlight charismatic individuals who answered the cry for freedom, focusing on the choices they made and how they changed America both then and now. These individuals include: Boston King, Agrippa Hull, James Armistead Lafayette, Phillis Wheatley, Elizabeth "Mumbet" Freeman, Prince Hall, Mary Perth, Ona Judge, Sally Hemings, Paul Cuffe, John Kizell, Richard Allen, and Jarena Lee. Includes individual bibliographies and timelines, author note, and source notes.

Examine the causes, circumstances, and effects of the Revolutionary War through the eyes of the Founding Fathers, generals, soldiers, and common people.

Learn about the events which lead up to the Revolutionary War, the decisive battles, and the personalities involved on both sides.