Epic Journeys of Freedom: Runaway Slaves of the American Revolution and Their Global Quest for Liberty

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.

About the Author :
Cassandra Pybus holds the Australian Research Council Chair of History at the University of Tasmania. An award-winning author who has written ten books, she is a frequent Fulbright professor and international fellow at American universities. "From the Trade Paperback edition."

Review :
"Through her meticulous research and an engaging narrative, Pybus provides a superb collective biography of those slaves during the American Revolution who dared to pursue their dreams of freedom. This book would be an appropriate addition to either African-American History or Revolutionary War collections."--Clark E. Heath (AASL) Southfield Lathrup High School, Lathrup Village, MI "This book shines because of Ms. Cassandra Pybus's stellar research. Her description of the upheaval surrounding the American Revolution is sound . . . Cassandra Pybus's book adds much needed historical documentation to a group of people who have largely been forgotten by history. Every school and public library should own a copy of this book."--Christina Maria Beaird (PLA), Plainfield Public Library District, Plainfield, IL "An impressive and extremely important work." "-Library Journal, " starred review "A significant contribution to contemporary studies of the Black Atlantic." "-Publishers Weekly" "What a gripping narrative . . . [and] an awesome achievement."--Alfred F. Young, author of "The Shoemaker and the Tea Party" "From the Trade Paperback edition."