Free (ADE-DRM ePub) Black Patriots & Loyalists [Academic Revolutionary War History]

[ATDrake]

Black Patriots and Loyalists: Fighting for Emancipation in the War of Independence by Alan Gilbert (Wikipedia), a professor at the University of Denver, is his layperson-accesible historical account and interpretation of Exactly What It Says In The Title, mostly drawn from and examining primary sources of black fighters on both sides of the US Revolutionary War, free courtesy of the University of Chicago Press.

This is their featured free ebook for the month of October.

I had a quick peek inside, and this looks very readable and engaging, organized neatly by overarching topic, and is also lavishly annotated, with many footnote explanations and reference citations, and reviewers seem to think quite highly of it. Very nifty indeed.

Currently free, throughout October directly @ the publisher's website (ADE-DRM ePub available worldwide in exchange for your valid email address).

And this has been the (late!) selected 3rd (non-repeat) free ebook thread of the day.

Because well-written history on a sometimes overlooked topic drawn from primary sources is always welcome, and this one partially touches on Canada (well, future proto-Canada), so bonus points!

Enjoy!

Description
We commonly think of the American Revolution as simply the war for independence from British colonial rule. But, of course, that independence actually applied to only a portion of the American population—African Americans would still be bound in slavery for nearly another century. Alan Gilbert asks us to rethink what we know about the Revolutionary War, to realize that while white Americans were fighting for their freedom, many black Americans were joining the British imperial forces to gain theirs. Further, a movement led by sailors—both black and white—pushed strongly for emancipation on the American side. There were actually two wars being waged at once: a political revolution for independence from Britain and a social revolution for emancipation and equality.

Gilbert presents persuasive evidence that slavery could have been abolished during the Revolution itself if either side had fully pursued the military advantage of freeing slaves and pressing them into combat, and his extensive research also reveals that free blacks on both sides played a crucial and underappreciated role in the actual fighting. Black Patriots and Loyalists contends that the struggle for emancipation was not only basic to the Revolution itself, but was a rousing force that would inspire freedom movements like the abolition societies of the North and the black loyalist pilgrimages for freedom in Nova Scotia and Sierra Leone.

[ATDrake]

Just a reminder that today is the last day to get this if you're interested.

[Apache]

Thank you for the reminder. I seem to have overlooked your original post.
Apache