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.