Woody Holton recounts the experiences of slaves who seized freedom by joining the British as well as those, slave and free, who served in Patriot military forces. Holton's introduction examines the conditions of black American life on the eve of colonial independence and the ways in which Revolutionary rhetoric about liberty provided African Americans with the language and inspiration for advancing their cause. Nearly forty documents, including personal narratives, petitions, letters, poems, advertisements, pension applications, and images, testify to the diverse goals and actions of African Americans during the Revolutionary era.Document headnotes and annotations, a chronology, questions for consideration, a selected bibliography, and index offer additional pedagogical support. In this fresh look at liberty and freedom in the Revolutionary era from the perspective of black Americans, Woody Holton recounts the experiences of slaves who seized freedom by joining the British as well as those, slave and free, who served in Patriot military forces.