Washington and Caesar

Washington and Caesar
Christian Cameron

George Washington’s slave Caesar escapes to fight for the British against his former master – in this action-packed historical adventure set against the spectacular background of the American Revolution.In 1773 a new slave arrives at George Washington’s Virginia estate and is given the name Caesar. But the looming war for independence will soon bring a turn of events neither master nor slave could have predicted. Within months they will be fighting on opposite sides: Washington as commander of the Continental Army, Caesar as a soldier in the legendary Loyalist corps made up of former slaves.In this captivating tour de force brimming with spectacular battle scenes and gripping historical detail, Caesar’s perilous rise through the British ranks is deftly interwoven with the story of Washington’s war years, leading to the day when they come face to face again – this time in uniform…

Washington and Caesar

Christian Cameron

To my father.

Table of Contents

Cover Page (#u7d42ce24-9f37-52da-92bd-85b720c12666)

Title Page (#u31cdc76e-bda4-516e-8b8b-fec72d702383)

Dedication (#u2be3ad9a-5769-582f-be0f-cf5c289564ed)

Author’s Note (#uef0b8bf4-83ca-5828-9bdc-fbc136528cb5)

Map (#u395b12da-bbfb-5617-bf41-b846d98eba69)

I Wanderers in the Wilderness (#u0169826e-c76b-543e-ac96-e25f1aace4b2)

1 (#ub481085a-7d81-55ef-ba9c-845ed1834a37)

2 (#u88baaaee-9f21-5985-81c9-9683a1167f5d)

3 (#u39e05f80-6df0-582f-ada8-b2c5e652bddc)

4 (#uacc129c7-4b83-538e-b6ce-b3f2f1207a19)

5 (#u7be1709d-3495-5e0f-8301-ba3e8b14cd53)

II Taking off Terror (#u8eb6cf36-be7e-5f32-b1f9-04d4acadb6d9)

1 (#u1d0bba2f-ecc0-58fb-bdb4-ae081b29b32e)

2 (#ud7ee8d10-37ee-5821-9ce6-0ff1d8a20842)

3 (#uf09b8819-6e62-5534-ae5a-0f2a1d135bc9)

4 (#litres_trial_promo)

5 (#litres_trial_promo)

III War (#litres_trial_promo)

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5 (#litres_trial_promo)

IV Liberty or Death (#litres_trial_promo)

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V Care and Labour (#litres_trial_promo)

1 (#litres_trial_promo)

VI Peace (#litres_trial_promo)

1 (#litres_trial_promo)

Historical Note (#litres_trial_promo)

Select Bibliography (#litres_trial_promo)

Acknowledgments (#litres_trial_promo)

Washington and Caesar (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)

Author’s Note (#ulink_7febe6f6-58f2-5f26-801e-8c3f8e79da6a)

There can be few topics as difficult to confront for an American author as the mythology attached to George Washington. If there is a topic as difficult, it is surely those issues surrounding blacks and slavery in Colonial America. The combination of the two may provide an obstacle so far beyond my merits as an author as to be insurmountable.

Rather than seeking to excuse any failures, however, I would prefer to lull the reader with a few assurances. The events of this book are firmly rooted in history; for indeed, Washington’s life was so well chronicled (by his own hand, among many others) that it could not be otherwise. I have tried to portray the life of black slaves equally well, based on the handful of contemporary accounts of survivors of that pernicious system. And the events of the American Revolution occurred very much as chronicled here. The British did not inevitably fight in long straight lines, the Americans were not all “Patriots”, and the results of the struggle gave birth not just to the United States, but to Canada as well.

To those hard truths let me add one other. All society of the day was hierarchical; all men, black or white, had superiors and inferiors, and expected certain behavior of each, and all too many were content that it be so. They were different. I have tried to portray this throughout, but I shall leave you to judge the result.

Map (#ulink_9be6fa60-dd44-547d-92eb-2946a1cfb7c0)

I Wanderers in the Wilderness (#ulink_1e68c8c7-45fa-516e-ae3a-380cab256812)