Seeds of our racial divide

As the American Revolution broke out in New England in the spring of 1775, dramatic events unfolded in Virginia that proved every bit as decisive as the battles of Lexington and Concord and Bunker Hill in uniting the colonies against Britain. Virginia, the largest, wealthiest, and most populous province in British North America, was led by Lord Dunmore, who counted George Washington as his close friend. But the Scottish earl lacked troops, so when patriots imperiled the capital of Williamsburg, he threatened to free and arm enslaved Africans—two of every five Virginians—to fight for the Crown. Virginia’s tobacco elite was reluctant to go to war with Britain but outraged at this threat to their human property.

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“Historian Andrew Lawler offers an original take on the origins of the Revolutionary War with his thrilling tale of a wayward colonial governor who freed enslaved Africans to fight a rebel army. A Perfect Frenzy is a riveting and illuminating account of a pivotal episode in American history—a polished gem of a book.”—David Zucchino

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