“In this deeply researched and generously wrought book, Joyce Lee Malcolm penetrates the past’s shadows and helps us recover the life of an American boy relegated to obscurity—until now.”
—Wilfred M. McClay, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

"A well-written and important contribution to our understanding of the black experience during the Revolution."
—Edward Rugemer, Yale University

"In clear, engaging language, Malcolm reconstructs the surroundings, relationships and political atmosphere of the Revolution. . . . Malcolm seamlessly captures the intersection of personal, political and military strategy. History buffs will revel in Peter's never-before-told story, which makes a vivid addition to Revolutionary War literature."
—Kirkus Reviews

“From the fogs of war and hidden records, Joyce Lee Malcolm has retrieved this amazing story of slavery and freedom in the midst of the American Revolution. With graceful, old-fashioned narrative style, Malcolm tells the story of Peter, an African American youth whose footprints traversed many battlefronts of the Revolution. Peter's voice is elusive, but his life left many traces. He saw and fought the war, returned to his Massachusetts home, lived and worked as a farmer, and died far too young. This book is a marvelous example of what can be learned from heretofore unknown people, and a beautifully-told tale about the ugliest underside of American history.”
—David W. Blight, author of A Slave No More: Two Men Who Escaped to Freedom, Including Their Own Narratives of Emancipation