Three Peoples, One King

Book excerpt: This study explores the lives of Southern whites, Blacks, and Native Americans who stood with the British during the American Revolution. Challenging the traditional view that British efforts in the south were undermined by a lack of local support, Jim Piecuch demonstrates the breadth of loyal assistance provided by these three groups in South Carolina, Georgia, and East and West Florida. Piecuch shows that the Crown’s southern campaign failed due to the revolutionary force’s violent suppression of these Loyalists and Britain’s inability to capitalize on their support. Covering the period from 1775 to 1782, Piecuch surveys the roles of Loyalists, Indians, and slaves across the southernmost colonies to illustrate the investments each had in allying with the British and the high price they paid during and after the war. Piecuch investigates each group, making new discoveries in the histories of escaped or liberated slaves, of still-powerful Indian tribes, and of the bitter legacies of white loyalism. He then employs an integrated approach that advances our understanding of Britain’s long hold on the South and the hardships experienced by those groups who were in varying degrees abandoned by the Crown in defeat.