Synopses & Reviews
Three Peoples, One King explores the contributions and conjoined fates of Loyalists, Indians, and slaves who stood with the British Empire in the Deep South colonies during the American Revolution. Challenging the traditional view that British efforts to regain control of the southern colonies 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 attributes the ultimate failure of the Crown's southern campaign to the ruthless program of violent suppression of Loyalist forces carried out by the revolutionaries and to Britain's inability to capitalize fully on the support available.
Other studies have assessed the stance of white Loyalist militias and the efforts of revolutionaries to woo them or defeat them, but Piecuch's is the first to offer a synthetic approach to all three Loyalist populations--white, black, and Native American--in the South during this era. He subjects each of the groups to intensive investigation, making new discoveries in the histories of escaped or liberated slaves and of still-powerful Indian tribes, and in the bitter legacies of white loyalism. Aided by thirty-four illustrations and maps, Piecuch's pathbreaking study will appeal to scholars and students of American history as well as Revolutionary War enthusiasts.
Review
"Piecuch's book is a much needed and welcomed addition to the history of the American Revolution in the South and of its Loyalist, Indian, and slave participants."--Georgia Historical Quarterly
Review
"Piecuch's book provides a fresh treatment of the field and helps the reader gain a better understanding of exactly what loyalty meant and how much suffering occurred at the hands of the rebels. Piecuch reinforces the belief that loyalists were devoted British subjects determined to maintain the connection between the colonies and the Crown and work within the system to effect change."--South Carolina Historical Magazine
Review
"The research undergirding this effort is tremendous. Piecuch has been unstinting in his pursuit of manuscript sources, and his study is adequately informed by the latest secondary research. More importantly, Piecuch is among the first to structure a study of loyalism in the revolutionary South that incorporates Indians and African Americans."--William and Mary Quarterly
Synopsis
A comprehensive study of the wartime roles and fates of three groups who stood with Britain against colonial rebels
About the Author
Jim Piecuch is an associate professor of history at Kennesaw State University in Georgia, the author of The Battle of Camden: A Documentary History, and the coeditor of General Nathanael Greene and the American Revolution in the South.