CCC Book of the Month - Sept 2022

North Carolina was one of the original 13 colonies that were formed or became ruled by Great Britain in North America, hundreds of years ago. A colony is a land that is under the control or power of another country—often one that is far away. People from that faraway country (and other places) come to live in the controlled lands; they are settlers or colonists. Colonists started arriving in the land we call North Carolina more than 400 years ago; they displaced many of the people already living here—the American Indians. Some settlers to North Carolina did not come here willingly; enslaved people from other colonies and Africa were brought to live and work in this land too. Free people of color also lived in North Carolina. 

Over time, many people living in 13 British colonies in North America—Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Virginia—wanted freedom from what they considered unfair laws from Great Britain. These people—Patriots—sought freedom to make their own rules and to not answer to a king and country so far away from them. Eventually, almost 250 years ago, the colonists—now calling themselves Americans—went to war with Great Britain to gain these freedoms. 

Not everyone in the colonies wanted to separate from Great Britain—some remained loyal to the king; they were called Loyalists. American Indians had to decide how support for either the new United States of America or Great Britain would help them maintain their lands and ways of life. And enslaved people deeply understood the desire for freedom—but the political, economic, and social freedoms sought by those in power in America did not include extending freedom to people held in bondage.

North Carolina’s participation in the American Revolution—the war with Great Britain—began early.

• In October 1775, at a time when it was unusual for women to speak up publicly, a group of 51 women in Edenton wrote and signed a document saying they would not buy any British goods because Americans had no say in how the taxes on those items would be spent.
• One of the earliest battles of the war with Great Britain occurred in February 1776, near Wilmington, at Moores Creek , where Patriots defeated British and Loyalist forces.
• North Carolina was the first colony to officially say, “Let’s be independent!” with the Halifax Resolves in April 1776. The Patriots representing the 13 colonies, meeting in Philadelphia at the Second Continental Congress, voted for independence as stated in the Declaration of Independence. Americans celebrate this event each Fourth of July—the nation’s birthday. Some 6,000 to 7,000 North Carolina soldiers served in the Continental Line—the name of the army commanded by General George Washington—that fought for the United States against Great Britain during the seven years of war.
• A major battle of the war happened at Guilford Courthouse, near Greensboro, in March 1781. Although the British forces officially won this battle, they suffered many losses.

Like James, some enslaved people in North Carolina sought freedom during the Revolutionary War. The British offered freedom to enslaved people who joined their army, and some in the American forces—including General George Washington’s officers John Laurens, Alexander Hamilton, and the Marquis de Lafayette—encouraged allowing all men who wanted freedom to fight. Free men of color and enslaved men served in the American AND British forces from the beginning of the Revolution. However, the freedoms won during the American Revolution did not extend to enslaved people. They—along with women, free people of color, and American Indians—would continue fighting for freedom and equality.

Gilbert du Motier, the Marquis de Lafayette—James’s advocate for freedom—visited the United States decades after the Revolution in 1824–1825. He traveled to North Carolina, where he visited a famous statue of George Washington that was in the State Capitol in Raleigh. Lafayette also attended a ball—a party with dancing—before traveling to Fayetteville, which had been named in his honor. A few years later, the Capitol burned, and the statue was destroyed. A copy of it was made and sits in the rebuilt Capitol today.

1. Why do you think James wanted to serve in the Continental army?
2. For what reasons do you think James’s enslaver allowed him to join the Continental army?
3. Did anything about the story surprise you?
4. How do the illustrations help you understand what the characters are doing or feeling?
5. Why do you think it took James so many years to gain his freedom?
6. What questions do you have about the people or events in the story?