"We commonly think of the American Revolution as simply the war for independence from British colonial rule. But, of course, that independence actually applied to only a portion of the American population - African Americans would still be bound in slavery for nearly another century. In Black Patriots and Loyalists, Alan Gilbert asks us to rethink what we know about the Revolutionary War, to realize that while white Americans were fighting for their freedom, black Americans were joining the British imperial forces to gain theirs. There were actually two wars being waged at once: a political revolution for independence from Britain and a social revolution for emancipation and equality.

Introduction: fear, hope, and the two revolutions in America -- Lord Dunmore, black insurrection, and the independence movement in Virginia and South Carolina -- Emancipation and revolution: the conjunction of pragmatism and principle -- The Laurens family and emancipation -- Black fighters for freedom: patriot recruitment and the two revolutions -- Black fighters for freedom: British recruitment and the two revolutions -- Black fighters in the two revolutions -- Honor in defeat -- Postwar black emigrations: the search for freedom and self-government -- Democratic internationalism and the seeds of freedom.