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Washington and Caesar
Inspired by a little-known historical fact—that American slaves fought alongside the British in the Revolutionary War—this epic novel tells of a Mount Vernon slave who joins a Loyalist black regiment charged with defeating his former master on the battlefield.
The year is 1773. A new slave arrives at George Washington's Virginia estate and is given the name Caesar. But the war for independence will soon bring a turn of events neither master nor slave could have predicted. Within months they will be fighting on opposite Washington as commander of the Continental Army, Caesar as a soldier in the legendary Loyalist corps made up of former slaves. In this captivating tour de force brimming with spectacular battle scenes and gripping historical detail, Caesar's perilous rise through the British ranks is deftly interwoven with the story of Washington's war years, leading to the day when they come face-to-face again—this time in uniform.
The year is 1773. A new slave arrives at George Washington's Virginia estate and is given the name Caesar. But the war for independence will soon bring a turn of events neither master nor slave could have predicted. Within months they will be fighting on opposite Washington as commander of the Continental Army, Caesar as a soldier in the legendary Loyalist corps made up of former slaves. In this captivating tour de force brimming with spectacular battle scenes and gripping historical detail, Caesar's perilous rise through the British ranks is deftly interwoven with the story of Washington's war years, leading to the day when they come face-to-face again—this time in uniform.
580 pages, Hardcover
First published January 28, 2001
31 people are currently reading
251 people want to read
About the author
Christian Cameron
81 books1,097 followersAka Miles Cameron. Also publishes as Gordon Kent with his father Kenneth M. Cameron.
Christian Cameron was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1962. He grew up in Rockport, Massachusetts, Iowa City, Iowa,Christian Cameron and Rochester, New York, where he attended McQuaid Jesuit High School and later graduated from the University of Rochester with a degree in history.
After the longest undergraduate degree on record (1980-87), he joined the United States Navy, where he served as an intelligence officer and as a backseater in S-3 Vikings in the First Gulf War, in Somalia, and elsewhere. After a dozen years of service, he became a full time writer in 2000. He lives in Toronto (that’s Ontario, in Canada) with his wife Sarah and their daughter Beatrice, currently age four. And a half.
Christian Cameron was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1962. He grew up in Rockport, Massachusetts, Iowa City, Iowa,Christian Cameron and Rochester, New York, where he attended McQuaid Jesuit High School and later graduated from the University of Rochester with a degree in history.
After the longest undergraduate degree on record (1980-87), he joined the United States Navy, where he served as an intelligence officer and as a backseater in S-3 Vikings in the First Gulf War, in Somalia, and elsewhere. After a dozen years of service, he became a full time writer in 2000. He lives in Toronto (that’s Ontario, in Canada) with his wife Sarah and their daughter Beatrice, currently age four. And a half.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
June 1, 2020
First off, props for that name. It’s a great title for a book. It makes you curious about the meaning, provides a fitting statement for the book’s themes of liberty and tyranny, and best of all makes perfect sense. Because while Washington is Washington, Caesar is not the famous dictator but Washington’s runaway slave. This is entirely plausible. Many of Washington’s slaves fled when the Revolution started and at least one of them did what Caesar does here and joined the British army in exchange for his freedom. And Caesar was a common slave name. Most slaves had names from Classical literature, although it is perhaps too coincidental that Caesar’s real name should be Cese Mwakale.
So as you might gather this is a book about fighting for liberty. Two very different sorts of liberty. Washington, of course, is fighting for the liberty of the Colonials and for independence from England. Caesar is fighting for a more direct form of freedom. As a theme I think this is fantastic. A conflict between two characters who want the same thing but don’t recognize the other’s interpretation of it is a great idea. And for this specific subject, slavery in American society, the dual focus keeps this from becoming either a bitter polemic or a completely whitewashed heroic saga. We see Washington being noble and heroic. And we see him being an utter bastard. And neither feels out of character.
As far as character goes this is probably the most believable depiction I’ve seen of Washington. He feels just like the character depicted in Ron Chernow’s excellent biography. Washington is a man of violent but firmly controlled temper who is concerned deeply with fairness, which is mixed in with notions of propriety and people keeping in their proper place. He also harbors immense personal doubts and insecurities which he, being a private man, rarely shares with even his closest friends. He is immensely concerned with self-image and while he’s extremely ambitious he’s unwilling to reveal it lest it seem to diminish his character. Every bit of this is true and I loved seeing it brought to life.
Caesar‘s a somewhat more simplistic character for the simple reason that he’s fictitious. Pretty much as soon as he joins the army he becomes that typical sort of ultracompetent soldier you see all too often in military fiction. I really don’t think he ever made a wrong move, although as a sergeant his scope for battle planning is limited. The more interesting stuff came before he joined the army. Caesar’s from Africa originally, so he doesn’t entirely fit in with Washington’s homegrown slaves. His emotional struggle’s not actually about enslavement, at least initially. He was serving in the Caribbean for several years before he was sold and his struggle’s actually about adapting to the comparatively respectful Virginian form of slavery. The absence of violent coercion tends to bring out the free man in him, with severe consequences. His journey is emotionally raw and feels honest. It was not a good life being a slave in America. No matter who your master was.
A part of what sells the two characters is the direct contrast between the two and their struggles, which often run in parallel. Both are tall, thoughtful men who prove to be natural leaders. When Washington struggles with how to present himself so does Caesar. While Washington fights to convince others of the need for rebellion, Caesar plots escape. As Washington tries to win over his new army, Caesar struggles to win a place for his men inside the British one. These events follow right after each other, though the comparison doesn’t seem forced.
The military conduct of the Revolutionary War occupies most of the book, but I honestly wish that the earlier part had lasted longer. Cameron displays an astonishing grasp of the subtle vagaries of the class structure, both in Britain and the Americas. I’ve only read his Greek books until now but I don’t think I’ve ever seen an author master the feel of such disparate eras with such skill before. Usually an author stepping out of his comfort zone shows. While the military scenes are good and Cameron, as ever, displays a solid understanding of what it feels like to be a soldier on campaign, the battle narrative can’t help but become somewhat repetitive.
This book was a perfect for a long time, but it loses itself somewhere after the halfway point. It never gets bad or anything. It just starts to lose its momentum and drift through the war. It would, I feel, have been better to be a bit more picky about how much of the war to include. Once Caesar settles in and Washington starts to take control there are surprisingly few major character moments. I also felt that the subplot with Caesar’s nemesis started to consume too much attention. The man’s a real POS; a slave-taker with a habit of seizing free blacks and selling them southwards. Or just killing them if they’re useless or in his way. But this goes from being a sideshow to the main goal and it starts to feel too stereotypical and small for my tastes. He also manages to show up facing Caesar at seemingly every battle of the Revolution. It’s all a bit much.
One other thing that disappointed me was the total absence of any black soldiers on the American side. They certainly existed. They were even common. Heck, the first man to die for the Revolution was a black man: Crispus Attucks, 1775. This absence puts a decidedly different spin on things. Especially when we get to the point where Washington starts to question his stance on slavery. The presence of regular African-American soldiers (and some of them served the whole war) should have played a key role in undermining his convictions. It would make dramatic sense and I feel it would likely be close to the truth as well. And of course it would have provided a different POV to that of the former slaves who fled to the British. This also means that the amount of actual racism in here is fairly low, considering. Slavery is justified on economic not racial grounds. And aside from the big bad there’s little mistreatment of free blacks.
The language is almost but not quite colonial. It follows much of the sentence structure and word choices, but it is perhaps not flowery enough and modern terms (such as NCO, logistics, and yeah) occasionally slip through. And I guarantee that slaveowners didn’t call Africans “blacks” but used even less respectful terms. This isn’t entirely a criticism. It’s close enough that Washington’s genuine writings don’t seem out of place and the courtly formality of 18th century English is often hard for modern readers to relate to. The other dialects in here follow a similar pattern. The slavespeak includes enough elements of the real patois to give us the feel without confusing us or slipping into ugly caricature. It is not, in short, a perfectly accurate representation of how the 18th century would have sounded but it is probably as close as most people would want.
So I really liked this book and have a lot to say about it. It takes an interesting topic and handles it well, providing us with a rare new take on the American Revolution. A lot of very difficult issues are handled so masterfully that you don’t even appreciate how difficult that is. Characterization is excellent and handled with real panache. Caesar’s always likable and Washington’s likable and unlikable qualities both feel like they emanate from the same person. This is a tricky subject to handle and Cameron does it near flawlessly. Highly recommended.
So as you might gather this is a book about fighting for liberty. Two very different sorts of liberty. Washington, of course, is fighting for the liberty of the Colonials and for independence from England. Caesar is fighting for a more direct form of freedom. As a theme I think this is fantastic. A conflict between two characters who want the same thing but don’t recognize the other’s interpretation of it is a great idea. And for this specific subject, slavery in American society, the dual focus keeps this from becoming either a bitter polemic or a completely whitewashed heroic saga. We see Washington being noble and heroic. And we see him being an utter bastard. And neither feels out of character.
As far as character goes this is probably the most believable depiction I’ve seen of Washington. He feels just like the character depicted in Ron Chernow’s excellent biography. Washington is a man of violent but firmly controlled temper who is concerned deeply with fairness, which is mixed in with notions of propriety and people keeping in their proper place. He also harbors immense personal doubts and insecurities which he, being a private man, rarely shares with even his closest friends. He is immensely concerned with self-image and while he’s extremely ambitious he’s unwilling to reveal it lest it seem to diminish his character. Every bit of this is true and I loved seeing it brought to life.
Caesar‘s a somewhat more simplistic character for the simple reason that he’s fictitious. Pretty much as soon as he joins the army he becomes that typical sort of ultracompetent soldier you see all too often in military fiction. I really don’t think he ever made a wrong move, although as a sergeant his scope for battle planning is limited. The more interesting stuff came before he joined the army. Caesar’s from Africa originally, so he doesn’t entirely fit in with Washington’s homegrown slaves. His emotional struggle’s not actually about enslavement, at least initially. He was serving in the Caribbean for several years before he was sold and his struggle’s actually about adapting to the comparatively respectful Virginian form of slavery. The absence of violent coercion tends to bring out the free man in him, with severe consequences. His journey is emotionally raw and feels honest. It was not a good life being a slave in America. No matter who your master was.
A part of what sells the two characters is the direct contrast between the two and their struggles, which often run in parallel. Both are tall, thoughtful men who prove to be natural leaders. When Washington struggles with how to present himself so does Caesar. While Washington fights to convince others of the need for rebellion, Caesar plots escape. As Washington tries to win over his new army, Caesar struggles to win a place for his men inside the British one. These events follow right after each other, though the comparison doesn’t seem forced.
The military conduct of the Revolutionary War occupies most of the book, but I honestly wish that the earlier part had lasted longer. Cameron displays an astonishing grasp of the subtle vagaries of the class structure, both in Britain and the Americas. I’ve only read his Greek books until now but I don’t think I’ve ever seen an author master the feel of such disparate eras with such skill before. Usually an author stepping out of his comfort zone shows. While the military scenes are good and Cameron, as ever, displays a solid understanding of what it feels like to be a soldier on campaign, the battle narrative can’t help but become somewhat repetitive.
This book was a perfect for a long time, but it loses itself somewhere after the halfway point. It never gets bad or anything. It just starts to lose its momentum and drift through the war. It would, I feel, have been better to be a bit more picky about how much of the war to include. Once Caesar settles in and Washington starts to take control there are surprisingly few major character moments. I also felt that the subplot with Caesar’s nemesis started to consume too much attention. The man’s a real POS; a slave-taker with a habit of seizing free blacks and selling them southwards. Or just killing them if they’re useless or in his way. But this goes from being a sideshow to the main goal and it starts to feel too stereotypical and small for my tastes. He also manages to show up facing Caesar at seemingly every battle of the Revolution. It’s all a bit much.
One other thing that disappointed me was the total absence of any black soldiers on the American side. They certainly existed. They were even common. Heck, the first man to die for the Revolution was a black man: Crispus Attucks, 1775. This absence puts a decidedly different spin on things. Especially when we get to the point where Washington starts to question his stance on slavery. The presence of regular African-American soldiers (and some of them served the whole war) should have played a key role in undermining his convictions. It would make dramatic sense and I feel it would likely be close to the truth as well. And of course it would have provided a different POV to that of the former slaves who fled to the British. This also means that the amount of actual racism in here is fairly low, considering. Slavery is justified on economic not racial grounds. And aside from the big bad there’s little mistreatment of free blacks.
The language is almost but not quite colonial. It follows much of the sentence structure and word choices, but it is perhaps not flowery enough and modern terms (such as NCO, logistics, and yeah) occasionally slip through. And I guarantee that slaveowners didn’t call Africans “blacks” but used even less respectful terms. This isn’t entirely a criticism. It’s close enough that Washington’s genuine writings don’t seem out of place and the courtly formality of 18th century English is often hard for modern readers to relate to. The other dialects in here follow a similar pattern. The slavespeak includes enough elements of the real patois to give us the feel without confusing us or slipping into ugly caricature. It is not, in short, a perfectly accurate representation of how the 18th century would have sounded but it is probably as close as most people would want.
So I really liked this book and have a lot to say about it. It takes an interesting topic and handles it well, providing us with a rare new take on the American Revolution. A lot of very difficult issues are handled so masterfully that you don’t even appreciate how difficult that is. Characterization is excellent and handled with real panache. Caesar’s always likable and Washington’s likable and unlikable qualities both feel like they emanate from the same person. This is a tricky subject to handle and Cameron does it near flawlessly. Highly recommended.
March 16, 2012
As I know rather a lot about this period in History, I found this to be even more exciting than Cameron's _Long War_ and _Tyrant_ series - both of which are rollicking good reads. I enjoyed the grittiness of the day to day detail and read every word of every battle scene (which can often make me yawn). The portrayal of Washington, although minimal (he is not the protagonist), is accurate to every text and account I have read of the man.
The portrayal of Caesar, the protagonist, made me think about some aspects of slave life I have never considered before and I really felt drawn to him and his situation and his choices. Some of the African-American women characters were a bit too heroic to be believed, but that's not an uncommon flaw in historical novels which often have trouble rounding out characters. One of the women characters, named Sally, was fascinating in both the choices she faces and the hard bitter life she leads.
I wish Cameron would write more in this period - his understanding even of the sights and smells of day-to-day revolutionary America paints an evocative picture. His portrayal of the heroes of the Loyalist cause is more accurate than most and does not promote the childish ideas about either side that are taught in consensual-narrative textbooks in school.
The portrayal of Caesar, the protagonist, made me think about some aspects of slave life I have never considered before and I really felt drawn to him and his situation and his choices. Some of the African-American women characters were a bit too heroic to be believed, but that's not an uncommon flaw in historical novels which often have trouble rounding out characters. One of the women characters, named Sally, was fascinating in both the choices she faces and the hard bitter life she leads.
I wish Cameron would write more in this period - his understanding even of the sights and smells of day-to-day revolutionary America paints an evocative picture. His portrayal of the heroes of the Loyalist cause is more accurate than most and does not promote the childish ideas about either side that are taught in consensual-narrative textbooks in school.
November 2, 2017
Nuanced, great characters, great action, and a side of the American Revolution we rarely see. Recommended.
July 17, 2007
I read the book because I knew the author. did not really grab me and reel me in...but I did manage to finish
February 18, 2018
I'm not well read on the Revolutionary War, so this book was a step outside of my box. It was very long and I struggled to stick with it to the end. Maybe it's just me, but I became confused about which characters were fighting for which side. This was in part due to the various terms being used interchangeably (i.e Tories, Loyalists, Patriots, Continentals).
I did enjoy learning more about George Washington--knowing his portrayal was based on his personal journals. Overall the book was okay, but not for me.
I did enjoy learning more about George Washington--knowing his portrayal was based on his personal journals. Overall the book was okay, but not for me.
November 17, 2017
This is the first book I’ve read from this author and absolutely well done. It’s a book I️ was given by my father and it explores the birth of our nation in a way that is seldom explored, at least in the books I’ve read. It’s a great read and both the story and the circumstances of history will stay with you long after you’ve put the book down.
December 19, 2023
Christian came out strong with his first novel, an engrossing tale of G.W. and his enslaved servant, Caesar, who quickly determines that freedom is for all, particularly himself.
Christian has since moved on to ancient Greek tales and such, but I'd happily read any RevWar novel he might concoct in the future.
Christian has since moved on to ancient Greek tales and such, but I'd happily read any RevWar novel he might concoct in the future.
October 6, 2018
An interesting tale of the Revolutionary War and the little known role of many slaves who left their masters and fought for the British in return for their freedom.
Read
September 7, 2020Fantastic accurate insight into the times of American Revolution.
December 5, 2022
Dull. I dont think i have ever been so bored in my life. Gone straight into the recycling bin.
April 15, 2017
This compelling novel uses wonderfully drawn fictional characters (as well as fictitious military units) to tell the remarkable true story of the slaves who fought for England, and for their own freedom, against the American revolutionaries, and to weave that story into the story of those revolutionaries and their commander George Washington. Most American readers will find their sympathies divided, and many will have their image of Washington challenged and expanded.
The fictional threads will keep even those well versed in the actual history in considerable suspense. The satisfying ending, like the story as a whole, uses fictional elements to portray Washington's actual evolution.
I had one minor complaint (which may or may not pertain to the paperback edition, as I read the Kindle edition): successive scenes often, though not uniformly, switch back and forth between English and Colonial forces and their adherents. Frequently the only initial clue as to where we've landed is the use of one or more secondary character names, and not necessarily distinctive names at that. Some concise label or visual cue would have been helpful.
The fictional threads will keep even those well versed in the actual history in considerable suspense. The satisfying ending, like the story as a whole, uses fictional elements to portray Washington's actual evolution.
I had one minor complaint (which may or may not pertain to the paperback edition, as I read the Kindle edition): successive scenes often, though not uniformly, switch back and forth between English and Colonial forces and their adherents. Frequently the only initial clue as to where we've landed is the use of one or more secondary character names, and not necessarily distinctive names at that. Some concise label or visual cue would have been helpful.
May 7, 2012
About an escaped slave fighting for the british in the revolutionary war (opposite his old master, general george washington), does bring up an interesting point. the british decreed that any slave of a master who took arms against the king was free, a precusor to the civil war rarely mentioned in us history classes.
An earlier book in Christian Camerons writing career but no less well written, very atmospheric, great characters, and jam packed with information, i learned so much about a point in history i knew nothing about but the author obviously is passionate about.
Like all of this authors books highly reccomended.
(Parm)
An earlier book in Christian Camerons writing career but no less well written, very atmospheric, great characters, and jam packed with information, i learned so much about a point in history i knew nothing about but the author obviously is passionate about.
Like all of this authors books highly reccomended.
(Parm)
May 2, 2008
not terribly well written historical fiction given to me by a scottish housemate. read mostly on a train from oakland to san diego, finished on a plane to salt lake city.
this story, about an escaped slave fighting for the british in the revolutionary war (opposite his old master, general george washington), does bring up an interesting point. the british decreed that any slave of a master who took arms against the king was free, a precusor to the civil war rarely mentioned in us history classes.
this story, about an escaped slave fighting for the british in the revolutionary war (opposite his old master, general george washington), does bring up an interesting point. the british decreed that any slave of a master who took arms against the king was free, a precusor to the civil war rarely mentioned in us history classes.
December 14, 2014
This was a long one but so very good. It was a wonderful device to juxtapose the story of Washington's actions and struggles with those of one of his former slaves. Caesar's story was especially compelling. There was much to consider and feel while reading this book as the author did a fine job of describing characters and events, breathing life into America's early years.
June 12, 2016
I thought the premise was interesting and I was drawn to the character of Caesar. I don't normally read historical fiction books of this era. However, I found this book to be rather draggy and felt there were too many side stories that distracted and confused the main plotline. I liked it but never got that excited about it.
January 9, 2014
Superb writing...lasting impact
Cameron takes on the challenge of an oft travelled character, Washington, and allows the reader to grow and learn (along-side Gen Washington and his army) the true definition of liberty for all.
Cameron takes on the challenge of an oft travelled character, Washington, and allows the reader to grow and learn (along-side Gen Washington and his army) the true definition of liberty for all.
January 31, 2014
Not bad, but not great. I've had a lot of his later series recommended to me, think i'll try one and see how he matured as a writer.
January 3, 2015
Couldn't put this down. I don't know a lot about American civil history, but it was a great story- I wanted it to be true
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews