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A Perfect Frenzy: A Royal Governor, His Black Allies, and the Crisis That Spurred the American Revolution
From the nationally bestselling author of The Secret Token, the largely untold story of rebellion in Virginia that will forever change one’s understanding of the American Revolution
At the same time as the American Revolution gathered momentum in 1775 in Massachusetts at Lexington and Concord and Bunker Hill, a series of dramatic events in Virginia proved just as important in uniting the colonies against Britain—albeit for very different reasons. As redcoats squared off against New England farmers, the royal governor of Virginia, Lord Dunmore—close friend to George Washington and other Virginia elites, but feeling the heat of revolutionary fervor in his colony—publicly threatened, unless the rebellion abated, to offer freedom to any Black enslaved people who came to his side in the leading port city of Norfolk.
The Virginia elite, especially Washington—until then still desirous of peace with Britain—was outraged at the potential theft of their human property. By November, with rebellion growing, Dunmore made his emancipation formal and sent Black men into battle against their former owners. “Lord Dunmore has commenced hostilities in Virginia, Thomas Jefferson wrote John Randolph. “It has raised our countrymen into a perfect frenzy.” Dunmore’s actions aimed to snuff out the rebellion in the wealthiest and most populous colony, without whose backing independence from Britain would have been unlikely. At Jefferson’s insistence, on the night of January 1, 1776, the Virginia militia burned Norfolk to the ground—and blamed it on Dunmore—a false accusation that finally persuaded Virginia’s delegation to sign the Declaration of Independence.
Chronicling these stunning events in full for the first time, revealing the vastly different motivations that drove Virginia into rebellion, A Perfect Frenzy offers striking new perspective on the American Revolution that reorients our understanding of its causes and reveals the seeds of racial tensions we feel to this day.
At the same time as the American Revolution gathered momentum in 1775 in Massachusetts at Lexington and Concord and Bunker Hill, a series of dramatic events in Virginia proved just as important in uniting the colonies against Britain—albeit for very different reasons. As redcoats squared off against New England farmers, the royal governor of Virginia, Lord Dunmore—close friend to George Washington and other Virginia elites, but feeling the heat of revolutionary fervor in his colony—publicly threatened, unless the rebellion abated, to offer freedom to any Black enslaved people who came to his side in the leading port city of Norfolk.
The Virginia elite, especially Washington—until then still desirous of peace with Britain—was outraged at the potential theft of their human property. By November, with rebellion growing, Dunmore made his emancipation formal and sent Black men into battle against their former owners. “Lord Dunmore has commenced hostilities in Virginia, Thomas Jefferson wrote John Randolph. “It has raised our countrymen into a perfect frenzy.” Dunmore’s actions aimed to snuff out the rebellion in the wealthiest and most populous colony, without whose backing independence from Britain would have been unlikely. At Jefferson’s insistence, on the night of January 1, 1776, the Virginia militia burned Norfolk to the ground—and blamed it on Dunmore—a false accusation that finally persuaded Virginia’s delegation to sign the Declaration of Independence.
Chronicling these stunning events in full for the first time, revealing the vastly different motivations that drove Virginia into rebellion, A Perfect Frenzy offers striking new perspective on the American Revolution that reorients our understanding of its causes and reveals the seeds of racial tensions we feel to this day.
544 pages, Hardcover
Published January 28, 2025
44 people are currently reading
478 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Lawler
10 books64 followersAndrew Lawler is a contributing writer with Science and contributing editor for Archaeology with more than thirty years full-time experience as a journalist and author. His stories have also appeared in Smithsonian, National Geographic, Discover, Audubon, American Archaeology, Columbia Journalism Review, Slate, Orion, The Sun, The Washington Post, and The New York Times, as well as several foreign publications. He is the author of more than a thousand articles, and his work has appeared twice in The Best American Science and Nature Writing. He has twice won the Gene S. Stuart award for archaeology reporting, and was awarded the MIT Knight Science Journalism Fellowship (nine months) and the Hodson Trust-John Carter Brown Fellowship (two months research/two months writing). Simon & Schuster published Lawler’s book, Why Did the Chicken Cross the World?: The Epic Saga of the Bird that Powers Civilization, in December 2014, and Random House will publish his second book, The Secret Token: Myth, Obsession, and the Search for the Lost Colony of Roanoke, in June 2018.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
February 16, 2025
Lawler opened my eyes to the complex and surprising politics that governed the American Revolution in the South. While patriots in Massachusetts protest new royal taxes, in the South, the scottish Lord Dunmore, colonial governor of Virginia, land hungry ally of George Washington, sets out with a scots militia to beat back tribal people to a new western boundary - the Ohio River - against George III's royal decrees and boundaries, guaranteeing that he will be chastized by the king. Caught between colonial allies and his royal liege, Dunmore plays a surprising game, promising freedom to a large population of enslaved Blacks if they join with royal forces against patriot militias now attacking his strongholds in Williamsburg and Norfolk. Lawler weaves these and more surprising players and actions into a new understanding of this moment in American history, debunking conventional wisdom about patriot heroism and documenting the first emancipation proclamation in America - penned by Dunmore just as the patriots are writing a Declaration of Independence that was never meant to include enslaved people.
A psychological and political drama not widely known, Lawson's careful research into Dunmore's actions will turn 250 years of easy assumptions about American patriotism on their head - inviting deeper understanding and perhaps even transforming the way familiar history is taught in our schools.
A psychological and political drama not widely known, Lawson's careful research into Dunmore's actions will turn 250 years of easy assumptions about American patriotism on their head - inviting deeper understanding and perhaps even transforming the way familiar history is taught in our schools.
December 12, 2024
My thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic - Atlantic Monthly Press for an advance copy of this book that looks at the start of the American Revolution through the eyes of Virginia, and how their reasons might not have been the same as the other colonies, as their way of life was in more ways of changing than being taxed without representation.
Most of us learn the history of our country in third or fourth grade, and these lessons are hardly ever challenged or added to. Most of us know stories about wooden teeth and cherry trees dealing with our first president, not his slave holdings, his land speculation and marrying into wealth. Thomas Jefferson people might be a little bit more aware of his sordid side, but even that is probably not discussed. When textbooks have to be approved in Texas for the whole of the United States to learn from, well, don't expect much. Even the origins of the Revolution are not well known. They taxed us, we threw tea in the ocean, something something, something, and suddenly minuteman are fighting redcoats. War was not something everyone wanted. Especially in areas that were doing quite well, like Virginia. Home to the most people, the most wealth, and the most to lose, war could be messy, and ugly. Until a decision was made that could ruin the financial lives of many people, than war became the only option. A Perfect Frenzy: A Royal Governor, His Black Allies, and the Crisis That Spurred the American Revolution by journalist and author Andrew Lawler, is a look at the role of Virginia in the Revolution, and how one governor's decision made war inevitable, a war for freedom, that left many still in chains.
Virginia was an economic powerhouse in the British colony of North America. Tobacco was king, a crop that took little maintenance, little care, and could be harvested and sold with that maximized profit for those lucky enough to have the proper land, and the proper workforce. The workforce of course was slaves. Stolen from their homes in Africa, purchased and given nothing but the chance to work until death. Tobacco also leached nutrients from the soil, so the need for land was always on the mind of colonists, and lead to many, including a recently married George Washington into land speculation and claiming of lands further and further away. Into this came a recent governor appointee, Lord Dunmore, a man who also liked to live higher than his income, and who like Washington married into wealth. At first Dunmore was understanding of the Virginia elite, but as problems grew worse, Dunmore began to look for solutions, that were unpopular. To fight the growing American rebel threat, Dunmore began to look at the slave population. In in effort to get more fighting men, Dunmore promised freedom, and arms one which many Africans viewed with great excitement. Others, elite land owning whites, were not so happy, and felt that revolution might be only solution.
As I get older it always amazes me that there are many things that I know nothing about, even though I have read numerous books and have loved history for years. I must admit to a blind spot in Southern history. That and the Civil War have never really interested me. I knew of efforts to free slaves by the British, and how many had to go to Canada after the war, but I did not know about slavery being so important to Virginia's entry into the revolution. Though it makes sense. Lawler is a very good writer and included many characters, motivations and lots of incidents in the book, and yet never lets the story drag. History is a lot of little things leading to big things, and Lawler covers this well. One can see the research, and being that Lawler was from the area, the respect that Lawler has for the subject. The characters will be known to many, but Lawler introduces a lot of unfamiliar people with important roles that history has passed over, and now get their time in the sun.
A fascinating history about America that explains quite a bit of where we are today, and how we got here. This is the first book I have read by Andrew Lawler, and I can't wait to read more.
Most of us learn the history of our country in third or fourth grade, and these lessons are hardly ever challenged or added to. Most of us know stories about wooden teeth and cherry trees dealing with our first president, not his slave holdings, his land speculation and marrying into wealth. Thomas Jefferson people might be a little bit more aware of his sordid side, but even that is probably not discussed. When textbooks have to be approved in Texas for the whole of the United States to learn from, well, don't expect much. Even the origins of the Revolution are not well known. They taxed us, we threw tea in the ocean, something something, something, and suddenly minuteman are fighting redcoats. War was not something everyone wanted. Especially in areas that were doing quite well, like Virginia. Home to the most people, the most wealth, and the most to lose, war could be messy, and ugly. Until a decision was made that could ruin the financial lives of many people, than war became the only option. A Perfect Frenzy: A Royal Governor, His Black Allies, and the Crisis That Spurred the American Revolution by journalist and author Andrew Lawler, is a look at the role of Virginia in the Revolution, and how one governor's decision made war inevitable, a war for freedom, that left many still in chains.
Virginia was an economic powerhouse in the British colony of North America. Tobacco was king, a crop that took little maintenance, little care, and could be harvested and sold with that maximized profit for those lucky enough to have the proper land, and the proper workforce. The workforce of course was slaves. Stolen from their homes in Africa, purchased and given nothing but the chance to work until death. Tobacco also leached nutrients from the soil, so the need for land was always on the mind of colonists, and lead to many, including a recently married George Washington into land speculation and claiming of lands further and further away. Into this came a recent governor appointee, Lord Dunmore, a man who also liked to live higher than his income, and who like Washington married into wealth. At first Dunmore was understanding of the Virginia elite, but as problems grew worse, Dunmore began to look for solutions, that were unpopular. To fight the growing American rebel threat, Dunmore began to look at the slave population. In in effort to get more fighting men, Dunmore promised freedom, and arms one which many Africans viewed with great excitement. Others, elite land owning whites, were not so happy, and felt that revolution might be only solution.
As I get older it always amazes me that there are many things that I know nothing about, even though I have read numerous books and have loved history for years. I must admit to a blind spot in Southern history. That and the Civil War have never really interested me. I knew of efforts to free slaves by the British, and how many had to go to Canada after the war, but I did not know about slavery being so important to Virginia's entry into the revolution. Though it makes sense. Lawler is a very good writer and included many characters, motivations and lots of incidents in the book, and yet never lets the story drag. History is a lot of little things leading to big things, and Lawler covers this well. One can see the research, and being that Lawler was from the area, the respect that Lawler has for the subject. The characters will be known to many, but Lawler introduces a lot of unfamiliar people with important roles that history has passed over, and now get their time in the sun.
A fascinating history about America that explains quite a bit of where we are today, and how we got here. This is the first book I have read by Andrew Lawler, and I can't wait to read more.
May 22, 2025
“A Perfect Frenzy” is the untold, and generally misrepresented (when told) story of Lord Dunmore, the British Governor of Virginia, before, during, and following the American Revolution.
I liked this book because it provided a very different perspective of the American Revolution than one normally reads. It also reminded me of the complexities related to the formation of the United States and that the divers were not necessarily what the historians related.
Most American histories present a story where 13 relatively unified colonies broke away from their mother country largely because of unfair taxes with representation in the British Parliament. While part of this is certainly true, the colonies were not unified as they were settled by different peoples and ruled differently. (See David Hackett Fischer’s “Albion Seed” to learn more on this.)
Moreover, this book proposes that in at least Virginia that “patriots (to America) broke with Britain more form a desire to keep the enslaved in bondage that to obtain liberty for themselves. (Page 420.) This thinking is only now creeping onto the agenda of historians with such works as the New York Times’ “1619 Project” which places slavery more at the heart of America’s origin story.
The book was also different because it focused only on the current state, Virginia, rather than the country at large. As found in “Albion’s Seed”, Virginia differed from other colonies because it was founded by Cavaliers (from the Southwest of England), and was inhabited by the elite of England, Scotland and America. This included the early Presidents of the United States - George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.
This focus on this one state also exemplified just how divided America was at the time of the revolution – in terms of class (upper class whites who could vote vs. lower class who were poor and indentured, and who could not vote), English aristocrats vs. Scottish merchants who came to America after Culloden in 1746, a large negro population of slaves and free men, as well as different states. Further, the rival European powers surrounded America with French to the North and West and Spanish to the south and West.
The other perspective was that of the British governor vs. the more usually told story of the American patriots. Lord Dunmore was a competent governor and a skilled soldier who initially helped expand the territory of Virginia westward to the Ohio valley but fighting indigenous native tribes. Usually history – and mainly American history – focused on the patriots who “liberated” America. Much rarer are histories of the British.
This history makes an important break from this storytelling perspective for it builds a very strong case defending Lord Dunmore’s actions – who has been wrongly accused at least by most Americans about causing the complete destruction of Norfolk, which was at the time the largest city and port in Virginia.
I found the book was well argued, written and flowed very well.
I’m happy to give the author full marks for this really great work.
I liked this book because it provided a very different perspective of the American Revolution than one normally reads. It also reminded me of the complexities related to the formation of the United States and that the divers were not necessarily what the historians related.
Most American histories present a story where 13 relatively unified colonies broke away from their mother country largely because of unfair taxes with representation in the British Parliament. While part of this is certainly true, the colonies were not unified as they were settled by different peoples and ruled differently. (See David Hackett Fischer’s “Albion Seed” to learn more on this.)
Moreover, this book proposes that in at least Virginia that “patriots (to America) broke with Britain more form a desire to keep the enslaved in bondage that to obtain liberty for themselves. (Page 420.) This thinking is only now creeping onto the agenda of historians with such works as the New York Times’ “1619 Project” which places slavery more at the heart of America’s origin story.
The book was also different because it focused only on the current state, Virginia, rather than the country at large. As found in “Albion’s Seed”, Virginia differed from other colonies because it was founded by Cavaliers (from the Southwest of England), and was inhabited by the elite of England, Scotland and America. This included the early Presidents of the United States - George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.
This focus on this one state also exemplified just how divided America was at the time of the revolution – in terms of class (upper class whites who could vote vs. lower class who were poor and indentured, and who could not vote), English aristocrats vs. Scottish merchants who came to America after Culloden in 1746, a large negro population of slaves and free men, as well as different states. Further, the rival European powers surrounded America with French to the North and West and Spanish to the south and West.
The other perspective was that of the British governor vs. the more usually told story of the American patriots. Lord Dunmore was a competent governor and a skilled soldier who initially helped expand the territory of Virginia westward to the Ohio valley but fighting indigenous native tribes. Usually history – and mainly American history – focused on the patriots who “liberated” America. Much rarer are histories of the British.
This history makes an important break from this storytelling perspective for it builds a very strong case defending Lord Dunmore’s actions – who has been wrongly accused at least by most Americans about causing the complete destruction of Norfolk, which was at the time the largest city and port in Virginia.
I found the book was well argued, written and flowed very well.
I’m happy to give the author full marks for this really great work.
June 20, 2025
I am so very torn on this book. I loved it, first of all. I've read a lot of books on the American Revolution, and this one is the first to really tell me something I didn't already know at least a little about. I knew about Dunmore's Proclamation, but I knew very little about the Ethiopian Regiment itself and those early days of the American Revolution that took place in Virginia. So often we're only given information on the big stuff that happened in New England, Philadelphia, and New York. This book contains a vital tale for anyone interested in this time in history. Especially if you're interested in the history of enslaved people in America.
That said, this is a 5 star book that I'm giving a 4 star rating. The author has picked a side in this fight, and that's fine. Unfortunately, picking that side influences his telling of the facts in this history. When reading books like this, I prefer the criteria used to evaluate the subject to be applied equally to both sides. Instead, the author here uses inflammatory language to describe Patriots as owners of enslaved persons, but not the Loyalists who also own enslaved persons. The Dunmore Proclamation only applied to those enslaved persons owned by Patriots, but the terminology used by the author implies that there was nothing wrong with Loyalists owning slaves and wanting to keep the possession of them. That Dunmore didn't even bring all the enslaved persons he owned with him when he fled is only mentioned in passing as some of those enslaved persons are put up for auction in Williamsburg. Does that not merit any criticism of him as a person? It does to me.
As I said, I loved the book, and the otherwise excellent writing and storytelling was not hurt too much by this matter. I recommend it to anyone interested in reading about the history of the American Revolution. Still, the constant presence of this double standard did bother me enough to lower the rating slightly.
That said, this is a 5 star book that I'm giving a 4 star rating. The author has picked a side in this fight, and that's fine. Unfortunately, picking that side influences his telling of the facts in this history. When reading books like this, I prefer the criteria used to evaluate the subject to be applied equally to both sides. Instead, the author here uses inflammatory language to describe Patriots as owners of enslaved persons, but not the Loyalists who also own enslaved persons. The Dunmore Proclamation only applied to those enslaved persons owned by Patriots, but the terminology used by the author implies that there was nothing wrong with Loyalists owning slaves and wanting to keep the possession of them. That Dunmore didn't even bring all the enslaved persons he owned with him when he fled is only mentioned in passing as some of those enslaved persons are put up for auction in Williamsburg. Does that not merit any criticism of him as a person? It does to me.
As I said, I loved the book, and the otherwise excellent writing and storytelling was not hurt too much by this matter. I recommend it to anyone interested in reading about the history of the American Revolution. Still, the constant presence of this double standard did bother me enough to lower the rating slightly.
September 15, 2025
The American revolution was impossible from the outset. The idea that the colonies could raise a fighting force powerful enough to defeat the greatest army of its time, backed by the greatest navy, was impossible. But beyond that little challenge, colonial unity presented just as serious a stumbling block. The thirteen American colonies generally thought of themselves as related to Great Britain, not each other. And they were different enough to present barriers: the Pennsylvania Quakers didn't think much of the Maryland Catholics, and the feeling was mutual. And the manufacturing focus of the northern colonies was different from the agrarian focus of the southern ones. How could the colonies be brought together?
Lord Dunmore, the last colonial governor of Virginia, on the eve of the American Revolution, had a problem. He was concerned that his colony was about to revolt, and felt it was his job to prevent it. His requests for military support went unheeded. But he had an idea: if he were to offer slaves in his colony their freedom in exchange for military service, he thought he could easily raise the army he needed. And he was right.
But his idea presented two problems for the residents of his colony. First, enslaved Blacks were the economic engine that drove the colony. You start offering freedom to slaves, the colony's economy would collapse, and everybody knew that. Second, slavery was achieved with unspeakable cruelty and violence. The enslavers' worst nightmare was an armed former slave. So while the issues that had the New England colonists upset differed from the trouble Lord Dunmore created in Virginia, a community of interest in independence from Great Britain arose.
In college, I was taught that prior to the 20th century, warfare was isolated from the population at large. But during the revolution, the town of Norfolk, Virginia, was intentionally burned, foreshadowing the war on civilians that is sickeningly common today.
Lord Dunmore, the last colonial governor of Virginia, on the eve of the American Revolution, had a problem. He was concerned that his colony was about to revolt, and felt it was his job to prevent it. His requests for military support went unheeded. But he had an idea: if he were to offer slaves in his colony their freedom in exchange for military service, he thought he could easily raise the army he needed. And he was right.
But his idea presented two problems for the residents of his colony. First, enslaved Blacks were the economic engine that drove the colony. You start offering freedom to slaves, the colony's economy would collapse, and everybody knew that. Second, slavery was achieved with unspeakable cruelty and violence. The enslavers' worst nightmare was an armed former slave. So while the issues that had the New England colonists upset differed from the trouble Lord Dunmore created in Virginia, a community of interest in independence from Great Britain arose.
In college, I was taught that prior to the 20th century, warfare was isolated from the population at large. But during the revolution, the town of Norfolk, Virginia, was intentionally burned, foreshadowing the war on civilians that is sickeningly common today.
March 27, 2025
In this fantastic history of the American Revolution, Lawler focuses on Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation and the implications of the Revolution for the enslaved and free African populations’ quality of life. In exploring the reasoning behind and backlash towards the proclamation, the book delves into the complicated racial capitalist politics of colonial Virginia and its impact on the Revolutionary efforts in some nuanced and fascinating ways. Lawler’s prose is absolutely fascinating and well-written, while the historical detail is well-researched and succinctly brought to life in a mix of maps, quotes, and summary. In tying this proclamation to the more famous Emancipation Proclamation nearly a century later, Lawler frames this overlooked historical document as part of a larger history of enslaved Africans’ role in American wars. Well-written, immersive, and well-researched, the book is a great read for academics and may be a bit dense for an inexperienced history reader, but the detail and structure of this book make it readable and engaging. Lawler has done a fantastic job bringing this complicated political document to life and, in explaining it to his readers in a manageable way, has done an incredible job making this topic approachable in this unique and interesting new history book.
Thanks to NetGalley, Grove Atlantic, and Atlantic Monthly Press for the advance copy.
Thanks to NetGalley, Grove Atlantic, and Atlantic Monthly Press for the advance copy.
May 11, 2025
I am a birder and feel it is a hobby that no matter how much I learn, I will never feel I am mastering the subject. So too with history; practically every history book I read provides some new and often surprising aspect to my understanding of our past. This is particularly true of WWII history because it is so vast. However, I thought that American Revolution history was more settled. Until now.
One result of extensive reading of history, for me at least, is a gradual and unrelenting loss of innocence. I have always read widely about the Holocaust. Until the last few decades, I always treated the Holocaust as a singular occurrence. How could those people at that time be so inhuman? Unfortunately, the perpetrators of such hatred and violence were, in fact, displaying traits that are all too common in humans. They are not confined to history. They are not confined to any particular ethnic group. They are not confined to particular parts of the world.
An important take-away from this book is how all or at least most individuals can express lofty ideals about society while making decisions about their own life ignoring their ideals totally and doing whatever benefits them personally. In Lawler's telling, this applied equally to patriots, loyalists, and the British.
One result of extensive reading of history, for me at least, is a gradual and unrelenting loss of innocence. I have always read widely about the Holocaust. Until the last few decades, I always treated the Holocaust as a singular occurrence. How could those people at that time be so inhuman? Unfortunately, the perpetrators of such hatred and violence were, in fact, displaying traits that are all too common in humans. They are not confined to history. They are not confined to any particular ethnic group. They are not confined to particular parts of the world.
An important take-away from this book is how all or at least most individuals can express lofty ideals about society while making decisions about their own life ignoring their ideals totally and doing whatever benefits them personally. In Lawler's telling, this applied equally to patriots, loyalists, and the British.
September 18, 2024
This book started off a bit slow. There was a lot of different characters/actors that the reader needed to become acquainted with.
However, its a fascinating look at how the Royal governor, Dunmore, tried to stop the American Revolutionary War, and what ultimately he did to flame the fires of independence.
I learned alot about the Revolutionary war in Virginia, the burning of Norfolk and the taking of the free press.
The majority of the book was exploring how the British tried to get black slaves to come to their side with promises of Freedom. And they got a great many of them to come over.
However, the budding Americans hated this and thought that their "property" was being 'wooed" by the British and as such this was intolerable.
I learned about the battle for the Great Bridge and the correspondence of Dunmore back to England, who was basically left alone to navigate how to proceed .
This was a great, informative book that is for anyone who wants to learn more about the Revolutionary War in Virginia.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for this honest review.
However, its a fascinating look at how the Royal governor, Dunmore, tried to stop the American Revolutionary War, and what ultimately he did to flame the fires of independence.
I learned alot about the Revolutionary war in Virginia, the burning of Norfolk and the taking of the free press.
The majority of the book was exploring how the British tried to get black slaves to come to their side with promises of Freedom. And they got a great many of them to come over.
However, the budding Americans hated this and thought that their "property" was being 'wooed" by the British and as such this was intolerable.
I learned about the battle for the Great Bridge and the correspondence of Dunmore back to England, who was basically left alone to navigate how to proceed .
This was a great, informative book that is for anyone who wants to learn more about the Revolutionary War in Virginia.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for this honest review.
September 14, 2025
American Revolution + emancipation of slaves + set in my home area of Norfolk= a very enjoyable read for me. The key figures in this book are Lord Dunmore, Governor of Virginia, and the City of Norfolk. Dunmore is doing everything he can to stave off the patriot rebellion, even to the extent of freeing slaves to help the cause of the throne. You know how the story ultimately ends, but this showdown between the loyalists and patriots in Norfolk is fascinating.
As you may know, Norfolk was literally burned to the ground in January 1776. Lord Dunmore started it and was blamed for all of it, but the reality is that 80-90% of Norfolk was destroyed by the patriots, motivated by drunkenness, a hate for cities, and, strategically, because it seemed impossible to defend against the British. The destruction of Norfolk was used as propaganda against the British.
What's unique about this story is it features Dunmore rather than the Americans. And the author, who grew up in the Norfolk area, makes Dunmore a sympathetic character.
I knew Washington, Jefferson, and other Virginia founders were partial to the life of the planter, but did not appreciate how much they despised urban life.
I learned about the successful Scots in Norfolk and how they sided with the throne. And I learned that Norfolk was a hotbed of evangelical fervor at that time.
The author suggests that the Revolutionary War was caused, in part, by the defense of slavery.
A very fun and interesting book.
As you may know, Norfolk was literally burned to the ground in January 1776. Lord Dunmore started it and was blamed for all of it, but the reality is that 80-90% of Norfolk was destroyed by the patriots, motivated by drunkenness, a hate for cities, and, strategically, because it seemed impossible to defend against the British. The destruction of Norfolk was used as propaganda against the British.
What's unique about this story is it features Dunmore rather than the Americans. And the author, who grew up in the Norfolk area, makes Dunmore a sympathetic character.
I knew Washington, Jefferson, and other Virginia founders were partial to the life of the planter, but did not appreciate how much they despised urban life.
I learned about the successful Scots in Norfolk and how they sided with the throne. And I learned that Norfolk was a hotbed of evangelical fervor at that time.
The author suggests that the Revolutionary War was caused, in part, by the defense of slavery.
A very fun and interesting book.
November 15, 2025
This's the story of Lord Dunmore, last colonial governor of Virginia, who tried to free the slaves and raise them into an army against the Revolution - only to be defeated and go into exile. Lawler blames it on lack of support from England, and focuses his story on the slaves' hope and efforts for freedom and the Patriots' efforts to suppress them which painted Dunmore as an infamous villain.
I don't recommend this book, due to the focus. Based on my other reading, I'd at least as much blame the smallpox pandemic (which swept through Dunmore's freedmen), the Patriots' preexisting organization, and Dunmore's lack of organization and training. Lawler mentions these but doesn't give them as much emphasis as I'd deserve. He also unwarrantedly lets us infer from silence that Dunmore was opposed to slavery out of principle, for which I see no evidence - and in fact, the man later went on to run a slave plantation, which appears to be evidence against it.
It's a story well worth telling, but this is not the telling.
I don't recommend this book, due to the focus. Based on my other reading, I'd at least as much blame the smallpox pandemic (which swept through Dunmore's freedmen), the Patriots' preexisting organization, and Dunmore's lack of organization and training. Lawler mentions these but doesn't give them as much emphasis as I'd deserve. He also unwarrantedly lets us infer from silence that Dunmore was opposed to slavery out of principle, for which I see no evidence - and in fact, the man later went on to run a slave plantation, which appears to be evidence against it.
It's a story well worth telling, but this is not the telling.
February 2, 2025
A Perfect Frenzy is a fascinating, well-researched perspective about Lord Dunmore and the beginnings of the American Revolutionary War. While the New England powder-keg was sparked by opposition to laws such as the Stamp Acts (hence, "taxation without representation"), Lawler makes it clear that much of Virginia's initial involvement in the Revolution boils down to slavery and racism. Dunmore armed and emancipated up to thousands of Black people in the months leading up to the conflict, enraging the wealthy white planter class of enslavers who would ultimately support the patriot 'cause' and incinerate Norfolk, Virginia (while blaming Dunmore for the city's destruction). The consequences have reverberated through the centuries.
Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic/Atlantic Monthly Press for my free review copy!
Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic/Atlantic Monthly Press for my free review copy!
April 27, 2025
I LOVED this book! I read it in print in four days. a few months after it came out, it was exactly what I needed for my own research… Lawler fuses exhaustive research and engaging writing to provide readers with the full story of Lord Dunmore, the British colonial governor of Virginia in the mid-1770s at the dawn of the American Revolution. purveyor of Dunmore’s Proclamation, Dunmore was known to enslaved communities as a possible path to freedom. he was known to white girls in the 1990s as villain of Felicity IV (but that last part is for my own project and I should get back to work). many thanks to Andrew Lawler for this fast-paced, fascinating study.
July 12, 2025
This was an excellent and very readable book about a not-so-well known account of a fascinating person and set of events at the start of the Revolutionary War. I am just a recreational history reader, but found this story and account very interesting and unknown to me, even being a past resident of Norfolk albeit as a boy years ago where much of the action takes place. The book provides I think a well- balanced account of Lord Dunmore and the events that followed, and their reflection if not impact on the role that slavery played in the Revolutionary War. The book is very well researched and Andrew Lawler is a excellent writer. I recommend this book to any American history buff.
February 1, 2025
This is a whole new take on how the American Revolutionary War was ignited. The author, through detailed research, has uncovered evidence that the disliked colonial Governor of Virginia, was actually in favor of freeing enslaved people, if they would fight for the British. This caused the founding fathers of Virginia to urge their countrymen to take up arms and eventually led to the patriots burning down the important port city of Norfolk, Virginia. This is a great read and Lawler puts forth a new narrative that is riveting.
March 22, 2025
Lord Dunmore’s decision to arm enslaved Africans in 1775 dramatically escalated the American Revolution in Virginia, forcing the colony’s elite into rebellion and contributing to the Declaration of Independence. This fascinating, informative, and entertaining book reveals a fresh perspective on the revolution’s causes, highlighting the differing motivations of North and South and the origins of modern racial divides.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
November 14, 2025
An interesting perspective on the Revolutionary War with a little preaching. I learned about the Revolutionary War focused on the Northeast but not much about the Southern colonies. This book focuses on the the South with a focus on Virginia and the surrounding waterways. The detail is substantial and shows how the Southern front was obviously just as important. In addition, the slavery and to some extent the American Indians issues play an integral part for the UK and the colonies. I can safely say I am more educated than before I read this book. Enjoy.
June 16, 2025
Good read. Didn't know anything about these events in VA during Am Revolution. Lawler makes strong case that Governor Dunmore and his actions, in particular declaring any enslaved people quitting patriot masters and joining British would be free, had a lot to do with VA leaders leaning towards independence rather than negotiating a return. Also made a strong case that those leaders, the planter elite, cared as much about retaining their power over poor white people as their enslaved people.
August 13, 2025
Lawler provides a strong and detailed volume about Lord Dunmore's life from his arrival in New York through his years in Williamsburg and then his later service in the Bahamas and his return to England. Lawler focuses much of his work on Dunmore's relationship with the emancipated Africans who served under him against the patriots' cause.
May 31, 2025
In the south, Patriots fought the American Revolution more to preserve Slavery than for any other reason. This side of the story finally gets told...
abandoned
July 27, 2025This is a really interesting book. I'm broke my arm and have the hardback version and am having a hard time holding it. I may come back to it in the future.
November 21, 2025
A well done history of this time period in this locale but gets a bit more detailed than I wanted.
January 6, 2026
It's a compelling story. The issue is that it is very overwritten. A lot of over-explaining small details and meandering on unimportant moments made the book a real slog to read.
July 8, 2025
A Perfect Frenzy: A Royal Governor, His Black Allies and the Crisis That Spurred the American Revolution. Andrew Lawler. Atlantic Monthly Press, 2025. 544 pages.
While the American Revolution officially began in April 1775 at Lexington and Concord, two major events occurred in January 1776 that were pivotal in fueling the Patriot cause. Thomas Paine published his pamphlet "Common Sense" laying out the arguments for independence. The other event is perhaps less known today, but it was perhaps even more effective: On January 1, 1776, the city of Norfolk, Virginia was burned to the ground. No other American city in history has been completely and utterly destroyed as Norfolk was. Twenty years later, visitors were still stunned by the vast ruins and fields of debris. For 250 years, the Norfolk fire has been blamed on the British, specifically the royal governor Lord Dunmore. As a result of the fire, Dunmore was vilified on both sides of the Atlantic and labeled a war criminal. Patriot propaganda painted him as a cruel and witless libertine who hosted huge orgies with enslaved women in the Governor's Palace when he wasn't wantonly destroying the lives of his subjects. Following the Norfolk fire, Dunmore was even shunned by his peers in the House of Lords who believed that he had gone too far. Dunmore died in a state of ignominy, and his family was reduced to relative poverty, ostracized by the British upper class.
The kicker? Dunmore and the British didn't destroy Norfolk. THE PATRIOTS INTENTIONALLY BURNED THE CITY TO THE GROUND, and this fact was always known. The Patriot propaganda machine used the destruction to maximum advantage to stir patriotic fervor. The fact is that Norfolk was a Loyalist stronghold, and British warships did destroy a few dozen structures, mainly warehouses and docks, but 95% of the buildings destroyed were intentionally ignited by Patriot troops under orders from Patriot officers and political figures. Why? They wanted to punish Norfolk for being strongly Loyalist, and Dunmore, once extremely popular and respected governor among the landed gentry and yeoman farmers alike, had crossed the line. He recruited and armed free and enslaved black Virginians to fight for Britain, promising freedom in return. This book tells a great, formerly untold, story and illustrates that history is extremely complicated and never just black and white. In this situation, you have black and white Patriots wearing engraved brass breastplates or embroidered shirts saying "Liberty or Death" going into battle against Dunmore's black Ethiopian Regiment troops wearing breastplates engraved with "Liberty For Slaves."
While the American Revolution officially began in April 1775 at Lexington and Concord, two major events occurred in January 1776 that were pivotal in fueling the Patriot cause. Thomas Paine published his pamphlet "Common Sense" laying out the arguments for independence. The other event is perhaps less known today, but it was perhaps even more effective: On January 1, 1776, the city of Norfolk, Virginia was burned to the ground. No other American city in history has been completely and utterly destroyed as Norfolk was. Twenty years later, visitors were still stunned by the vast ruins and fields of debris. For 250 years, the Norfolk fire has been blamed on the British, specifically the royal governor Lord Dunmore. As a result of the fire, Dunmore was vilified on both sides of the Atlantic and labeled a war criminal. Patriot propaganda painted him as a cruel and witless libertine who hosted huge orgies with enslaved women in the Governor's Palace when he wasn't wantonly destroying the lives of his subjects. Following the Norfolk fire, Dunmore was even shunned by his peers in the House of Lords who believed that he had gone too far. Dunmore died in a state of ignominy, and his family was reduced to relative poverty, ostracized by the British upper class.
The kicker? Dunmore and the British didn't destroy Norfolk. THE PATRIOTS INTENTIONALLY BURNED THE CITY TO THE GROUND, and this fact was always known. The Patriot propaganda machine used the destruction to maximum advantage to stir patriotic fervor. The fact is that Norfolk was a Loyalist stronghold, and British warships did destroy a few dozen structures, mainly warehouses and docks, but 95% of the buildings destroyed were intentionally ignited by Patriot troops under orders from Patriot officers and political figures. Why? They wanted to punish Norfolk for being strongly Loyalist, and Dunmore, once extremely popular and respected governor among the landed gentry and yeoman farmers alike, had crossed the line. He recruited and armed free and enslaved black Virginians to fight for Britain, promising freedom in return. This book tells a great, formerly untold, story and illustrates that history is extremely complicated and never just black and white. In this situation, you have black and white Patriots wearing engraved brass breastplates or embroidered shirts saying "Liberty or Death" going into battle against Dunmore's black Ethiopian Regiment troops wearing breastplates engraved with "Liberty For Slaves."
November 24, 2025
A very readable, eye-opening, and important look into the rich Virginians who led a revolution while enslaving others, and revolted in large part to profit from the continued enslavement practices. This story and the perspective it grants can help to understand our current America and the strengths and failings of our founding fathers. Recommended.
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