Go South to Freedom [Hardcover]

More than twenty years ago, Robert Croshon, an elderly friend of Frye Gaillard's, told him the story of Croshon's ancestor, Gilbert Fields, an African-born slave in Georgia who led his family on a daring flight to freedom. Fields and his family ran away intending to travel north, but clouds obscured the stars and when morning came Fields discovered they had been running south instead. They had no choice but to seek sanctuary with the Seminole Indians of Florida and later a community of free blacks in Mobile.With Croshon's blessing, Gaillard has expanded this oral history into a novel for young readers, weaving the story of Gilbert Fields through the nearly forgotten history of the Seminoles and their alliance with runaway slaves. As Gaillard's narrative makes clear, the Seminole Wars of the 1830s, in which Indians fought side by side with former slaves, represents the largest slave uprising in American history. Gaillard also puts a human face on the story of free blacks before the Civil War and the lives they painfully built for themselves in Mobile. Hauntingly illustrated by artist Anne Kent Rush, Go South to Freedom is a gripping story for readers of any age. A beautiful story that brings to light a little known part of our American history. Under the leadership of a heroic figure called the African a family of runaway slaves joins forces with the Seminole Indians to fight for freedom. Exciting and satisfying. Faye Gibbons, author of Halley Go South to Freedom is a campfire story for all ages, filled with surprise and adventure, truth and sadness, and ultimately hope. Readers experience the great pull of freedom and find strength and honor in this account of the courageous efforts of 'the African' and other enslaved people to make their lives better. Inspiring and entertaining. Irene Latham, author of Leaving Gee's Bend Go South to Freedom, a slim volume designed for a juvenile audience but worthy of a wider purview, documents the Gilbert Fields family's journlƒ]