The cover uses warm pinkish-brown parchment tones, creating an aged, historical feel. At the top, the subtitle The True Story of Robert Townsend and Elizabeth appears above an illustration of a focused young Black woman, with a letter in period script beside her. To the right, smaller figures in tricorne hats are shown in a violent scene of enslavers beating an enslaved man. Below, the title Espionage and Enslavement in the Revolution is printed in large, bold text, followed by the authors’ names.

Espionage and Enslavement in the Revolution

$14.56
$14.56 $19.95
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The cover uses warm pinkish-brown parchment tones, creating an aged, historical feel. At the top, the subtitle The True Story of Robert Townsend and Elizabeth appears above an illustration of a focused young Black woman, with a letter in period script beside her. To the right, smaller figures in tricorne hats are shown in a violent scene of enslavers beating an enslaved man. Below, the title Espionage and Enslavement in the Revolution is printed in large, bold text, followed by the authors’ names.
  • The cover uses warm pinkish-brown parchment tones, creating an aged, historical feel. At the top, the subtitle The True Story of Robert Townsend and Elizabeth appears above an illustration of a focused young Black woman, with a letter in period script beside her. To the right, smaller figures in tricorne hats are shown in a violent scene of enslavers beating an enslaved man. Below, the title Espionage and Enslavement in the Revolution is printed in large, bold text, followed by the authors’ names.
  • The cover uses warm pinkish-brown parchment tones, creating an aged, historical feel. At the top, the subtitle The True Story of Robert Townsend and Elizabeth appears above an illustration of a focused young Black woman, with a letter in period script beside her. To the right, smaller figures in tricorne hats are shown in a violent scene of enslavers beating an enslaved man. Below, the title Espionage and Enslavement in the Revolution is printed in large, bold text, followed by the authors’ names.
Espionage and Enslavement in the Revolution

Espionage and Enslavement in the Revolution

$14.56
$14.56 $19.95

In 1785, Elizabeth, a young enslaved woman, was shipped from New York Harbor to be sold again, leaving behind a child she feared she’d never see. Unbeknownst to her, Robert Townsend—once tied to the family that enslaved her and later one of George Washington’s spies—would find her, protect her child, and help bring her back to New York, linking her struggle for freedom to the larger fight for independence.

For more stories that uncover the complex, often overlooked lives behind the Revolution—especially here in New York—visit The Occupied City exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York, where voices like Elizabeth’s bring the nation’s founding era into sharper, more human focus.

  • 232 pages
  • 6.42 x 0.9 x 9.41 inches

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