Dr. Sam Forman
Ill-Fated Frontier: An Epic Pioneer Adventure across Racial and Geographic Frontiers of the American Revolutionary Era
In this true American origin tale, North becomes South, by choice of some, compulsion of others, over fierce Indian resistance, and with Spanish encouragement. It is 1789. General “Black David” Forman, terror to the Tories and George Washington’s prickly eyes, ears, and bullying strong arm in the Northern New Jersey guerilla war, becomes disenchanted with his prospects in the post-Revolutionary War United States.
He determines to dispatch his brother and sixty Afro-American slaves to claim a land grant in West Florida from America’s frenemy and erstwhile ally Spain. It is during the Northwest Indian War, when Natives have the upper hand. Will the Natives attack the pioneers? Will the enslaved revolt en route? Are the Spanish colonials effective and have their own agenda? Suffice it to say that complications ensue.
Dr. Samuel A. Forman, MD, MBA, MPH, (illfatedfrontier.com, DrJosephWarren.com, @DrSamForman) is a historian and Harvard University faculty member. He is educated in the history of the American Revolution as well as the practice of medicine. Throughout his successful careers as a physician, military officer, and businessman, he has published and lectured on historical topics that inform current issues. Sam is the author of the award-winning biography Dr. Joseph Warren: The Boston Tea Party, Bunker Hill, and the Birth of American Liberty (Pelican, 2012). His latest book is Ill-Fated Frontier: Peril and Possibilities in the Early American West (Lyons Press of Rowman and Littlefield, 2021).
Dr. Forman is a Founding Board Member of The Pursuit of History and is a regular presenter at History Camp Boston.