Remember Liss: The Remarkable True Story of One Woman’s Enslavement and Freedom in New York
A new perspective to America’s founding, from the point of view of an enslaved Black woman seeking personal liberty in a country fighting for its own
Remember Liss, by Claire Bellerjeau and Tiffany Yecke Brooks is the true story of Liss, an enslaved Black woman in 18th century New York whose life sheds light on the experiences of people of color in New York from the colonial period and the Revolutionary War into the early republic. Her life reveals the often-overlooked history of slavery in New York and her involvement with Robert Townsend, a spy for George Washington, engages readers with fascinating stories of espionage. This text also points readers to primary documents and lesson plans through NY Archives’ online platform “Consider the Source.”
In January 1785, a young African American woman named Elizabeth was put on board the Lucretia in New York Harbor, bound for Charleston, where she would be sold to her fifth master in just twenty-two years. Leaving behind a small child she had little hope of ever seeing again, Elizabeth was faced with the stark reality of being sold south to a life quite different from any she had known before. She had no idea that Robert Townsend, a son of the family she was enslaved by, would locate her, safeguard her child, and return her to New York—nor how her story would help turn one of America’s first spies into an abolitionist. Robert Townsend is best known as one of George Washington’s most trusted spies, but few know about how he worked to end slavery.
As Robert and Elizabeth’s story unfolds, prominent figures from history cross their path, including Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Benedict Arnold, John André, and John Adams, as well as participants in the Boston Massacre, the Sons of Liberty, the Battle of Long Island, Franklin’s Paris negotiations, and the Benedict Arnold treason plot.
Liss's story, as told in Bellerjeau and Brooks’s book Espionage and Enslavement in the Revolution, will be featured as part of a year-long exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York, “The Occupied City: New York and the American Revolution” Opening May 2026.
Reviews
-
"Nothing is more important than liberty. What would you do to ensure you and your nation achieved it? Beautifully written for young students and teachers alike, Remember Liss reveals the true story of two ordinary people that did extra ordinary things to ensure liberty for family and nation during the American Revolution. The authors disclose the courage of a Long Island family, the Townsends, in challenging the British, and the bravery of an enslaved woman named Liss, as she sought her personal freedom. Robert Townsend, a Manhattan merchant, secretly worked with George Washington as a Patriot spy in the Culper Spy Ring, while Liss, who was enslaved by his family, escaped with the British and may also have aided the cause of liberty by providing intelligence. After the revolution, Robert will risk everything again to ensure Liss’ freedom. The book successfully weaves almost all the main events and well-known leaders of the American Revolution giving those events and leaders deeper meaning and clarity than any textbook can offer. With vocabulary words, further questions, trivia, and links to primary documents at the end of each chapter, the book provides inspiration for young readers on how to be courageous and brave in everyday life. Best of all, Remember Liss gives our youth real people to exemplify the civic values of initiative, industry, integrity, perseverance, justice, and pure goodness."
Lois MacMillian, History Teacher at Grants Pass High School in Grants Pass, Oregon
-
"Bellerjeau and Brooks recount the compelling story of Liss, an African American heroine, born into slavery on Long Island, New York shortly before the American Revolutionary War. Through expertly researched accounts derived from letters, record books, and other primary sources from the era, this great American tale chronicles a riveting story of hope, resilience, and the triumph of the human spirit. Remember Liss sheds light on the often-omitted history of slavery in the northeast corridor of what would become the United States of America. Remember Liss is a must-read and should be considered alongside other great accounts of American history."
Dr. Malik A. Small, New York City principal, NYSCAAH Commissioner
-
"Remember Liss tells a story about the American Revolution centered on the life and experiences of a young enslaved woman in New York as she witnesses and negotiates the tumultuous events of the 1770s and 1780s. Like most good history, it builds on the authors’ extensive research in letters, newspapers and other primary sources of the era, as well as a comprehensive reference to secondary sources, such as historians’ accounts of Revolutionary New York. The intended audience of young readers will learn about the differing perspectives of Loyalists like Lt. Col. John Graves Simcoe and Patriots like Robert Townsend, and the rival spy networks in which both men operated. But they will also learn about the consequences of these revolutionary changes for Liss and other enslaved people who made up approximately one-fifth of New York City’s population at that time. Most importantly, Liss’s story shows how enslaved people could sometimes take advantage of revolutionary change to shape their own destinies and secure their own personal freedom in an era shaped by debates on liberty. Middle school teachers and students will appreciate that Remember Liss is clearly and engagingly written. The glossaries of words and terms at the bottom of nearly every page also assist the reader in understanding historical issues—see Continental Army and New York Provincial Congress on page 42—or archaic language like Apothecary and Stevedore on page 36. Above all, the book is structured to encourage critical thinking about the events and ideas presented. The “Consider the Source” section at the end of each chapter enables the reader to examine the evidence for themselves through QR codes highlighting primary source material, for example on p. 34 which shows an original newspaper advert posted by a slave-owner seeking the retrieval of three of his enslaved. The “Learn More” section at the end of several chapters likewise encourages further exploration beyond the Revolutionary Era, for example p. 160-162 which highlights two earlier African Americans of note on Long Island, Tom Gall, the first enslaved man to secure his freedom and Jupiter Hammon, the first recorded African American author. As the Executive Editor of the 6000-entry African American National Biography (Oxford University Press, https://hutchinscenter.fas.harvard.edu/aanb ) and Stories editor of Enslaved.org, I know from first-hand experience that writing histories of the enslaved is not easy. Direct evidence is sparse, particularly because of legal restrictions on the literacy of enslaved people. Our knowledge of the inner lives of the enslaved—what they thought and said and did—is dependent on information gleaned from their own enslavers. There are, of course, exceptions. We remember Jupiter Hammon and Phillis Wheatley, who struggled against the odds to gain literacy, or Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman, who led the 19th Century abolitionist movement and wrote about their experiences. This well-researched, thoughtful, and timely book reminds us that we should also Remember Liss—and other enslaved women and men whose lives are difficult but not impossible to trace. "
Steven J. Niven, Executive Editor, African American National Biography and Enslaved.org - Harvard U
-
"Remember Liss is an impactful book that adds depth and context to the story of the American Revolution. The authors mix documentary evidence with historical narrative to put students back in the 18th century, a time filled with intrigue, drama, and personal sacrifice. Students will feel like they are backstage at history, seeing details of the time at street level with people who are usually at the edges of the story. Maps and secondary materials provide context and aid but do not distract from the larger presentation - a decidedly personal story of an enslaved woman and the struggles she encounters as the world breaks apart around her. Deftly woven throughout is a documentary detective story detailing the evidence that was found in the historical record and how that evidence can be read and interpreted. The interactive elements of the book expand this lesson, connecting readers through QR codes to primary sources digitized and preserved online by the New York State Archives. As a result, readers not only learn history but become historians themselves, working to decipher what information is to be found in different types of documents. And although Remember Liss does much to expand on the inherently suspenseful story of the Culper Spy Ring in New York and on Long Island, the story of Liss the person has greater meaning. It illustrates the scope and impact of the institution of slavery in America, from the human to the social and legal dimensions involved. Most importantly, this book recreates the life of Liss, a woman making difficult choices in dangerous times, an enslaved woman navigating the world of the Patriots and the British to survive and gain her freedom. Remember Liss makes a powerful case for why and how history can be studied and will do much to engage younger readers in the Revolutionary past of the country."
Chris Kretz, Academic librarian, researcher, Author, host of “The Long Island HiSTORY PROJECT"
Additional Places to Shop
(Remember Liss is only available through the Remember Liss non-profit. All proceeds from the sale of this book directly benefit the non-profit.)
