"This book unearths the story of a significant historical figure: George Washington Fields (1854-1932). Born into slavery in Hanover County, Virginia, he started at the bottom. But he managed to escape with his remarkable family to Hampton at the height of the Civil War. He worked to support the family, and still pursued an education at the storied Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute. Later going North, he worked for nearly a decade, including stints as manservant for various luminaries, before completing his legal studies as Cornell University's first African-American graduate. He then went home to Hampton where--though blinded in 1896--he continued to over come, eventually becoming a leading attorney of the region."--From back cover.