“My hope is that this work will help us take a step closer to understanding slavery and the scars the system left on our country,” says Jinny Powers Berten of her poignant historical novel By His Side: The Story of George Washington and William Lee (Fountain Square Publishing). At its core, the book tells the story of two men — a slave owner and his slave — and the bond that develops between them in spite of the underlying inequality of their stations.
As George Washington lay dying at his Mount Vernon plantation, the slave William Lee, who served as his valet during many history-defining moments in Washington’s life, is summoned to his bed. William saluted the General and former President. “Washington returned the salute and William took his hand,” writes Berten. “There was not a dry eye in the room as enslaved and free watched two men who for different reasons depended on each other, two men who had found mutual respect in a world where that rarely happened between master and slave.”
By His Side documents the last few days of Washington’s life, from overseeing the business of running the plantation to the sudden and quick onset of the illness that would be his demise. During the book’s “present” time, Washington reflects on some of the monumental events that defined his life: crossing the Delaware, the battle of Yorktown, the British surrender. Simultaneously, the author tracks William Lee and documents the life of a slave under Washington from a slave’s perspective.
THERE ARE MANY KINDS OF BATTLEFIELDS
As Berten notes, there is a vast amount of research available about Washington and those around him, with many of their exact words captured for posterity. So in essence, By His Side is much more historical than it is fiction. “Of course, a novelist must create dialogue,” says Berten, which comes with great responsibility. “To attempt to look into [the slaves’] hearts, minds and souls is a sacred journey that demands the utmost respect.”
Berten offers visceral descriptions of Lee’s vivid memories; we cringe at the injustices of “the sight of his mother being sold, the sound of the whip as it cracked across the back of a young friend, the endless clang of the bell calling the slaves to work, the wailing of a young mother on her way to the auction block as her baby was taken from her arms.”
As Washington’s valet, Lee accompanied him everywhere, including the battlefield. Thus, Lee also recalls momentous moments in the war: a British drummer boy waving a white surrender flag, soldiers tossing their weapons, and Washington riding through the troops to accept the surrender. The beauty of the writing and the pace of the flashbacks to loftier times make readers forget the timeline of the book is only the course of a few days.
Reading Berten’s work is immersive, particularly when she describes the “routine;” Washington petting his dog and answering letters in the early morning light as the “sounds of the slaves’ muffled voices” prepare for daily tasks in the fields, cookhouse, stables, barn, spinning house, carriage house, greenhouse and the mansion itself. Berten’s writing is so convincing that readers practically smell the stench of the barn and taste the piping-hot “hoecakes,” or cornmeal pancakes.
PERCEPTIVE AUTHOR AND THOUGHT-PROVOKING HISTORY
A nice touch is the sprinkling of magnificent paintings throughout the book to capture various scenes and settings, borrowed from places such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Fraunces Tavern Museum in New York and other notable sources.
Lesser-known pieces of history are woven in. For example, during the Revolutionary War, slaves were approached by British “agents” with the opportunity to switch sides and fight for the British. The offers typically came with the promise of freedom but meant leaving family behind. Yet many who took up the proposition never experienced that freedom, being sent to the front lines of the battle to meet their fate.
With Washington’s death came many frightening questions for the slaves: Would they be sold? Would their children be sold? Who would now be overseeing them? Their answers would come soon enough.
Washington was an intelligent, compassionate and reflecting man, who thought much about slavery and its impact on the country. As his views on this subject evolved, he struggled with the widening gap between his private beliefs and his public persona. When his last will and testament is read at the end, however, his feelings are revealed loud and clear for history to note.
By His Side is available for purchase.
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About Jinny Powers Berten:
A wife, mother, grandmother, history teacher, public relations director, and president of Fountain Square Publishing in Cincinnati, Ohio, Jinny Powers Berten finds history fascinating. In the story of George Washington and William Lee, she finds many avenues that shed new light on George Washington and his slaves. Jinny has also written three books of historical fiction for children, a book of poetry, and a book about Cincinnati Christmas.
At last, someone had the nerve and courage to write a book about one of my favorite people. Willian “Billy”Lee has always fascinated me since my childhood when I was in 6th Grade. And when I worked as a Historical Interpreter at Old Salem, Inc many years ago mom and I along with my grandmother’s very first grandson visited Mt. Vernon along with his grandchildren and daughter-in-law one summer. I will have to make a special effort to get a copy. LJ Steele, MA