When Anne Ammundsen decided to pursue her family history, an extraordinary story on her maternal line dropped into her lap. She soon found herself up against George Washington's account of the 1782 "Asgill Affair"; but with the discovery of a hitherto unknown letter by British officer Charles Asgill, written two and a half centuries earlier, she knew that her life's purpose was to challenge the records, and set them straight. She has had several articles published, but this book gives her the opportunity to cover the wider story.
George Washington's reputation meant a lot to him, and he went to great lengths to preserve it for posterity. Unfortunately, he did so at the expense of the reputation of a young British officer, who has been regarded as a scoundrel ever since. Washington could not have known that Charles Asgill's descendant would turn up to ensure the reputation of this officer was restored, by using primary sources to set the record straight. As will be seen on the pages of this book, Asgill honoured his family motto: Sui Oblitus Commodi (regardless of his own interests). And, as Washington once wrote: Truth will ultimately prevail where pains is taken to bring it to light.
Numerous illustrations, nine appendices, a bibliography, and an index to full-names, places and subjects add to the value of this work.