George Washington Williams was a 19th century American historian most famous for his volumes, History of the Negro Race in America from 1619 to 1880; as Negroes, as Slaves, as Soldiers, and as Citizens (1882), and A History of the Negro Troops in the War of the Rebellion (1887).Williams was born in 1849 in Bedford Springs, Pennsylvania and lived there until 1864, when at the age of 14 and lacking virtually any education he left home to join the Union Army. Engaged by the soldier’s lifestyle, he followed this by fighting in Mexico in the overthrow of Maximilian.
Note: In the newly released movie, “The Legend of Tarzan,” Samuel L. Jackson plays George Washington Williams. Mr. Jackson’s character is based on the real historical hero, George Washington Williams, who wrote, “fully and passionately and repeatedly,” of the atrocities committed by Belgium’s King Leopold in Colonial Africa.