Joseph Willis was born into slavery. His mother was Cherokee, and his father a wealthy English plantation owner.He fought as a Patriot in the Revolutionary War under Francis Marion, The Swamp Fox. His first wife died in childbirth, and his second wife died only six years later, leaving him with five small children. In the Louisiana Territory, he preaches the first Gospel sermon by an Evangelical west of the Mississippi River. His life was threatened because of the message he brought to Spanish-controlled Louisiana! After overcoming insurmountable obstacles, he blazed a trail for others for another half-century that changed American history. Joseph Willis's life is a story of triumph over tragedy and victory over adversity!