That education was unheard of for a woman, let alone an African slave. Phillis is credited with being the first African American published in Europe in 1773.
Proceed, great chief, with virtue on thy side.
Thy every action let the goddess guide.”
While slaves of the time were being offered freedom by the British in exchange for loyalty to the British crown, Miss Wheatley displayed her support for the Continental Army. Her support earned her an invitation from General Washington to visit General Washington at his headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Her patriotic writings, in later times, were not held with the same enthusiasm. Phillis Wheatley died in her early 30s in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 5, 1784.