Joseph Willis's life is a story of triumph over tragedy and victory over adversity. . He was born into slavery. His mother was Cherokee and his father a wealthy English plantation owner. . His family took him to court to deprive him of his inheritance (which would have made him the wealthiest plantation owner in all of Bladen County, North Carolina in 1776). . He fought as a Patriot in the Revolutionary War under the most colorful of all the American generals, 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. . He crossed the mighty Mississippi River at Natchez at the peril of his own life, riding a mule . He entered hostile Spanish-controlled Louisiana Territory, when the dreaded Code Noir (Black Code) was in effect. It forbade any Protestant ministers who came into the territory from preaching. . His life was threatened because of the message he brought to Spanish-controlled Louisiana . His own denomination refused to ordain him because of his race. . Joseph Willis preached the first Gospel sermon by an Evangelical west of the Mississippi River. . After overcoming insurmountable obstacles, he blazed a trail for others for another half-century that changed American history. . His accomplishments are still felt today. Randy Willis is the fourth great-grandson of Joseph Willis and his foremost historian. www.threewindsblowing.com