Graphic novel spotlights the covert dealings that helped win the American Revolution

As a merchant in colonial America, Silas Deane knew how to negotiate a good deal.

Those skills extended beyond the confines of his store in Connecticut, and Deane put them to good use when the Second Continental Congress deployed him to France. Deane arrived in Paris on July 6, 1776—two days after the adoption of the Declaration of Independence—with one objective. He sought to secure assistance for the Continental Army, which confronted severe shortages in men and supplies against the British, and needed to do it as secretly as possible.

Deane, who played a key role in the establishment of the Navy, contacted Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais. Best known for “The Barber of Seville” and “The Marriage of Figaro,” Beaumarchais was a French playwright. He was also tight with King Louis XVI.

While the king didn’t want to support the colonists publicly, he was willing to do so in secrecy. Beaumarchais was his man to get that done. It was under those circumstances that Deane and Beaumarchais met, with the French agreeing to supply arms and other items to the upstart colonists under the table.

The new graphic novel “Liberty!” examines how Deane and Beaumarchais helped swing the momentum against Britain during the Revolutionary War. A crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter for the project begins today.

“An 18th-Century ‘Black Op’”

Jordan Mechner, creator of the iconic video game “Prince of Persia,” wrote “Liberty!” He collaborated with French artists Étienne Le Roux and Loïc Chevallier, who provided the illustrations.

“From the moment I learned about this 18th-century ‘black op’ to ship illicit arms from France across the ocean to a desperately outgunned and outnumbered American rebel army, I knew I had to write it,” Mechner said in a news release. “The unlikely odd-couple partnership of two men who changed history, yet have few statues in their honor, grabbed my imagination.”

Beaumarchais came through big time for the colonies. He established a shell company and, using funds from the French and Spanish, purchased vast amounts of supplies for the short-handed patriots overseas. Under the arrangement, the French supplied 200 cannons. They also agreed to provide cannon balls, muskets, flints, gunpowder, tents, and tools, among other items, the National Park Service said.

It was not only munitions that the colonial forces got out of this hush-hush wheeling-and-dealing. Thanks to Deane, the French also agreed to allow some of their military officers, most critically the Marquis de Lafayette, to improve the fledgling colonial army’s fighting skills.

The French ship Amphitrite transported much of the cargo, arriving in America on April 20, 1777, at a critical juncture in the war.

A Critical Lifeline

Without contributions from the French, who knew how long the Continental Army could have kept fighting if not for the morale boost that the new supplies provided?

With them, the patriots discovered their war footing. Their confidence grew as they began to repel the British. What Deane helped procure and Beaumarchais arranged enabled the Continental Army to secure key victories, especially at the Battles of Saratoga in September and October 1777.

“It is doubtful whether they could have sufficiently armed themselves in any other way,” the National Park Service reported. “The efforts that brought the weapons and supplies to the United States from France in 1777 changed the course of the war, well before official recognition and alliance were forthcoming.”

The war did not end so well for Deane. A political rival accused him of financial misconduct, and although he never faced a hearing, the taint of impropriety didn’t wash away. Deane died in 1789 under mysterious circumstances.

As for Beaumarchais, he faced serious financial difficulties after the war and died in debt in 1799.

“Liberty!” chronicles how Deane and Beaumarchais joined forces when the colonists needed them most. As America prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday on Saturday, July 4, 2026, the graphic novel’s publisher, Magnetic Press, announced plans for a limited 250th anniversary edition. That includes a bookplate that its author, Mechner, signed and numbered. Here’s how to support “Liberty” on Kickstarter.

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