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Book by Professor Bruce Chadwick First to Tell Full Story of Murder of ‘Father of American Jurisprudence’

I Am Murdered: George Wythe, Thomas Jefferson, and the Killing That Shocked a New Nation, a book by Dr. Bruce Chadwick, a professor of English at New Jersey City University, has been published by Wiley.

Dr. Chadwick’s 27th book, I Am Murdered is his first true-life criminal justice book. The book is a direct result of “Murder in America,” a course he teaches at NJCU.

I Am Murdered tells the previously untold story of the murder of George Wythe, one of the original signers of the Declaration of Independence and, according to his close friend and mentor Thomas Jefferson, the "Father of American Jurisprudence.”

Dr. Chadwick’s book covers Mr. Wythe’s assassination by his grandnephew and namesake, George Wythe Sweeney, and his pursuant trial, one of the most sensational court cases of its time. In the course of covering Wythe’s long and painful death, hit-and-miss forensics, the unreliability of medical autopsies, the prevalence of poisoning, race relations, slavery, and the law, Dr. Chadwick paints a clear picture of both 19th century America and Richmond, elegant state capital as well as riddled-with-crime boomtown.

Dr. Chadwick’s 27 books include ones on George Washington, the Civil War, and sports and he is often called upon for his expertise in these areas. Dr. Chadwick has most recently appeared as a guest scholar in “Moving Midway,” a documentary about the physical relocation of a southern plantation and an exploration of America’s slavery legacy, and “The Real George Washington,” a National Geographic documentary that aired on the National Geographic Channel.

Dr. Chadwick’s history books include The Reel Civil War, The First American Army: The Untold Story of George Washington and the Men Behind America’s First Fight for Freedom, George Washington’s War, The General and Mrs. Washington: The Untold Story of a Marriage and a Revolution, 1858: Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant and the War They Failed to See, Brother against Brother; Traveling the Underground Railroad, and The Two American Presidents. He has also written many books about baseball.

A member of the faculty at NJCU, where he teaches journalism, for the past 13 years, Dr. Chadwick is currently working on book about Abraham Lincoln as a politician.

News releases by Ellen Wayman-Gordon, and Kelly Resch, Office of Public Information.