The Drillmaster of Valley Forge

The Drillmaster of Valley Forge PDF Author: Paul Lockhart
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0061451630
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 357

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Book Description
“A terrific biography….The dramatic story of how the American army that beat the British was forged has never been better told than in this remarkable book.” —Doris Kearns Goodwin, New York Times bestselling author of Team of Rivals The true story of the Baron de Steuben and the making of the American Army, The Drillmaster of Valley Forge is the first biography in half a century of the immigrant Prussian soldier who molded George Washington’s ragged, demoralized troops into the fighting force that eventually triumphed in America’s War of Independence. Praised by renowned historian Thomas Fleming as “an important book for anyone interested in the American Revolution,” The Drillmaster of Valley Forge rights a historical wrong by finally giving a forgotten hero his well-deserved due.

The Drillmaster of Valley Forge

The Drillmaster of Valley Forge PDF Author: Paul Lockhart
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0061451630
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 357

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Book Description
“A terrific biography….The dramatic story of how the American army that beat the British was forged has never been better told than in this remarkable book.” —Doris Kearns Goodwin, New York Times bestselling author of Team of Rivals The true story of the Baron de Steuben and the making of the American Army, The Drillmaster of Valley Forge is the first biography in half a century of the immigrant Prussian soldier who molded George Washington’s ragged, demoralized troops into the fighting force that eventually triumphed in America’s War of Independence. Praised by renowned historian Thomas Fleming as “an important book for anyone interested in the American Revolution,” The Drillmaster of Valley Forge rights a historical wrong by finally giving a forgotten hero his well-deserved due.

The Drillmaster of Valley Forge

The Drillmaster of Valley Forge PDF Author: Paul Lockhart
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0061982539
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 356

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Book Description
“A terrific biography….The dramatic story of how the American army that beat the British was forged has never been better told than in this remarkable book.” —Doris Kearns Goodwin, New York Times bestselling author of Team of Rivals The true story of the Baron de Steuben and the making of the American Army, The Drillmaster of Valley Forge is the first biography in half a century of the immigrant Prussian soldier who molded George Washington’s ragged, demoralized troops into the fighting force that eventually triumphed in America’s War of Independence. Praised by renowned historian Thomas Fleming as “an important book for anyone interested in the American Revolution,” The Drillmaster of Valley Forge rights a historical wrong by finally giving a forgotten hero his well-deserved due.

The Drillmaster of Valley Forge

The Drillmaster of Valley Forge PDF Author: Paul Lockhart
Publisher: Harper Perennial
ISBN: 9780061451645
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
A failure in midlife, the Baron de Steuben uprooted himself from his native Europe to seek one last chance at glory and fame in the New World. Steeped in the traditions of the Prussian army of Frederick the Great—the most ruthlessly effective in Europe—he taught the demoralized soldiers of the Continental Army how to fight like Europeans. His guiding hand shaped the fighting force that triumphed over the British at Monmouth, Stony Point, and Yorktown. But his influence did not end with the Revolution. Steuben was instrumental in creating West Point and in writing the first official regulations of the American army, and his principles have guided the American armed forces to this day. In The Drillmaster at Valley Forge, Paul Lockhart tells the remarkable story of an extraordinary man—bringing to flesh and blood life the hitherto little-known figure whose image has long been part of the iconography of our Revolutionary heritage.

Washington's Secret War: The Hidden History of Valley Forge

Washington's Secret War: The Hidden History of Valley Forge PDF Author: Thomas Fleming
Publisher: New Word City
ISBN: 161230933X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 630

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Book Description
"A superb retelling of the story of Valley Forge and its aftermath, demonstrating that reality is far more compelling than myth." - Gordon S. Wood The defining moments of the American Revolution did not occur on the battlefield or at the diplomatic table, writes New York Times bestselling author Thomas Fleming, but at Valley Forge. Fleming transports us to December 1777. While the British army lives in luxury in conquered Philadelphia, Washington's troops huddle in the barracks of Valley Forge, fending off starvation and disease even as threats of mutiny swirl through the regiments. Though his army stands on the edge of collapse, George Washington must wage a secondary war, this one against the slander of his reputation as a general and patriot. Washington strategizes not only against the British army but against General Horatio Gates, the victor in the Battle of Saratoga, who has attracted a coterie of ambitious generals devising ways to humiliate and embarrass Washington into resignation. Using diaries and letters, Fleming creates an unforgettable portrait of an embattled Washington. Far from the long-suffering stoic of historical myth, Washington responds to attacks from Gates and his allies with the skill of a master politician. He parries the thrusts of his covert enemies, and, as necessary, strikes back with ferocity and guile. While many histories portray Washington as a man who has transcended politics, Fleming's Washington is exceedingly complex, a man whose political maneuvering allowed him to retain his command even as he simultaneously struggled to prevent the Continental Army from dissolving into mutiny at Valley Forge. Written with his customary flair and eye for human detail and drama, Thomas Fleming's gripping narrative develops with the authority of a major historian and the skills of a master storyteller. Washington's Secret War is not only a revisionist view of the American ordeal at Valley Forge - it calls for a new assessment of the man too often simplified into an American legend. This is narrative history at its best and most vital.

Baron Von Steuben's Revolutionary War Drill Manual

Baron Von Steuben's Revolutionary War Drill Manual PDF Author: Frederick William Baron von Steuben
Publisher: Courier Corporation
ISBN: 0486141357
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 193

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Book Description
On February 23, 1778, Frederick William Baron von Steuben reported to General George Washington at the Continental Army's bleak winder encampment at Valley Forge. Speaking virtually no English and at an unexpected ebb in his professional fortunes, Steuben nevertheless brought a depth of military training and grasp of command techniques sorely needed by the bedraggled, ragtag army. With his lofty military reputation, forceful bearing, and colorful personality, the Prussian commander had an immediate galvanizing effect on the disorganized insurgents. He soon became one of Washington's most valued officers — an essential figure in the success of the American War of Independence. Commissioned to mold the troops into an efficient fighting force, Steuben formed a model drill company of one hundred men, transformed it into a precision unit copied throughout the ranks, and captured the imagination of the entire army. His record of drill instructions, written in brief installments, grew into the Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States. Commonly known as the army's "blue book," this basic manual of military training and procedures remained the official U.S. military guide until 1812. This inexpensive facsimile reproduces the extremely rare 1794 edition of Steuben's drill manual, published in Boston by I. Thomas and E. T. Andrews. It describes in detail the arms and accoutrements of officers and soldiers, formation and exercise of a company, instruction of recruits, formation and marching of columns, disposition and firing of fieldpieces, laying out of a camp, inspection, treatment of the sick, reviews of parade, and other essentials. The volume is further enhanced by reproductions of the eight copperplates from the 1794 edition and an Appendix (the United States Militia Act of 1792).

General Richard Montgomery and the American Revolution

General Richard Montgomery and the American Revolution PDF Author: Hal T. Shelton
Publisher: NYU Press
ISBN: 0814780393
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 262

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Book Description
Chronicles the life and military of a neglected hero of the American Revolution—General Richard Montgomery "Brave, humane, and generous . . . still he was only a brave, humane, and generous rebel; curse on his virtues, they've undone this country."—Member of British Parliament Lord North, upon hearing of General Richard Montgomery's death in battle against the British At 3 a.m. on December 31, 1775, a band of desperate men stumbled through a raging Canadian blizzard toward Quebec. The doggedness of this ragtag militia—consisting largely of men whose short-term enlistments were to expire within the next 24 hours—was due to the exhortations of their leader. Arriving at Quebec before dawn, the troop stormed two unmanned barriers, only to be met by a British ambush at the third. Amid a withering hale of cannon grapeshot, the patriot leader, at the forefront of the assault, crumpled to the ground. General Richard Montgomery was dead at the age of 37. Montgomery—who captured St. John and Montreal in the same fortnight in 1775; who, upon his death, was eulogized in British Parliament by Burke, Chatham, and Barr; and after whom 16 American counties have been named—has, to date, been a neglected hero. Written in engaging, accessible prose, General Richard Montgomery and the American Revolution chronicles Montgomery's life and military career, definitively correcting this historical oversight once and for all.

Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States

Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States PDF Author: United States. War Department. Inspector General's Office
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Military art and science
Languages : en
Pages : 90

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Book Description


Feeding Washington's Army

Feeding Washington's Army PDF Author: Ricardo A. Herrera
Publisher: UNC Press Books
ISBN: 1469667320
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 271

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Book Description
In this major new history of the Continental Army's Grand Forage of 1778, award-winning military historian Ricardo A. Herrera uncovers what daily life was like for soldiers during the darkest and coldest days of the American Revolution: the Valley Forge winter. Here, the army launched its largest and riskiest operation—not a bloody battle against British forces but a campaign to feed itself and prevent starvation or dispersal during the long encampment. Herrera brings to light the army's herculean efforts to feed itself, support local and Continental governments, and challenge the British Army. Highlighting the missteps and triumphs of both General George Washington and his officers as well as ordinary soldiers, sailors, and militiamen, Feeding Washington's Army moves far beyond oft-told, heroic, and mythical tales of Valley Forge and digs deeply into its daily reality, revealing how close the Continental Army came to succumbing to starvation and how strong and resourceful its soldiers and leaders actually were.

Valley Forge Winter

Valley Forge Winter PDF Author: Wayne Bodle
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 9780271045467
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 356

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Book Description
Refuting commonly held myths about the American Revolution, this comprehensive history of the colonial army's winter encampment of 1777-1778 reveals the events that occurred both inside and outside the camp boundaries, discussing interactions between the soldiers and local civilians, divisions within the army, the political and military strategies of George Washington, and their implications in terms of the future of the United States. Reprint.

Following the Drum

Following the Drum PDF Author: Nancy K. Loane
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
ISBN: 1640123954
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 309

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Book Description
Friday, December 19, 1777, dawned cold and windy. Fourteen thousand Continental Army soldiers tramped from dawn to dusk along the rutted Pennsylvania roads from Gulph Mills to Valley Forge, the site of their winter encampment. The soldiers' arrival was followed by the army's wagons and hundreds of camp women. Following the Drum tells the story of the forgotten women who spent the winter of 1777-78 with the Continental Army at Valley Forge--from those on society's lowest rungs to ladies on the upper echelons. Impoverished and clinging to the edge of survival, many camp women were soldiers' wives who worked as the army's washers, nurses, cooks, and seamstresses. Other women at the encampment were of higher status: they traveled with George Washington's entourage when the army headquarters shifted locations and served the general as valued cooks, laundresses, or housekeepers. There were also the ladies at Valley Forge who were not subject to the harsh conditions of camp life and came and went as they and their husbands, Washington's generals and military advisers, saw fit. Nancy K. Loane uses sources such as issued military orders, pension depositions after the war, soldiers' descriptions, and some of the women's own diary entries and letters to bring these women to life.