Almost a Miracle

Almost a Miracle PDF Author: John E. Ferling
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0195382927
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 694

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Book Description
Describes the military history of the American Revolution and the grim realities of the eight-year conflict while offering descriptions of the major engagements on land and sea and the decisions that influenced the course of the war.

Almost a Miracle

Almost a Miracle PDF Author: John E. Ferling
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0195382927
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 694

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Book Description
Describes the military history of the American Revolution and the grim realities of the eight-year conflict while offering descriptions of the major engagements on land and sea and the decisions that influenced the course of the war.

Historical Archaeology of the Revolutionary War Encampments of Washington’s Army

Historical Archaeology of the Revolutionary War Encampments of Washington’s Army PDF Author: Cosimo A. Sgarlata
Publisher: University Press of Florida
ISBN: 0813057175
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 291

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Book Description
This volume presents recent archaeological and ethnohistorical research on the encampments, trails, and support structures of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. These sites illuminate the daily lives of soldiers, officers, and camp followers away from the more well-known military campaigns and battles. The research featured here includes previously unpublished findings from the winter encampments at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, as well as work from sites in Redding, Connecticut, and Morristown, New Jersey. Topics range from excavations of a special dining cabin constructed for General George Washington to ballistic analysis of a target range established by General von Steuben. Contributors use experimental archaeology to learn how soldiers constructed their log hut quarters, and they reconstruct Rochambeau’s marching route through Connecticut on his way to help Washington defeat the British at Yorktown. They also describe the underrecognized roles of African descendants, Native peoples, and women who lived and worked at the camps. Showing how archaeology can contribute insights into the American Revolution beyond what historical records convey, this volume calls for protection of and further research into non-conflict sites that were crucial to this formative struggle in the history of the United States. Contributors: Cosimo Sgarlata | Joseph Balicki | Joseph R. Blondino | Douglas Campana | Wade P. Catts | Daniel Cruson | Mathew Grubel | Mary Harper | Diane Hassan | David G. Orr | Julia Steele | Laurie Weinstein

On the Wing of Speed

On the Wing of Speed PDF Author: Donald T Phillips
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 1583481982
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 412

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Book Description
The early days of 1781 cast a cold shadow over the downtrodden American Continental army. Mutiny, the recent disastrous losses in South Carolina at Camden and Charleston, and Benedict Arnold's betrayal called General George Washington's leadership into question. Faced with the possibility of either a crushing defeat or a brilliant victory, Washington's loyalty to the fledgling United States compelled him to make a bold, offensive stroke in the late summer of 1781. In less than a month, he marched the combined American and French armies to Yorktown, Virginia-nearly 450 miles south of their encampment at New York-to face the might of the British army. Through a riveting mixture of fact and dialogue, noted author Donald T. Phillips chronicles the remarkable events of the Siege of Yorktown. From dramatic artillery assaults to the celebrated American and French attacks and, finally, to the incredible British surrender, "On the Wing of Speed" delivers a thrilling tale of courage, strength, and devotion. "Extraordinary. Brilliant. Don Phillips does more than take the reader to the scene; he renders us participants in the experience. "On the Wing of Speed" is a compelling read for all Americans who want to understand how the United States was born." -Admiral James M. Loy, Deputy Secretary, Homeland Security (Ret.), Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard (Ret.)

George Washington's Westchester Gamble

George Washington's Westchester Gamble PDF Author: Richard Borkow
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 1625842139
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 189

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Book Description
A look at Westchester County’s place in the American Revolution and Washington’s plan to trick Cornwallis and march to Yorktown. During the summer of 1781, the armies of Generals Washington and Rochambeau were encamped in lower Westchester County at Dobbs Ferry, Ardsley, Hartsdale, Edgemont, and White Plains. It was a time of military deadlock and grim prospects for the allied Americans and French. Washington recognized that a decisive victory was needed, or America would never achieve independence. In August, he marched these soldiers to Virginia to face General Cornwallis and his redcoats. Washington risked all on this march. Its success required secrecy, and he prepared an elaborate deception to convince the British that Manhattan, not Virginia, was the target of the allied armies. Local historian Richard Borkow presents this exciting story of the Westchester encampment and Washington’s great gamble that saved the United States. Praise for George Washington’s Westchester Gamble “Borkow has done a first-rate job of telling the story of the American Revolution in Westchester County and putting dramatic events there in the context of the larger war--especially the decision to march to Yorktown.” —Thomas Fleming, author of The Perils of Peace “Just when it seemed that the subject of the American Revolution had been thoroughly explored, Richard Borkow has given us a fresh look at the war's culminating event—the 1781 march of French and American troops to Virginia.” —Joseph Wheelan, author of Jefferson’s War and Mr. Adams’s Last Crusade

The First of Men

The First of Men PDF Author: John E. Ferling
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199752753
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 617

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Book Description
Written by John Ferling, one of America's leading historians of the Revolutionary era, The First of Men offers an illuminating portrait of George Washington's life, with emphasis on his military and political career. Here is a riveting account that captures Washington in all his complexity, recounting not only Washington's familiar sterling qualities--courage, industry, ability to make difficult decisions, ceaseless striving for self-improvement, love of his family and loyalty to friends--but also his less well known character flaws. Indeed, as Ferling shows, Washington had to overcome many negative traits as he matured into a leader. The young Washington was accused of ingratitude and certain of his letters from this period read as if they were written by "a pompous martinet and a whining, petulant brat." As commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, he lost his temper more than once and indulged flatterers. Aaron Burr found him "a boring, colorless person." As president, he often believed the worst about individual officials. Ferling concludes that Washington's personality and temperament were those of "a self-centered and self-absorbed man, one who since youth had exhibited a fragile self-esteem." And yet he managed to realize virtually every grand design he ever conceived. Ferling's Washington is driven, fired by ambition, envy, and dreams of fame and fortune. Yet his leadership and character galvanized the American Revolution--probably no one else could have kept the war going until the master stroke at Yorktown--and helped the fledgling nation take, and survive, its first unsteady steps. This superb paperback makes available once again an unflinchingly honest and compelling biography of the father of our country.

Whirlwind

Whirlwind PDF Author: John Ferling
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1620401746
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 433

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Book Description
Written in the authoritative and narrative-driven style that made his books The Ascent of George Washington and Jefferson and Hamilton critical and commercial successes, John Ferling's Whirlwind will become the definitive history of the American Revolution for our time. A master historian and superb teller of history, Ferling illuminates the years 1763 to 1783--from the end of the French and Indian War that left England triumphant in North America to the signing of the Treaty of Paris in September 1783 and the final departure of British troops from New York City in November of that year. Ferling is as astute at analyzing the causes and politics of the American Revolution as he is skilled at narrating the battles of the Revolutionary War. With original insight, he chronicles the myriad and complex events and contentious viewpoints that drove Americans in their insurgency against Great Britain and sustained them in the seemingly quixotic belief that they could win their independence. He takes us to the halls of power in Parliament and the streets of London to view the Revolution from all British perspectives. He presents the individual battles, from Lexington and Concord to Yorktown, in a fresh and dramatic new light. With a wide scope and penetrating insight, embracing characters both celebrated and unknown, John Ferling brings the most important event in America's history to a new generation of American readers.

The Army Medical Department, 1775-1818

The Army Medical Department, 1775-1818 PDF Author: Mary C. Gillett
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Medicine, Military
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description


Winning Independence

Winning Independence PDF Author: John Ferling
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1635572770
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 753

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Book Description
Co-Winner of the 2022 Harry M. Ward Book Prize From celebrated historian John Ferling, the underexplored history of the second half of the Revolutionary War, when, after years of fighting, American independence often seemed beyond reach. It was 1778, and the recent American victory at Saratoga had netted the U.S a powerful ally in France. Many, including General George Washington, presumed France's entrance into the war meant independence was just around the corner. Meanwhile, having lost an entire army at Saratoga, Great Britain pivoted to a “southern strategy.” The army would henceforth seek to regain its southern colonies, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, a highly profitable segment of its pre-war American empire. Deep into 1780 Britain's new approach seemed headed for success as the U.S. economy collapsed and morale on the home front waned. By early 1781, Washington, and others, feared that France would drop out of the war if the Allies failed to score a decisive victory that year. Sir Henry Clinton, commander of Britain's army, thought “the rebellion is near its end.” Washington, who had been so optimistic in 1778, despaired: “I have almost ceased to hope.” Winning Independence is the dramatic story of how and why Great Britain-so close to regaining several southern colonies and rendering the postwar United States a fatally weak nation ultimately failed to win the war. The book explores the choices and decisions made by Clinton and Washington, and others, that ultimately led the French and American allies to clinch the pivotal victory at Yorktown that at long last secured American independence.

The Negro in the American Revolution

The Negro in the American Revolution PDF Author: Benjamin Quarles
Publisher: UNC Press Books
ISBN: 0807838330
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 266

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Book Description
Originally published in 1961, this classic work remains the most comprehensive history of the many and important roles played by African Americans during the American Revolution. With this book, Benjamin Quarles added a new dimension to the military history of the Revolution and addressed for the first time the diplomatic repercussions created by the British evacuation of African Americans at the close of the war. The compelling narrative brings the Revolution to life by portraying those tumultuous years as experienced by Americans at all levels of society. In an introduction, Gary B. Nash traces the evolution of scholarship on African Americans in the American Revolution from its early roots with William C. Nell to this groundbreaking study. Quarles's work not only reshaped our thinking about the black revolutionary experience but also invigorated the study of black history as we know it today. Thad W. Tate, in a foreword, pays tribute to the importance of this work and explains its continuing relevance.

The Battle of Yorktown, 1781

The Battle of Yorktown, 1781 PDF Author: John D. Grainger
Publisher: Boydell Press
ISBN: 9781843831372
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description
"Survey and analysis of important battle of the American War of Independence"--Provided by publisher.