Band of giants : the amateur soldiers who won America's independence / Jack Kelly.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kelly, Jack, 1949- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783--Campaigns.

United States.

History.

United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783--Biography.

Generals--United States--Biography.

Generals.

Genre:

Biographies.

History.

Physical Description:

276 pages : maps ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.

Summary:

Band of Giants brings to life the founders who fought for our independence in the Revolutionary War. Jefferson, Adams, and Franklin are known to all; men like Morgan, Greene, and Wayne are less familiar. Yet the dreams of the politicians and theorists only became real because fighting men were willing to take on the grim, risky, brutal work of war. We know Fort Knox, but what about Henry Knox, the burly Boston bookseller who took over the American artillery at the age of 25? Eighteen counties in the United States commemorate Richard Montgomery, but do we know that this revered martyr launched a full-scale invasion of Canada? The soldiers of the American Revolution were a diverse lot: merchants and mechanics, farmers and fishermen, paragons and drunkards. Most were ardent amateurs. Even George Washington, assigned to take over the army around Boston in 1775, consulted books on military tactics. Here, Jack Kelly vividly captures the fraught condition of the war--the bitterly divided populace, the lack of supplies, the repeated setbacks on the battlefield, and the appalling physical hardships. That these inexperienced warriors could take on and defeat the superpower of the day was one of the remarkable feats in world history.

Contents:

Knowledge of the military art: 1754

Blows must decide: 1774

The predicament we are in: 1775

Learning to be soldiers: 1775

Precious convoy: 1776

Sudden and violent: 1776

Valcour Island: 1776

An indecisive mind: 1776

Your country is at stake: 1776

A continual clap of thunder: 1777

Fight as well as brag: 1777

Something more at stake: 1777

The discipline of the leggs: 1778

The boldest conduct: 1779

The fate of battle: 1780

Downright fighting: 1780

War is an intricate business: 1781

America is ours: 1781

Our troops: 1782

The large hearts of heroes: 1824.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 249-268) and index.

ISBN:

9781137278777

1137278773

OCLC:

869437528