How the French saved America : soldiers, sailors, diplomats, Louis XVI, and the success of a Revolution / Tom Shachtman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Shachtman, Tom, 1942- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783--Participation, French.

United States.

History.

United States--Foreign relations--1775-1783.

International relations.

United States--Foreign relations--France.

France.

France--Foreign relations--United States.

France--Foreign relations--1774-1793.

Diplomatic relations.

Local Subjects:

United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783--Participation, French.

United States--Foreign relations--1775-1783.

United States--Foreign relations--France.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

viii, 359 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, map ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : St. Martin's Press, 2017.

Summary:

Americans today have a love/hate relationship with France, but in How the French Saved America Tom Shachtman shows that without France, there might not be a United States of America. To the rebelling colonies, French assistance made the difference between looming defeat and eventual triumph. Even before the Declaration of Independence was issued, King Louis XVI and French foreign minister Vergennes were aiding the rebels. After the Declaration, that assistance broadened to include wages for our troops; guns, cannon, and ammunition; engineering expertise that enabled victories and prevented defeats; diplomatic recognition; safe havens for privateers; battlefield leadership by veteran officers; and the army and fleet that made possible the Franco-American victory at Yorktown. Nearly ten percent of those who fought and died for the American cause were French. Those who fought and survived, in addition to the well-known Lafayette and Rochambeau, include Franȯis de Fleury, who won a Congressional Medal for valor, Louis Duportail, who founded the Army Corps of Engineers, and Admiral de Grasse, whose sea victory sealed the fate of Yorktown. This illuminating narrative history vividly captures the outsize characters of our European brothers, their battlefield and diplomatic bonds and clashes with Americans, and the monumental role they played in America?s fight for independence and democracy.

Contents:

Prologue: December 18-28, 1775

Part I. A mutual courtship

Part II. Approaches and retreats

Part III. Making the connection

Part IV. Together: first steps

Part V. Together: struggling through

Part VI. A triumph and a fare thee well

Epilogue: 1783-1844.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 341-346) and index.

ISBN:

9781250080875

1250080878

OCLC:

967093126