1776: America and Britain at War

Terrific book - 4.5 stars, rounded up. This wasn't at all what I was expecting - I guess I was extrapolating solely based on the title. Instead of a political history of the American Revolution, this was a military history, solely covering the year 1776 (surprise, surprise). Which is kind of an interesting take on things - the peace treaty ending the war wasn't signed until 1783, so there was a lot that was left out. But focusing on 1776 only allowed for a very interesting story - the genesis of the Continental army, with the climax being Washington's incredible crossing of the Delaware, to capture Hessian troops at Trenton, NJ. Along the way, we cover in-depth the Siege of Boston, the Battle of Long Island and the rebel retreat through Manhattan (York Island), the British capture of Forts Washington and Lee, and the long rebel retreat through New Jersey, to Pennsylvania.

The incredible thing about this book is the absolutely exhaustive research that went into it - there is a quote almost on every page, not only from officers and generals, but ordinary farmers and townspeople who joined up and wrote diaries of their experiences after the war was over. No less than 70 of these diaries are listed in the bibliography, along with countless books and other sources.

Although the main character is George Washington, we hear plenty about Charles Lee, Henry Knox, Nathanael Greene, and on the British side, the Howe brothers, and Charles Cornwallis. They are painted as humans, not as legends - both the Americans and the British officers made plenty of mistakes. George Washington, especially, although lionized for his stature, his presence on the battlefield, turns out to be a fairly indecisive commander during some of these key moments.

It's amazing to me how much luck and chance played into the outcome. Especially the weather - McCullough does an amazing job showing how a change in the wind, or the presence of a storm, or fog, drastically changed military outcomes. I've never read a battle history before, and I suspect I enjoyed this one so much because McCullough makes it so accessible to laypeople (and also due to most of the book taking place in good ol' NYC).

Another thing that stood out to me was the “gentlemanly” nature of the combat - few died, due to the slow, inaccurate weaponry, and there were rules of engagement that seem “quaint” by today's standard.

The book gives new appreciation for how unlikely the outcome of the American Revolution was - while also demonstrating that perhaps it wasn't so far-fetched after all. McCullough does a fantastic job showing how unprepared the American “rebels” were compared to the professional armies of the British and the Hessians. Low paid, un-uniformed, poorly supplied, sick due to poor hygiene, and undisciplined, the army was at constant risk of collapse from within. Yet Washington managed to make miracles with what he had. The Americans were fighting for their dearly-held values, they were more familiar with the terrain, and they were willing to push the limits of 18th century war-making, whereas the professional British officer class sometimes valued personal luxuries which led them not to press their advantage too hard.

Although it was a bit dry at times, I ended up loving 1776. Once I got into it, I read most of it over three consecutive days, wanting to find out what happened. It makes me want to read more history and visit some of these sites!