Posted on 11/11/2004 7:56:58 AM PST by Redcoat LI
The past decade or so has seen an explosion of titles about World War II. The Civil War, of course, has been keeping publishers busy for almost a century and a half. But the conflict without which the others would not have been possible--the American Revolution--seems a poor stepchild.
We are oddly uncurious about the military side of the war that made us a nation. While the founders are an inexhaustible seam of rich ore that biographers ceaselessly and productively mine, the battles, the generals and, especially, the soldiers dwell for the most part in literary obscurity.
Except, that is, in the works of Richard Ketchum, whose latest volume, "Victory at Yorktown" (Henry Holt & Co.), came out last month. It is Mr. Ketchum's fifth narrative of the Revolution. He began writing about the war in the '50s, when he produced "Decisive Day: The Battle for Bunker Hill." And, from there, he went on to write "The Winter Soldiers: The Battles for Trenton and Princeton," "Saratoga: Turning Point of America's Revolutionary War" and "Divided Loyalties: How the American Revolution Came to New York."
He also edited "The American Heritage Book of the Revolution," and it was this undertaking, back in 1957, that got him started on what has become his life's work.
Mr. Ketchum was a young magazine editor, back from his own war--he commanded a sub-chaser in the South Atlantic--and his colleague at American Heritage was the Civil War historian Bruce Catton. Mr. Catton edited the magazine, and Mr. Ketchum worked the book side of the operation. "We divided up American history, and I got the short straw,"
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
Another fine author-David Hackett Fisher, His book "Paul Revere's Ride" is the best account of the action at Lexington and Concord.
His just published work Washinton's Crossing is great as well.
Both are published by Oxford University Press.
Interesting Links: http://www.americanrevolution.org/
Living History
The British Brigade-http://www.britishbrigade.org/
The Brigade of The American Revolution- http://www.brigade.org/
http://www.redcoat.org/
http://www.lexingtonminutemen.com/
What's also forgotten is the estimated one-third of the colonists that were pro-British.
This is a great book about the most meaningful battle of the war: "Saratoga: Turning Point of America's Revolutionary War" Victory at Saratoga prevented Burgoyne from severing the mid-Atlantic & southern colonies from the New England states. And even more important, it brought the French into the war--whose navy eventually played the decisive role at Yorktown.
The Saratoga battlefield park is out of the way & gets few visitors, but it still has the original woodlines and the positions are marked on the ground, etc.
Great book, and Saratoga is a great place to visit.
Hey, you a Tory or what? Why the "redcoat" moniker!?!?!?
The ancestors of Liberals.
bump
Oh, I hope not. Some were my ancestors, the Palmers, that had lived and prospered in New York for 100 years before the revolution. Afterwards, they had to move (at the insistance of their neighbors, shall we say), and some went to Nova Scotia, some to Virginia. The Virginian Palmers then choose the loosing side during the Civil War, and finally ended up in Texas, where we're all still conservative reactionaries.:)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.