The surrender of General Cornwallis at Yorktown, 1781 Photo: courtesy Library of Congress
Posted on 07/30/2013 3:01:58 PM PDT by Pharmboy
The surrender of General Cornwallis at Yorktown, 1781 Photo: courtesy Library of Congress
Britain’s loss of America in the War of Independence (1775-1783) is typically attributed to the failings of its key political and military decision makers who were, in Andrew O’Shaughnessy’s words, “associated with opposition to progress and with attempting to introduce an authoritarian style of government”. They have, he writes, become cartoon figures of incompetence and mediocrity in a story with an inevitable ending, “as history progresses towards modernity”.
Not any more. In this fascinating, well written and extensively researched study of 10 of those British decision makers – a monarch, three politicians, four generals and two admirals – O’Shaughnessy overturns much of received opinion by insisting that all “were able and substantial individuals who nevertheless failed”. The question is why – and could things have turned out differently?
The answer to the first part is, inevitably, multifaceted. The British lacked the military and naval resources to not only win battles but also police a largely recalcitrant population; their victories – and they won many – merely “served to reinvigorate the revolutionary cause” by stimulating recruitment and prompting greater unity among the rebels; they made a fatal miscalculation that loyalists were in a majority and would rally in support of the Army; they were hampered by the logistical nightmare of transporting supplies and reinforcements 3,000 miles across the Atlantic;
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
The RevWar/Colonial History/General Washington ping list.
...and 50% of us REMAIN proudly recalcitrant to the present tyrant wannabees!
Of all America’s enemies, the British are the ones I hate the least, and the ones I despise the most.
When I first saw this thread I thought it was a book about RINOs!
“Of all America’s enemies, the British are the ones I hate the least, and the ones I despise the most.”
I thought that I was alone in that feeling. Thank you! I am not alone! ;-)
Very interesting comment; I have always been quite ambivalent about them, as part of me is Anglophile, yet part is anti-Brit, BIG time. Your comment put it best.
Something tells me the U.K. feels it dodged a bullet.
“Of all America’s enemies, the British are the ones I hate the least, and the ones I despise the most.”
The British are our enemies?
Believe it or not we fought two wars against them. A third if you count our losing the battle against the central bank.
Up until WWI, the Brits were vilified as enemies. Significant celebrations took place in NYC on the anniversary of their leaving NYC after the war; “Evacuation Day” was huge, but WWI ended it.
I never really thought about until you mentioned it, but the American and English species really don’t intermarry or even interfriend.
They’re not much over here and we’re not much over there.
I know we fight well together, but do our soldiers party with their soldiers?
There were generations of Irish-Americans whose hackles were on permanent alert about any Brit, let alone relations with "those miserable murderin' black-hearts". When King George VI and wife visited in the US in 1939, it was said that a midwest city's mayor (Chicago?) threatened him if he were to visit the city.
So, yes you could say that there were times, even that recently, where the 'brotherly' feelings tended more to sibling irritation, at least for some.
Well during WW2, it was not so much with with the British 'Tommies' as with their girlfriends and others. The well known Brit complaint during the Normandy build-up was that the Yanks were "Over-paid, Over-sexed and Over HERE!" Given that most of the British Troops were spread over many fronts after 4+ years of fighting, there was reason for that animus. The Yanks were also somewhat successful in their endeavors in Britain given the number of war brides they came back with!
My Dublin born and raised Irish grandmother used to say that there was much to admire in the British — but that they could be hard to like because they always insisted on being in charge. My County Cork born and raised Irish grandfather had a less generous view of the British and joined the IRA as a young man in order to fight for Irish independence.
And now we have a King Obama.
For a moment there I thought this was a contemporary story, going off the headline. Sadly, that book too will come. :(
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