Patriot Battles: How the War of Independence Was Fought
Michael Stephenson
Oct 2009 · Harper Collins
4.0star
2 reviews
Ebook
450
Pages
About this ebook
“Well-documented, entertaining. . . . This excellent popular history should attract a wide audience with its fresh perspective.” —Publishers Weekly
Drawing on hundreds of specialist sources, contemporary and archival, Patriot Battles is the comprehensive one-volume study of the military aspects of the War of Independence. The first part of the book offers a richly detailed examination of the nuts and bolts of eighteenth-century combat: For example, who fought and what motivated them, whether patriot or redcoat, Hessian or Frenchman? How were they enlisted and trained? How were they clothed and fed? What weapons did they use, and how effective were they? When soldiers became casualties or fell ill, how did medical services deal with them? What roles did loyalists, women, blacks, and Indians play?
The second part of the book gives a closer look at the war's greatest battles, with maps provided for each. Which men were involved, and how many? What was the state of their morale and equipment? What parts did terrain and weather play? What were the qualities of the respective commanders, and what tactics did they employ? How many casualties were inflicted? And no less important, how did the soldiers fight?
Throughout, many cherished myths are challenged, reputations are reassessed, and long-held assumptions are tested. For all readers, Patriot Battles is one of the most satisfying and illuminating works to be added to the literature on the War of Independence in many years.
“An interesting and easily digestible study appealing to both military-history buffs and general readers.” —Booklist
“An iconoclastic, provocative study of the Revolutionary War that invalidates a few chestnuts.” —Kirkus Reviews
Drawing on hundreds of specialist sources, contemporary and archival, Patriot Battles is the comprehensive one-volume study of the military aspects of the War of Independence. The first part of the book offers a richly detailed examination of the nuts and bolts of eighteenth-century combat: For example, who fought and what motivated them, whether patriot or redcoat, Hessian or Frenchman? How were they enlisted and trained? How were they clothed and fed? What weapons did they use, and how effective were they? When soldiers became casualties or fell ill, how did medical services deal with them? What roles did loyalists, women, blacks, and Indians play?
The second part of the book gives a closer look at the war's greatest battles, with maps provided for each. Which men were involved, and how many? What was the state of their morale and equipment? What parts did terrain and weather play? What were the qualities of the respective commanders, and what tactics did they employ? How many casualties were inflicted? And no less important, how did the soldiers fight?
Throughout, many cherished myths are challenged, reputations are reassessed, and long-held assumptions are tested. For all readers, Patriot Battles is one of the most satisfying and illuminating works to be added to the literature on the War of Independence in many years.
“An interesting and easily digestible study appealing to both military-history buffs and general readers.” —Booklist
“An iconoclastic, provocative study of the Revolutionary War that invalidates a few chestnuts.” —Kirkus Reviews
Ratings and reviews
4.0
2 reviews
About the author
Michael Stephenson is the former editor of the Military Book Club and the editor of National Geographic's Battlegrounds: Geography and the History of Warfare. He lives in New York City.
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