This Glorious Struggle: George Washington's Revolutionary War Letters by Edward G. Lengel

A collection of letters (not all, mind you) written by General George Washington during the Revolutionary years (1775-1783).

There are only two letters to his wife Martha, both written in 1775 when Washington accepted the post of General. The rest were burned by Martha when Washington died in 1799. The rest are letters composed to members of congress (usually the President of the Continental Congress), friends, various family members, his generals and to a few citizens.

Even included is a letter that may have not been written by Washington at all, but might be a forgery. Also included are his farewell to his army when they disbanded after news of the Treaty of Paris reached the Americans at the end of October 1783. The final letter included in this collection is Washington's resignation, read aloud to congress two days before Christmas 1783.

Particularly interesting are Washington's views of what the American Revolution will mean to future generations and also his views of the future of this new country.

Good read. Took a while to get through, not for lack of interest, but because reading letter after letter can get tedious after a while. Worth it in the end.

Nathanael Greene: A Biography of the American Revolution by Gerald M. Carbone

In case you haven't noticed, I'm on a bit of an American Revolution kick right now. I'm following up my review of 1776 with a review of a biography about General Nathanael Green, Washington's favorite general and the hero of the South, whose legacy has all but been forgotten.

I can't say much for the biography itself, except that this is a good start at getting Greene's name in the history books, along with George Washington's, where it belongs. And for someone interested in getting to know more about Nathanael Greene, I would suggest this, seeing as how accounts of the forgotten general are few and far between.

It boggles my mind how absent Greene's name is from accounts of The American Revolution. People don't realize there would have been no Yorktown if not for Greene. Before Greene's magnificent Southern campaign, the British controlled all of the south. By Yorktown, they controlled virtually none of it. Without decisively winning any battles, Greene not only took charge of the south, but had driven Cornwallis' troops out of the Carolinas and right into George Washington's hands. Greene himself said it best after the battle at Yorktown:

We have been beating the bush and the General has come to catch the bird. Never was there a more fortunate Man, and may success and laurels attend him. We have fought frequently, and bled freely, and little glory comes to our share.

So what happened to Washington's favorite general, the savor of the south, after the revolution? He was met with much debt and received no fanfare when he returned to his home state of Rhode Island. And he died three years later, in 1786. He was buried in an unmarked tomb that wasn't discovered until 1901, which is covered at the beginning of this book.

His name was virtually forgotten and his remains were unknown for virtually 115 years. It's despicable and sad. There probably would not have been a Yorktown, and who would know what would have happened, how long the war might have gone on and who would have won if there was no Nathanael Greene.

1776 by David McCullough

McCullough does a great job in 1776 in dispelling the myths of both the Continental and British army during the starting months and year of The American Revolution.

A great thing about a book like this, is the names of the brave men who have essentially been lost over time. Sure we know all about General Washington, but what about Joseph Reed, General Nathanael Green (Washington's favorite general), General Henry Knox, John Sullivan, Lord Stirling and others? In 1776 we learn how these inexperienced men kept the army together while in dire straights, while morale was down. The fact that there was even an army left at the end of 1776 when Washington, along with Greene, Sullivan and Stirling, led them to an unexpected attack and victory at Trenton and onto another victory at Princeton before the year was over, was remarkable.

Some amazing things happened after these victories:

Morale was up. Soldiers who were about to leave at the start of the year, instead stayed, realizing they were fighting for their futures. And the British had a grudgingly new respect for the Americans. One cavalry officer wrote: ...the fashion in this army to treat them in the most contemptible light, they are now become a formidable enemy.

McCullough perfectly captures the ups and downs of the Continental/American army: Sickness, devastating blunders, desertion, loyalty and victory.

This is the perfect account of the men who fought on both sides for the battle for America in the beginning months. Thoroughly researched and exquisitely told, this is the starting point for knowledge of The American Revolution.