Almost A Miracle The American Victory in the War of Independence

by Ferling, John

• ISBN13: 9780195382921
• ISBN10: 0195382927
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-04-03
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

In this gripping chronicle of America's struggle for independence, award-winning historian John Ferling transports readers to the grim realities of that war, capturing an eight-year conflict filled with heroism, suffering, cowardice, betrayal, and fierce dedication. As Ferling demonstrates, it was a war that America came much closer to losing than is now usually remembered. General George Washington put it best when he said that the American victory was "little short of a standing miracle." Almost a Miracle offers an illuminating portrait of America's triumph, offering vivid descriptions of all the major engagements, from the first shots fired on Lexington Green to the surrender of General Cornwallis at Yorktown, revealing how these battles often hinged on intangibles such as leadership under fire, heroism, good fortune, blunders, tenacity, and surprise. Ferling paints sharp-eyed portraits of the key figures in the war, including General Washington and other American officers and civilian leaders. Some do not always measure up to their iconic reputations, including Washington himself. The book also examines the many faceless men who soldiered, often for years on end, braving untold dangers and enduring abounding miseries. The author explains why they served and sacrificed, and sees them as the forgotten heroes who won American independence.

Author Biography

John Ferling brings to this book nearly forty years of experience as a historian of early America. He is the author of nine books and numerous articles on the American Revolution and early American wars, and has appeared in four television documentaries devoted to the Revolution and the War of Independence. His book A Leap in the Dark won the Fraunces Tavern Book Award as the year's best book on the American Revolution. He and his wife live in metropolitan Atlanta.

Table of Contents

Illustrations and Maps	p. vii
Preface	p. xi
Introduction: "My Country, My Honor, My Life": Bravery and Death in War	p. 1
Going to War, 1775-1776	p. 13
"Fear Is Not an American Art": The Coming of the War	p. 15
"A Loss That Is Greater Than We Can Bear": Going to War	p. 34
Choices, 1775	p. 61
The War in the North, 1776-1779	p. 73
"Hastening Fast to a Crisis": June 1775-June 1776	p. 75
Choices, 1776	p. 112
"Knock Him Up for the Campaign": The Battle for New York, 1776	p. 120
"This Hour of Adversity": To the End of 1776	p. 156
Choices, 1777	p. 187
"The Caprice of War": America's Pivotal Victory at Saratoga	p. 204
"We Rallied and Broke": The Campaign for Philadelphia, September-December 1777	p. 242
Choices, 1778	p. 259
"A Respectable Army": The Grim Year, 1778	p. 274
Choices, 1779	p. 315
"A Band of Brotherhood": The Soldiers, the Army, and the Forgotten War in 1779	p. 326
"We Have Occasioned a Good Deal of Terror": The War at Sea	p. 359
Choices, 1780	p. 392
The War in the South, 1780-1781	p. 407
"A Year Filled With Our Disgraces": Defeat in the South, 1780	p. 409
"Southern Means and Southern Exertions": Hope and Despair, June-December 1780	p. 444
Choices, 1781	p. 468
"Bloody and Severe": The Pivotal Southern War, Early 1781	p. 477
"We Are Suspended in the Balance": Spring and Summer 1781	p. 501
American Victory, 1781-1783	p. 521
"America Is Ours": Victory at Yorktown, 1781	p. 523
Choices, 1782	p. 540
"May We Have Peace in Our Time": Peace and Demobilization, 1782-1783	p. 546
"Little Short of a Miracle": Accounting for America's Victory	p. 562
Abbreviations	p. 576
Notes	p. 578
Bibliography	p. 653
Index	p. 663
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