Download or read book The Winter Soldiers written by Richard M. Ketchum and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2014-08-26 with total page 518 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The author of Decisive Day chronicles two pivotal battles in the Revolutionary War and the adversity faced by American troops. The Winter Soldiers is the story of a small band of men held together by George Washington in the face of disaster and hopelessness, desperately needing at least one victory to salvage both cause and country. In the fall of 1776 the British delivered a crushing blow to the Revolutionary War efforts. New York fell and the anguished retreat through New Jersey followed. Winter came with a vengeance, bringing what Thomas Paine called “the times that try men’s souls.” Richard M. Ketchum tells the tale of unimaginable hardship and suffering that culminated in the battles of Trenton and Princeton. Without these triumphs, the American Revolution that had begun so bravely could not have gone on. Praise for The Winter Soldiers “Superb military history of an intimacy and narrative power such as is rarely written.” —Orville Prescott “In this book the American Revolution begins to appear as a tale of men like ourselves who did their best in what looked like a failing cause and won a brilliant success.” —Bruce Catton, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Stillness at Appomattox

Download or read book Hessians written by Friederike Baer and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2022 with total page 529 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Between 1776 and 1783, Britain hired an estimated 30,000 German soldiers to fight in its war against the Americans. Collectively known as Hessians, they actually came from six German territories within the Holy Roman Empire. Over the course of the war, members of the German corps, including women and children, spent extended periods of time in locations as dispersed and varied as Canada in the North to West Florida and Cuba in the South. They shared in every significant British military triumph and defeat. Thousands died of disease, were killed in battle, were captured by the enemy, or deserted. Collectively, they recorded their experiences and observations of the war they fought in, the land they traversed, and the people they encountered in a large body of letters, diaries, and similar private and official records. Friederike Baer presents a study of Britain's war against the American rebels from the perspective of the German soldiers, a people uniquely positioned both in the midst of the war and at its margins. The book offers a ground-breaking reimagining of this watershed event in world history.

Download or read book Crossroads of the Revolution written by William L Kidder and published by Knox Press. This book was released on 2019-03-19 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: History of Trenton New Jersey during the American Revolution Exhaustively researched and beautifully written, this it he story of revolutionary Trenton, New Jersey both a critical supply post and a crucial junction halfway between loyalist New York, and patriot Philadelphia. Trenton between 1774 and 1783 is a microcosm of the challenges faced by ordinary Americans during the revolution, struggles intensified by Trenton’s geographic location in the state which saw more military activity than others and on a road constantly user to move and supply armies. Life in Trenton connected to just about every aspect of the revolution. The story of the people who lived in Trenton, or who spent time there because of the revolution, helps us better understand the hitherto untold importance of their town beyond the one well known day of battle. Praise for CROSSROADS OF THE REVOLUTION: 1774 - 1783 A meticulous, compelling, and well-researched account of how the American Revolution pivoted around a village in southern New Jersey.– Rick Atkinson, Pulitzer Prize Winning Historian William L. Kidder’s Crossroads of the Revolution: Trenton, 1774-1783is a gem. In this engaging and well-researched narrative, Kidder shines a light on Trenton, its people, and the events that centered on that town. Most Americans know Trenton as the location of George Washington’s post-Christmas victory over a Hessian brigade in 1776. Trenton was, however, much more than that. It was an active and lively town at the center of the American Revolution in New Jersey. Through his lively writing bolstered by assiduous research, Kidder tells the stories of Whigs, Loyalists, slaves, Britons, Hessians, and others who helped make Trenton a crossroads of the American Revolution. Readers will not be disappointed. - Ricardo A. Herrera is Associate Professor of Military History, US Army School of Advanced Military Studies and the author ofFor Liberty and the Republic: The American Citizen as Soldier, 1775-1861. Known by most Americans for an hour of dramatic combat, Trenton was a small but important industrial city at the crux of so much of the War for Independence. Mr. Kidder’s marvelous study not only brings to life Trenton’s many unique personalities, but stands as a valuable case study for how a town and its people weathered and adapted through nine grueling years in the eye of the storm we know as the Revolution.Richard Patterson Executive Director, Old Barracks Museum, Trenton, NJ Most histories of the Revolution remember Trenton, New Jersey, simply as the battle site where George Washington snatched the Patriot cause from the jaws of defeat on December 26, 1776, with his surprise attack on a Hessian brigade. William L. Kidder’s Crossroads of the Revolution, presents a vivid, well-research portrait of a community at war, which reveals the daily courage and persistence it took to win independence. Trentonians faced a daunting array of crises and other challenges between 1774 and 1783, and innumerable options with unpredictable outcomes. Not all chose the same course – not all saw their stories end happily – but all were Americans who sought to define liberty in their own terms – much like their descendants who live in equally uncertain times today. Gregory J. W. Urwin, Professor of History, Temple University

Download or read book Washington s Crossing written by David Hackett Fischer and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2006-02-01 with total page 578 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Six months after the Declaration of Independence, the American Revolution was all but lost. A powerful British force had routed the Americans at New York, occupied three colonies, and advanced within sight of Philadelphia. Yet, as David Hackett Fischer recounts in this riveting history, George Washington--and many other Americans--refused to let the Revolution die. On Christmas night, as a howling nor'easter struck the Delaware Valley, he led his men across the river and attacked the exhausted Hessian garrison at Trenton, killing or capturing nearly a thousand men. A second battle of Trenton followed within days. The Americans held off a counterattack by Lord Cornwallis's best troops, then were almost trapped by the British force. Under cover of night, Washington's men stole behind the enemy and struck them again, defeating a brigade at Princeton. The British were badly shaken. In twelve weeks of winter fighting, their army suffered severe damage, their hold on New Jersey was broken, and their strategy was ruined. Fischer's richly textured narrative reveals the crucial role of contingency in these events. We see how the campaign unfolded in a sequence of difficult choices by many actors, from generals to civilians, on both sides. While British and German forces remained rigid and hierarchical, Americans evolved an open and flexible system that was fundamental to their success. The startling success of Washington and his compatriots not only saved the faltering American Revolution, but helped to give it new meaning.

Download or read book New Jersey Hessians written by Peter T. Lubrecht and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2016-11-21 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the American Revolution, Great Britain hired thirty thousand German troops to fight rebellious colonists. Five thousand of those troops marched across New Jersey from Princeton and Trenton all the way to the northern tip of Sussex County. Though popular legend would cast them as cold and vicious mercenaries, many were prisoners of war with little choice. Stories of their exploits still circulate in New Jersey, from the headless Hessian of the Morristown Swamp to the mysterious Ramapo Mountain people. Join author Pete Lubrecht as he navigates the myth of Hessian troops in New Jersey to separate fiction from fact.

Download or read book Hessians written by Brady Crytzer and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Three Stories. Two Worlds. One Revolution. Revealing the German Experience in the American Revolution through the Experiences of an Officer, a Baroness, and a Chaplain In 1775 the British Empire was in crisis. While it was buried in debt from years of combat against the French, revolution was stirring in its wealthiest North American colonies. To allow the rebellion to fester would cost the British dearly, but to confront it would press their exhausted armed forces to a breaking point. Faced with a nearly impossible decision, the administrators of the world's largest empire elected to employ the armies of the Holy Roman Empire to suppress the sedition of the American revolutionaries. By 1776 there would be 18,000 German soldiers marching through the wilds of North America, and by war's end there would be over 30,000. To the colonists these forces were "mercenaries," and to the Germans the Americans were "rebels. "While soldiers of fortune fight for mere profit, the soldiers of the Holy Roman Empire went to war in the name of their country, and were paid little for their services, while their respective kings made fortunes off of their blood and sacrifice among the British ranks. Labeled erroneously as "Hessians," the armies of the Holy Roman Empire came from six separate German states, each struggling to retain relevance in a newly enlightened and ever-changing world. In Hessians: Mercenaries, Rebels, and the War for British North America historian Brady J. Crytzer explores the German experience during the American Revolution through the lives of three individuals from vastly different walks of life, all thrust into the maelstrom of North American combat. Here are the stories of a dedicated career soldier, Johann Ewald, captain of a Field-Jäger Corps, who fought from New York to the final battles along the Potomac; Frederika Charlotte Louise von Massow, Baroness von Riedesel, who raced with her young children through the Canadian wilderness to reunite with her long-distant husband; and middle-aged chaplain Philipp Waldeck, who struggled to make sense of it all while accompanying his unit through the exotic yet brutal conditions of the Caribbean and British Florida. Beautifully written, Hessians offers a glimpse into the American Revolution as seen through the eyes of the German armies commanded to destroy it.

Download or read book The British Invasion of Delaware Aug Sep 1777 written by Gerald J. Kauffman and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2011-01-06 with total page 106 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the American War for Independence in Augustand September, 1777, the British invaded Delaware aspart of an end-run campaign to defeat GeorgeWashington and the Americans and capture the capitalat Philadelphia. For a few short weeks the hills andstreams in and around Newark and Iron Hill and at Cooch's Bridge along the Christina River were the focus of worldhistory as the British marched through the Diamond State between the Chesapeake Bay and Brandywine Creek.This is the story of the British invasion of Delaware,one of the lesser known but critical watershedmoments in American history.

Download or read book A Hessian Diary of the American Revolution written by Johann Conrad Döhla and published by University of Oklahoma Press. This book was released on 1993 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This unique diary, written by one of the thirty thousand Hessian troops whose services were sold to George III to suppress the American Revolution, is the most complete and informative primary account of the Revolution from the common soldier's point of view. Johann Conrad Döhla describes not just military activities but also events leading up to the Revolution, American customs, the cities and regions that he visited, and incidents in other parts of the world that affected the war. He also evaluates the important military commanders, giving readers an insight into how the enlisted men felt about their leaders and opponents. Private Döhla crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 1777 as a private in the Ansbach-Bayreuth contingent of Hessian mercenaries. His American sojourn began in June 1777 in New York. Then, after several months on Staten Island and Manhatten, the Ansbach-Bayreuth regiments traveled to the thriving seaport of Newport, Rhode Island, where they spent more than a year before the British forces evacuated the area. The Ansbach-Bayreuth regiments returned briefly to the New York New Jersey area before they were sent to reinforce the English command in Virginia. Eventually Döhla participated in the battle of Yorktown—of which he provides a vivid description—before enduring two years as a prisoner of war after Cornwallis's surrender. Bruce E. Burgoyne has provided an accurate translation, helpful notes for scholars and general readers, and an introduction on the Ansbach-Bayreuth regiments and the history of Johann Conrad Döhla and his diary. This first edition of the diary in English will delight all who are interested in the American Revolution and the thirteen original colonies.

Download or read book Ten Crucial Days written by William L. Kidder and published by Knox Press. This book was released on 2020-09-15 with total page 440 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On December 25, 1776, the American Revolution seemed all but defeated just six months after the Declaration of Independence had been adopted. George Washington’s army had suffered a series of defeats in New York and had retreated under British pressure across New Jersey and then the Delaware River to temporary sanctuary in Pennsylvania. This left the British army in a string of winter cantonments across the middle of New Jersey, the New Jersey state government in total disarray, and the Continental Congress fleeing Philadelphia now perceived as the next British target. Loyalists in New Jersey felt empowered and Patriots felt abandoned. Washington needed not only a battlefield victory, but also to reestablish Patriot control in New Jersey. Otherwise, it would be impossible to raise a larger, long-term army to continue the fight and convince the citizens that victory was possible. The story of these ten crucial days is one that displays Washington’s military and interpersonal abilities along with his personal determination and bravery to keep the Revolution alive through maintaining the psychological confidence of the Patriots, while reducing the psychological confidence of his British political and military opponents. Throughout these ten days, Washington was faced with changing situations requiring modifications or outright different plans and his well-thought-out actions benefitted from elements of luck—such as the weather or British decisions—which he could not control. While most books look at these ten crucial days focusing on the military actions of the armies involved, this account also considers what was happening in other parts of the world. Leaders and ordinary people in other parts of America, in Britain, and in France were also dealing with the Revolution as they understood its condition. Without the instantaneous communication we have today, they were dealing with dated information and were missing knowledge that could influence their thoughts about the Revolution. This lack of immediate communication was also true—although to lesser extent—for the individuals directly involved in the events in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Download or read book Fight for the Delaware 1777 written by Samuel Stelle Smith and published by . This book was released on 1970 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Fighting Ground written by Avi and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2016-03-08 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scott O’Dell Award for Best Historical Fiction * ALA Notable Book * ALA Best Books for YA Newbery Medal-winning author Avi tells the “compelling story of a young boy’s first encounter with war and how it changes him.”—Publishers Weekly Jonathan may be only thirteen years old, but with the Revolutionary War unfolding around him, he’s more certain than ever that he wants to be a part of it—to fight for independence alongside his brother and cousin to defeat the British. But Jonathan’s father, himself wounded from battle, refuses to let his son join the front lines. When Jonathan hears the tavern bell toll, calling all soldiers to arms, he rushes to enlist without telling his dad. Gun in hand, Jonathan falls in with a militia and marches onward to the fighting ground. It feels like he’s been waiting his whole life for this moment. But no amount of daydreaming could prepare Jonathan for what he encounters. In just twenty-four hours, his life will be forever changed—by his fellow soldiers, unsuspecting enemies, and the frightening and complicated realities of war. More than thirty years after its publication, award-winner The Fighting Ground continues to be an important work of historical fiction for young readers.

Download or read book The Hessians written by Rodney Atwood and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2002-08-15 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A study of the German auxiliaries who fought with the British against the American colonists.

Download or read book General George Washington written by Edward G. Lengel and published by Random House Trade Paperbacks. This book was released on 2007-01-09 with total page 514 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “The most comprehensive and authoritative study of Washington’s military career ever written.” –Joseph J. Ellis, author of His Excellency: George Washington Based largely on George Washington’s personal papers, this engrossing book paints a vivid, factual portrait of Washington the soldier. An expert in military history, Edward Lengel demonstrates that the “secret” to Washington’s excellence lay in his completeness, in how he united the military, political, and personal skills necessary to lead a nation in war and peace. Despite being an “imperfect commander”–and at times even a tactically suspect one–Washington nevertheless possessed the requisite combination of vision, integrity, talents, and good fortune to lead America to victory in its war for independence. At once informative and engaging, and filled with some eye-opening revelations about Washington, the American Revolution, and the very nature of military command, General George Washington is a book that reintroduces readers to a figure many think they already know. “The book’s balanced assessment of Washington is satisfying and thought-provoking. Lengel gives us a believable Washington . . . the most admired man of his generation by far.” –The Washington Post Book World “A compelling picture of a man who was ‘the archetypal American soldier’ . . . The sum of his parts was the greatness of Washington.” –The Boston Globe “[An] excellent book . . . fresh insights . . . If you have room on your bookshelf for only one book on the Revolution, this may be it.” –The Washington Times

Download or read book The Battles of Trenton and Princeton written by William Scudder Stryker and published by . This book was released on 1898 with total page 564 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Battle for New York written by Barnet Schecter and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2003 with total page 470 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On 15 September, 1776, the British army under General William Howe invaded Manhattan Island, with the largest expeditionary force in their history. George Washington's Continental Army, still in disarray after the disastrous Battle of Brooklyn some two weeks earlier, retreated north to Harlem Heights, leaving New York in British hands. Control of the city was Howe's primary objective. Located at the mouth of the strategically vital Hudson river, it had become the centrepiece of England's strategy for putting down the American rebellion. key to the colonies, New York proved to be the fatal chalice that poisoned the British war effort. The Battle for New York tells the story of how the city became the pivot on which the American Revolution turned - from the political and religious struggles of the 1760s and early 1770s that polarised its citizens and increasingly made New York a hotbed of radical thought and action; to the campaign of 1776 that turned New York into a series of battlefields; to the seven years of British occupation, during which time Washington and Congress were as determined to regain the city as the British were to hold it. the book, was by far the largest military venture of the Revolutionary War; it involved almost every significant participant in the war on both sides; and there can be little doubt that during it the fate of America hung in the balance. Moreover, the outcome had a direct impact on the major turning points of the rest of the war.

Download or read book I Eliza Hamilton written by Susan Holloway Scott and published by National Geographic Books. This book was released on 2017-09-26 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this beautifully written novel of historical fiction, bestselling author Susan Holloway Scott tells the story of Alexander Hamilton’s wife, Eliza—a fascinating, strong-willed heroine in her own right and a key figure in one of the most gripping periods in American history. “Love is not easy with a man chosen by Fate for greatness . . .” As the daughter of a respected general, Elizabeth Schuyler is accustomed to socializing with dignitaries and soldiers. But no visitor to her parents’ home has affected her so strongly as Alexander Hamilton, a charismatic, ambitious aide to George Washington. They marry quickly, and despite the tumult of the American Revolution, Eliza is confident in her brilliant husband and in her role as his helpmate. But it is in the aftermath of war, as Hamilton becomes one of the country’s most important figures, that she truly comes into her own. In the new capital, Eliza becomes an adored member of society, respected for her fierce devotion to Hamilton as well as her grace. Behind closed doors, she astutely manages their expanding household, and assists her husband with his political writings. Yet some challenges are impossible to prepare for. Through public scandal, betrayal, personal heartbreak, and tragedy, she is tested again and again. In the end, it will be Eliza’s indomitable strength that makes her not only Hamilton’s most crucial ally in life, but also his most loyal advocate after his death, determined to preserve his legacy while pursuing her own extraordinary path through the nation they helped shape together.

Download or read book I Was a Hessian Grenadier at the Battle of Trenton written by Gary Schreckengost and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2016-02-24 with total page 98 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Hessian soldiers who served as auxiliary troops for the British government during the American Revolution struck fear into the heart of American rebels even before they set foot on American shores. During the battle for New York in 1776, soon after the Declaration of Independence was signed, the Hessians proved further enhanced their vaunted reputation when they literally mauled the rebels, helping Crown forces capture New York City, Fort Washington, and, before the year was out, almost all of New Jersey. Trusted with guarding the Delaware River once winter set in, seven of these Hessian battalions were posted at Trenton, Bordentown, Black Horse, and Mount Holly, New Jersey, closest to what was left of Washington's rebel army. This is the historically accurate story of the fictitious character Grenadier Johann Schräder, a member of Grenadier Regiment Rall, one of the tough Hessian battalions that were surprisingly defeated by the rebels at Trenton on December 26, 1776. Read how and why Schräder joined the Hessian Army in the summer of 1775, what training was like in Hessia, who his comrades were in the 2nd Company, Grenadier Regiment Rall, his journey to America, and his campaigning in New York and New Jersey, culminating at the famous battle of Trenton, December 26, 1776, the "battle that saved America."