1776

Written and Narrated by David McCullough

Audiobook, 11 hours and 33 minutes

Published by Simon and Schuster Audio

Language: English

ASIN: B0009S2F0G

The American Revolution is easily the least understood of all America’s wars today.  Whenever I do any reading of the conflict, I am struck by how many myths have arisen and how few facts have survived to become common knowledge.  This is not for lack of effort – the period is taught repeatedly in American public schools – but for lack of recognition of the complexity of the situation and the omission of several key facts.  It is not that the details are lost to history as there is a wealth of primary sources, but that the narrative is viewed only through the lens of the eventual American victory, which is portrayed as inevitable.  It was anything but.

Pulitzer Prize winning author David McCullough takes on the most pivotal year of the conflict and explores it in detail.  Quoting extensively from letters from several of the protagonists, he follows Washington’s army in their campaigns against the British, and the efforts of Congress to direct his efforts and provide men and supplies.  Washington was victorious at Boston, but was defeated at Brooklyn and had to cede the strategic port of New York to the British.  On the political front, Congress signed the Declaration of Independence, which formalized the on-going rebellion.  Each of the individual colonial governments still held pre-eminence, and formations from the various colonies were sent to Washinton’s army at the pleasures of each colony, often with limited enlistments which expired at militarily inconvenient times.  Congress continued to send military expeditions to Quebec with the intention of eliminating the British presence there and making Quebec the 14^th American colony.

For his part, Washington’s letters reveal he was under no delusions concerning the severity of his situation.  His army was plagued by supply and pay problems.  Disease, desertion, and expiring enlistments sapped his manpower.  While he was loyal to the revolutionary cause, he was by no means infallible and often doubted his own capacities and the ultimate success of the rebellion.  The year comes to a close with Washington’s success against the Hessians at the Battle of Trenton, which was a “hail Mary” attempt to salvage a deteriorating situation and likely preserved the cause.

This is a well-written and -researched narrative of the pivotal year of the American Revolution.  The author’s descriptions of battles and camp life are engaging and provide a vivid portrayal of the difficulties of fighting and sometimes even surviving in the American wilderness.  Highly recommended.