Mike Veasey's Reviews > 1776

Wonderful educational read. Made me appreciate the way this country was founded. Disabused me of the sterile and romantic Revolutionary
War notions of grammar school. This was a war where 15 year old boys and 70 year old men fought together, marched barefoot together, and pulled off several incredible feats....the defense of Dorchester Heights, the evacuation of New York in the middle of the night, and the crossing of the Delaware among them. Learned of the barbarity of the Hessians and of the contributions of previously unknown Generals Green and Lee among others. This book brings home the cold and misery suffered by the troops; the indecision of Washington; and---dare I say it---the intervention of some kind of power when intervention/luck was the only way out of trouble for the American forces. What is most remarkable is that the misery of the troops, the desertions, the improperly equipped army, had another 7 years to go before the Treaty of Paris ended the war in 1783. What these men, most notably George Washington, gave up for this country and belief in the future is remarkable.