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Anthony Romanelli's Reviews > 1776
1776
by
by
1776 was of great interest to me as it portrayed both sides of the great conflict that was the American War of Independence. I have read similar novels that seem overly biased in the patriot point of view. History is after all written by the victors. It was fascinating to find that Washington was in fact not the perfect leader he was drawn out to be, and by his colossal defeat at Long Island he learned how to win. The Hessian perspective was intriguing as they are equally described as the most disciplined and least disciplined soldiers on the planet by both sides. This leads to a confusing picture of the German mercenaries, however the accounts of Johann Ewald seem to favor his men as the orderly sort, albeit brutal in their methods. Finally the common people, divided between Loyalists and Patriots, show us that on both sides of a war there are heroes and villains, brave people and cowards, fighters and pacifists. Perhaps we are not as different as we think.
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Reading Progress
November 3, 2015
– Shelved as:
to-read
November 3, 2015
– Shelved
November 9, 2015
–
Started Reading
November 10, 2015
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2.33%
"Connection: I read in an article that the myth of vampires started out with porphyria victims who needed blood to stay alive. Their strange symptoms created the pale, sickly vampire image we know of today. King George had porphyria, so was he one of these "vampires"?"
page
9
November 10, 2015
–
2.33%
"Connection: If porphyria victims led to the creation of the European vampire myth, and King George had porphyria, does that make King George a vampire?"
page
9
November 10, 2015
–
2.33%
"Connection: I've read in a book that porphyria victims birthed the legend of the European vampire. If King George had porphyria, would that make him a "vampire"?"
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9
November 10, 2015
–
2.33%
"Connection: I read an article about how porphyria victims were the basis for the European vampire due to their habits and need for blood. If King George had porphyria, was he a "vampire"?"
page
9
November 16, 2015
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3.89%
""shall we be told then that this people, whose greatness is the work of our hands, and whose insolence arises from our divisions, who have mistaken the length of this country for its weakness...shall we be told such people can resist the efforts of this nation?" I like this quite by John Acland as it gives the British point of view. Please disregard the previous post"
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15
November 20, 2015
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5.18%
""At age thirty three, Nathaniel Greene was the youngest general officer in the American army...He had been a full time soldier for all of six months...never served in a campaign...he was a Quaker, and though of robust physique, a childhood accident gave a stiff right leg and a limp." General Greene is the last man you'd expect to lead an army, and I like that about him. He is an unlikely hero."
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20
November 30, 2015
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6.74%
""All fortifications were clearly marked, all landmarks clearly labeled, including "Mount Whoredom", Boston's red light district. THAT'S what the British called the red light district. I found this slightly amusing and a very blunt, albeit accurate title."
page
26
December 7, 2015
–
8.29%
"The fact that a corpse was so covered with lice it was thought the lice killed him is truly appalling. I can't imagine the squalor they lived in."
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32
December 7, 2015
–
9.59%
"I didn't know Washington directed generals to wear purple ribbons. It reminds of the ribbons the French wore during their revolutions."
page
37
December 7, 2015
–
10.62%
"Interesting how the North-South bias is seen this early, as Washington looks down on the New Englanders as "exceedingly dirty and nasty""
page
41
December 9, 2015
–
12.69%
"The description of Washington as a retired and ineffective military commander is interesting. He is often made out to be a great general, np but he was really all they had."
page
49
December 9, 2015
–
12.69%
""Far from seeking this appointment, I have used every endeavor in my power to avoid it..." Washington's reluctance to fight for the cause reminds me of Robert E. Lee in the Civil War."
page
49
December 9, 2015
–
13.47%
""- a great admirer of dogs, one a native of Pomerania, which I would have taken for a bear had I seen him in the woods.." I didn't know Pomeranians existed this far back. This was one of Charles Lee's dogs."
page
52
December 9, 2015
–
14.25%
"Benjamin Church, not Benedict Arnold, was the first American traitor. I had never heard of Church until now. He apparently disappeared at sea sent to exile in the West Indies."
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55
December 9, 2015
–
15.54%
""Spears were issued to the troops to be used in the event of a British attack." This reminds me of the women in the French Revolution who attacked the palaces of the rich with scythes and axes,"
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60
December 9, 2015
–
17.1%
""Let me ask you sir, when is the time for brave men to exert themselves for liberty and their country, if this is not?" I love this Washington quite because it is so applicable even today."
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66
December 10, 2015
–
20.21%
""If the desperate American need for leaders had thrust men like Nathanael Greene into positions beyond their experience, The British system wherein commissions were bought denied many men roles they should have been in" this demonstrates a reason the British lost the war."
page
78
December 10, 2015
–
21.5%
""We shall cut no small figure through the country with our cannon." Henry Knox seems to have saved the war at this point. If he had not delivered the cannons to Washington in time, the rebel army would never have made it past Boston."
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83
January 11, 2016
–
Finished Reading
