Description

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On July 4, 1777, a national day of celebration, George Washington was so consumed with where the British army under General William Howe might strike that he never recognized the nation’s first birthday. One year later on July 4, 1778, Washington created an event of military pageantry so stunning and spectacular, that soldiers proudly testified to their participation in it fifty years later in their pension applications. Between these two antithetical anniversaries, the British made their move, landing at Head of Elk in Maryland in August and occupying Philadelphia in September. Over the next several months, the forces clashed at Brandywine, Red Bank, White Horse Tavern, Paoli, Germantown, Fort Mercer, Whitemarsh, and elsewhere. In December, Washington and his troops fell back to Valley Forge while Howe and the British wintered in Philadelphia. With the official alliance with France in early 1778, and  after a difficult encampment, Washington’s forces skirmished around Philadelphia in an attempt to determine the next move of General Henry Clinton, the new commander of Crown forces. Ordered back to New York, Clinton marched his forces out of Philadelphia and across New Jersey, where in late June, a newly invigorated American army clashed with Clinton at Monmouth Courthouse. This was Washington’s final time leading troops on a Revolutionary War battlefield and it ended with his Continentals masters of the field. The battle precipitated a continuing slide of British army fortunes, while for the Americans, it culminated six days later with memorable victory celebration along the banks of the Raritan River on the second anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
            George Washington’s Momentous Year: Twelve Months that Transformed the Revolution by historian Gary Ecelbarger, narrates the events, personalities, decisions, and battles during the critical period that ended with a July 4, 1778 celebration “Marvelous Beyond Description.” In the first of this history’s two volumes, the author explores the Philadelphia campaign primarily from the perspective of Washington—“His Excellency,” as he was often called. Based on fresh analyses of primary sources, some recently made available, the author demonstrates that Washington was not an “American Fabius”––a commander constantly engaged in a defensive “War of Posts”––but an offensive-minded commander seeking avenues of attack during a very mobile campaign. Throughout, we follow the growing relationships between General Washington andhis “military family” of adjutants, aides, secretaries. and subordinates, including well-known personalities such as Alexander Hamilton and Marquis De Lafayette, as well as less-heralded volunteers like, Tench Tilghman, Caleb Gibbs, John Cadwalader, and Joseph Reed. During this period, from July to December 1777, Washington had to juggle logistics for his army as well as those far afield, fend off challenges to his leadership, and direct the greater war effort—particularly after the spectacular victory as Saratoga, all the while preparing to engage enemy forces at his front. This is a fresh and compelling look at America’s most famous historical military figure and his truly momentous campaign.

About the Author

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Gary Ecelbarger is an award-winning author of nine books and two dozen articles, monographs, and essays relating to eighteenth- and nineteenth-century history.