Book Review – David McCollough’s “1776″

In today’s hectic days of politics, excessive commercialization, and whatever else is on the short attention span of our society, it’s easy to forget just how close it was for us to never have an independent country in the first place.

Had it not been for the ingenious tactics and leadership from such patriots as George Washington, Nathaniel Greene, Henry Knox, and the inspirational writings of Thomas Paine, it’s quite likely that the American Revolution would have been subdued back in 1775 or 1776 at the latest.  As we know from history, the American patriots succeeded, General Cornwall and the British army were defeated at Yorktown, Virginia in 1783, and the American colonies became an independent country.

David McCullough’s 1776 takes us into that most critical of years during the American Revolutionary War.  It was a year where the American army faced one retreat after another across New England.  It was a year where disease, malnutrition, lack of proper clothing (or pay), and desertion plagued the American army.  It was a year where the American Revolution came dangerously close to being defeated and the concept of an independent country would be defeated as well.

1776 begins in October of 1775 during the Siege of Boston.

By this point in history the American Revolution had turned into a full scale war for independence.  American militias had successfully fought against British troops at Lexington and Concord, and British forces paid dearly for their victory at the Battle of Bunker Hill.  The British had seized the town of Boston along with Bunker Hill and Breed’s Hills on the Charlestown peninsula, but the Continental Army had the city and harbor surrounded.

The problem was that the British still had access to the harbor and ocean, and the American forced lacked sufficient firepower to lay siege to the British encampments in Boston.  One solution to gaining more firepower was with the cannons that were still sitting in Fort Ticonderoga in upstate New York.  General Washington sent Henry Knox on a challenging mission of retrieving the cannons and bringing them down to Boston.  Knox succeeded and Washington used the firepower to his advantage.

In a daring overnight move (the first of several that took place in 1776) on March 4, 1776, General Thomas led 2,000 American soldiers to the top of Dorchester Heights, an important hill that overlooks Boston and the harbor.  The men worked quietly overnight, fortifying their position and positioning their cannon to overlook the British forces and fleet of ships.

By sunrise on March 5 (six years after the infamous Boston massacre), General Howe was in shock of what the American forces had accomplished in stealth and just one night.  His forces along with the British fleet anchored in Boston Harbor were within range of the American artillery.  They were forced to evacuate the city.  On March 17, 1776, the British forces along with 1,000 Loyalist civilians departed Boston by sea, departing for Halifax, Nova Scotia.

1776 then continues with Washington’s trek to New York City and his attempts at protecting it from a British invasion.  The New York campaign is close to disastrous when the Continental Army loses decisively at the Battle of Long Island and then becomes trapped in their own fortifications at Brooklyn Heights.  In another daring nighttime move, Washington uses the cover of darkness and the help of dense morning fog to move his entire army across the river into Manhattan, secretly slipping right past the British ships.

After that follows the British capture of New York City followed by the fall of Fort Washington and the capture of around 3,000 American soldiers.

Things were looking extremely bleak for General Washington and the remainder of the Continental Army by December of 1776.  Their numbers had dwindled down to just a few thousand men, and there was a serious threat of losing nearly all of them when their enlistments expired in a few days.  Morale was low, diseases were rampant, and the improperly clothed and equipped was in desperate need of a miracle if it was to survive.

That miracle would be the daring and extremely successful raid on Hessian troops during the Battle of Trenton on December 26, 1776.

The final part of McCullough’s 1776 picks up speed as we read about Washington’s men crossing the icy Delaware River on Christmas night, fighting currents and freezing conditions while making the crossing in absolute secrecy.  Those men then make a surprise attack against the German soldiers stationed in Trenton, killing 22 of the enemy and capturing almost 900 of them, all without a single American killed in combat.

British General Cornwallis attempted to counterattack Washington’s troops, but his efforts were unsuccessful.  Washington led yet another successful attack and the Continental Army beat the British at the Battle of Princeton on January 3, 1777.  The success of the battles at Trenton and Princeton were tremendous victories and significant morale boosters for the American forces, and the British were forced to withdraw their soldiers from New Jersey.

1776, both the year and the book, ends with victory for the Continental Army along with General Washington.  While the British suffered a few defeats before officially retiring to their winter quarters, the war itself was far from over.  It would take five more years of fighting until General Cornwallis was finally defeated during the Siege of Yorktown in October of 1781.

The Treaty of Paris (1783) officially ended the fighting, and the last British troops left New York City on November 25, 1783.

1776 is a superbly written novel that goes into detail during one of America’s darkest years.  The sacrifices and terrible conditions that our soldiers endured are lessons that all Americans need to know.  This is a country that was formed on the sweat and blood of patriots, soldiers who risked everything to fight for the glorious cause of independence and freedom from England.  Unfortunately, it’s so easy to forget just what kind of sacrifices and horrors were faced by our ancestors and fore fathers to create this country of ours.

My only complaint with McCullough’s 1776 was that the section discussing Washington’s crossing of the Delware River and the following attack on Trenton on December 26, 1776 seemed to be lacking details and more information about that critical turning point in the war.  The book To Try Men’s Souls: A Novel of George Washington and the Fight for American Freedom does a better job discussing that event and putting it in perspective from multiple sources.

Regardless, 1776 is a must-read for all lovers of history, warfare, leadership and patriotism.  We could all learn a lesson from the heroes and soldiers who challenged the British and fought for their independence in the harshest of conditions.

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This article was originally published at www.chamberofreviews.com on January 1, 2013.