1776 by David McCullough
My book group, Lit'n'Lattes. read the book 1776 by David McCullough last month. Here is the review.
1776 opens with the King George the Third of England declaring in October of 1775 that the American Colonies were in open rebellion against England and that he was sending more soliders and ships to the conflict there. The book uses several peoples’ first-hand observations and recorded speeches to set the tone of the book. This technique of weaving together first hand accounts with events sets a human and emotional tone to the book. This opening chapter also set the tone for the theme throughout the book of presenting the British and American perspectives of the war. This dramatic opener is contrasted against our first look at the American (or “rebels”) army, the Continental Army. The first views of the army demonstrates that they are a rag-tag bunch, short on weapons and gunpowder, disorganized, sick or absent, without uniforms, and possessing very little to no military experience. George Washington had just assumed the position as the head of the army and was distraught at the lack of discipline, but he also saw there was raw material to work with. As it is also the summer of 1775 when the author describes this army, he points out that the army was amply fed, as abundant amounts of produce and fish were available and kept many soldiers content. While being amply fed, there was still widespread sickness in the camp because of poor hygiene. This was another theme throughout the book: the constant struggle the army had with illness; by the end of the book, a significant portion of the standing army was unavailable for fighting because of the illness. The author contrasted the American soldiers who did not wash their own clothes with the British army who had a wives and other women follow them and cleaned their clothes.
While the book describes the battles of 1776, there was a lot of the time when there were no battles. In those segments of the book, we learn a lot about the characters of the revolution. Several of Washington’s generals were described, but two in particular stood out: Henry Knox and Nathanael Greene. Throughout the book the relationships among these leaders ebb and flow and reach a low point when toward the end of the year many are questioning George Washington’s ability to lead. These leaders sometimes had very little military experience and it was interesting to see how some rose to the occasion and learned how to lead their militias and how some couldn’t seem to hold it together. The book also discusses how the American privateers carried out a successful campaign of harassment against the British and were able to capture many supplies for the Continental Army from British ships they had captured or raided. We talked about several aspects of camp life and how these soldiers had it tough. We also discussed how in some of these accounts the soldiers are struggling with the horror of war and digesting the brutality of it when so many had never experienced anything like this. We also discussed the impact of the war on the family; the wife and children had to work the farm while the husbands/fathers were away. Consequently, these soldiers many times deserted to get back home to plant/harvest their crops. This pull of the homelife, the need to make a living, was a problem for the Continental Army since the pay was irregular and not enough to support many of the families of these soldiers.
The author also describes the leaders of the British army and has details of how the British soliders interpreted the events of the year. One thing that was surprising was the use of “hired” soliders, the Hessians, to bolster the troop count. The Hessians were a tough crowd and tenacious and had to be restrained from not following proper conduct when people surrendered. We discussed how General Howe, the British commander, made the decision several times to not pursue the American rebels after overtaking their positions and how this may have been a key to their lack of success overall in the war.
The war ended in 1783 (yep, I had to look that up) and with such a long war, why did the author spend so much time and effort on one year, 1776? While each of you may have your own ideas and thoughts, these are mine. On paper, any analysis of the Americans would have indicated they would fail in this bid for independence from Britain; they were the underdogs. There were several times in the book where it was clear how low spirits became and how close this was to failure. The Americans didn’t give up on the cause of independence and more importantly, the common soldiers didn’t give up on their leaders. Washington had his faults and weaknesses, but he kept the army together and motivated to stay in the fight. It was the battle at Trenton on December 25, 1776, where many of the soldiers felt for the first time that they had a chance to defeat the British. In a year when the soldiers had lost several battles, forts, and artillery and were without shoes, proper weapons, food, or shelter, they managed to defeat the Hessians protecting Trenton and the British at Princeton. Many felt if they could beat the British once, they could do it again. This year, 1776, was the year that established the army as a real threat and gave strength to the wobbly American colonies that would develop into a nation.
Next month is Sophia Kinsella's Can You Keep a Secret?.
1776 opens with the King George the Third of England declaring in October of 1775 that the American Colonies were in open rebellion against England and that he was sending more soliders and ships to the conflict there. The book uses several peoples’ first-hand observations and recorded speeches to set the tone of the book. This technique of weaving together first hand accounts with events sets a human and emotional tone to the book. This opening chapter also set the tone for the theme throughout the book of presenting the British and American perspectives of the war. This dramatic opener is contrasted against our first look at the American (or “rebels”) army, the Continental Army. The first views of the army demonstrates that they are a rag-tag bunch, short on weapons and gunpowder, disorganized, sick or absent, without uniforms, and possessing very little to no military experience. George Washington had just assumed the position as the head of the army and was distraught at the lack of discipline, but he also saw there was raw material to work with. As it is also the summer of 1775 when the author describes this army, he points out that the army was amply fed, as abundant amounts of produce and fish were available and kept many soldiers content. While being amply fed, there was still widespread sickness in the camp because of poor hygiene. This was another theme throughout the book: the constant struggle the army had with illness; by the end of the book, a significant portion of the standing army was unavailable for fighting because of the illness. The author contrasted the American soldiers who did not wash their own clothes with the British army who had a wives and other women follow them and cleaned their clothes.
While the book describes the battles of 1776, there was a lot of the time when there were no battles. In those segments of the book, we learn a lot about the characters of the revolution. Several of Washington’s generals were described, but two in particular stood out: Henry Knox and Nathanael Greene. Throughout the book the relationships among these leaders ebb and flow and reach a low point when toward the end of the year many are questioning George Washington’s ability to lead. These leaders sometimes had very little military experience and it was interesting to see how some rose to the occasion and learned how to lead their militias and how some couldn’t seem to hold it together. The book also discusses how the American privateers carried out a successful campaign of harassment against the British and were able to capture many supplies for the Continental Army from British ships they had captured or raided. We talked about several aspects of camp life and how these soldiers had it tough. We also discussed how in some of these accounts the soldiers are struggling with the horror of war and digesting the brutality of it when so many had never experienced anything like this. We also discussed the impact of the war on the family; the wife and children had to work the farm while the husbands/fathers were away. Consequently, these soldiers many times deserted to get back home to plant/harvest their crops. This pull of the homelife, the need to make a living, was a problem for the Continental Army since the pay was irregular and not enough to support many of the families of these soldiers.
The author also describes the leaders of the British army and has details of how the British soliders interpreted the events of the year. One thing that was surprising was the use of “hired” soliders, the Hessians, to bolster the troop count. The Hessians were a tough crowd and tenacious and had to be restrained from not following proper conduct when people surrendered. We discussed how General Howe, the British commander, made the decision several times to not pursue the American rebels after overtaking their positions and how this may have been a key to their lack of success overall in the war.
The war ended in 1783 (yep, I had to look that up) and with such a long war, why did the author spend so much time and effort on one year, 1776? While each of you may have your own ideas and thoughts, these are mine. On paper, any analysis of the Americans would have indicated they would fail in this bid for independence from Britain; they were the underdogs. There were several times in the book where it was clear how low spirits became and how close this was to failure. The Americans didn’t give up on the cause of independence and more importantly, the common soldiers didn’t give up on their leaders. Washington had his faults and weaknesses, but he kept the army together and motivated to stay in the fight. It was the battle at Trenton on December 25, 1776, where many of the soldiers felt for the first time that they had a chance to defeat the British. In a year when the soldiers had lost several battles, forts, and artillery and were without shoes, proper weapons, food, or shelter, they managed to defeat the Hessians protecting Trenton and the British at Princeton. Many felt if they could beat the British once, they could do it again. This year, 1776, was the year that established the army as a real threat and gave strength to the wobbly American colonies that would develop into a nation.
Next month is Sophia Kinsella's Can You Keep a Secret?.