Overview

"This comprehensive collection of writings from the War of Independence poses a""subtle butprofound challenge to much that we think we know about the founders and their era"" (LosAngelesTimes) Drawn from letters, diaries, newspaper articles, public declarations, contemporary narratives, and privatememoranda,this Library of America volume brings together over 120 pieces by more than seventy participants and eyewitnesses to create a unique literary panorama of the War of Independence. Beginning with Paul Revere's own narrative of his legendary ride in April 1775 and ending with a moving account of George Washington's resignation from the command of the Continental Army in December 1783, the volume contains writing that describes the major events of the conflict-the early battles of Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill; the failed American invasion of Canada; the 1776 campaign in New York and New Jersey; the crucial battle ofSaratoga; the bitter fighting in the South and along the western frontier; and the decisive triumph at Yorktown. Included are writings by famous figures-Washington Franklin, Jefferson, Benedict Arnold, John and Abigail Adams-and by lesser known participants- SamuelBlachleyWebb describing courage and panic at Bunker Hill; SarahHodgkinswriting longingly to her absent soldier husband;JabezFitch recounting the last hours of a wounded American officer in Brooklyn;AlbigenceWaldo chronicling the privations and miseries of Valley Forge;OthoHolland Williams recording with appealing candor American defeats and victories in South Carolina. The volume also contains writings by American Loyalists and by British officers and officials serving in America that provide provocative insights into the losing side of an epochal conflict. All selections are written by people who were in America at the time of the conflict. The American Revolutionalso includes a chronology of events, biographical and explanatory notes, and an index."

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9781883011918

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[P]owerful, startling and a subtle but profound challenge to much that we think we know about the founders and their era. -Los Angeles Times

[P]owerful, startling and a subtle but profound challenge to much that we think we know about the founders and their era. --Los Angeles Times

Author Information

John Rhodehamel, volume editor, is Norris Foundation Curator of Early American Historical Manuscripts at the Huntington Library in San Marino, California. He is the author ofThe Great Experiment- George Washington and the American Republicand editor ofGeorge Washington- Writingsfor The Library of America.

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