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THE
WAR OF c Greenhill Books, London, June 2001 Amazon.com:
$24.46 Book Review |
| . A poet waxed Gaelic over the advantage of seeing ourselves as others see us. This book is a substantial step in understanding our own Revolution. Written a century after the event by an English authority on the British Army, it is as dispassionate a history of the Revolutionary War as one is likely to find. Although the book is hampered by self-conscious Victorian prose, the work shows the strengths and weaknesses of all parties to the war. The only elements which are cast in a uniformly negative light is Congress and Parliament; both for self-serving lack of support to their respective militaries. Of the relevant parties, only General Washington receives uniformly favorable coverage. The author shows an astonishing command of 18th century tactics and the battles of the Revolution; major and minor. Of great value to the scholar and casual reader is the author's analysis of why the Rebels won; and why Britain lost. For Britain, it was a world war covering colonies over half the world and with half of Europe as enemies. The mother country could not recruit or hire enough soldiers to hold everywhere, even suffering from raids at home. Patriot militias are credited with part of the Rebel success. Militias could hold Rebel rear areas and control loyalists. Every time British patrols went inland for firewood or strategic advantage, local people shot at them. Plagued by organized militias, guerrilla bands, and disgruntled individuals, the British could go anywhere, but hold nowhere. The work calls into question the research of a recent prize-winning work which questions the arming of America in colonial times. With scores of British officers reporting marksmen wherever they went, firearms must have been widespread. br-war_independence.htm 8/28/2001 |
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