Thomas Fleming (4) (1927–2017)

If you wish to learn of the power struggle between the Continental Congress, a newly formed, standing Continental Army, and his "Excellency" General George Washington, this book is a great read. English tradition had no trust in a standing army, militias that quickly formed to face a threat and just as quickly disbanded as soon as the threat was over were the preferred defense. The new Continental Army flew in the face of this notion. A power struggle between the individual states and the Continental Congress led to numerous policies with no way of being enforced which caused the soldiers to go in want of uniforms, blankets, shoes, and food. A General, who's series of defeats starting with the Battle of Long Island, whose ability to lead was questioned by delegates and others yearning to be given the mantel of power. A great read about all of these subjects - The commissary department, the ill-named Conway Cabal, and the reasons that all these obstacles were ultimately overcome to allow our new nation to survive its first military test.… (más)

In generally chronological order the author summarizes the major military events that comprise the Revolution. What separates this book from others is that the author provides support for his claim that Washington's successful grand strategy changed from an essentially aggressive to a Fabian approach whereby preserving the army was of paramount importance. A second major theme is the importance of the continental and militia soldiers, and the extreme difficulty Washington encountered obtaining funds and supplies for them.

The first half of the book was outstanding, as the author provided just enough information on various well-known encounters to support his hypotheses. His humorous criticisms (e.g., John Adams disdain for enlisted men and Thomas Paine's claim that Britain could not afford to maintain enough soldiers) were insightful. While both of these men had excellent qualities, it's important to keep in mind they knew very little about how to win the fighting- making Washington's success even more impressive.

Unfortunately, in the second half of the book the author delved too deeply into the minutiae of certain southern battles. Neither supported his main themes, and perhaps are the result of his Irish background and affinity for these fighting men. The result was a somewhat unbalanced book that in its latter stages focused on battlefield encounters that were hard to follow.… (más)