"Washington’s Revolution, by Robert Middlekauff" Topic

"…figure, immutable as any marble statue. Textbooks depict him as possessed of a number of fixed personal qualities that informed his allegedly steadfast strategic vision during the Revolutionary War. More broadly, he is often said to have seethed with ambition that drove him to seek leadership of the Continental Army in 1775 as avidly as he had striven to distinguish himself on the battlefield as a young man during the French and Indian War.

Historian Robert Middlekauff rejects the traditional narrative in his important new work on Washington's military leadership during the Revolutionary War. He presents Washington as both the subject and agent of change; as a man who melded and was transformed by the struggle for independence. The French and Indian War, summarized in two brief chapters, revealed the young Virginian's qualities and shortcomings. It also served to solidify his self-confidence, determination, and sense of personal and military honor. By 1758, Middlekauff argues, Washington had become a seasoned and markedly skillful veteran soldier who showed definite promise as a high-ranking leader.

Washington accepted command of the Continental Army in 1775 with conflicted feelings that combined duty and trepidation. Attempting to construct an effective army outside Boston and uncertain whether the nation could endure over the long term, he looked for opportunities to bring the war to a quick conclusion. Those opportunities proved elusive. Although the British abandoned Boston under pressure, they returned in force the following summer, drubbing Washington at Long Island and forcing him to retreat across New Jersey to Pennsylvania. Middlekauff deftly summarizes these actions and heralds the Continental victories at Trenton and Princeton as events that honed Washington's still-emerging leadership skills while also transforming the conflict's nature…"
Full review here
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Amicalement
Armand

This seems like a book that could be worth reading. Thank you for posting! : )

A votre service mon ami!. (smile)

Amicalement
Armand

Officially on my list. Thanks,