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An “excellent biography” of General Washington’s aide-de-camp, a daring soldier who advocated freeing slaves who served in the Continental Army (Journal of Military History). Winning a reputation for reckless bravery in a succession of major battles and sieges, John Laurens distinguished himself as one of the most zealous, self-sacrificing participants in the American Revolution. A native of South Carolina and son of Henry Laurens, president of the Continental Congress, John devoted his life to securing American independence. In this comprehensive biography, Gregory D. Massey recounts the young Laurens’s wartime record —a riveting tale in its own right —and finds that even more remarkable than his military escapades were his revolutionary ideas concerning the rights of African Americans. Massey relates Laurens’s desperation to fight for his country once revolution had begun. A law student in England, he joined the war effort in 1777, leaving behind his English wife and an unborn child he would never see. Massey tells of the young officer’s devoted service as General George Washington’s aide-de-camp, interaction with prominent military and political figures, and conspicuous military efforts at Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth, Newport, Charleston, Savannah, and Yorktown. Massey also recounts Laurens’s survival of four battle wounds and six months as a prisoner of war, his controversial diplomatic mission to France, and his close friendship with Alexander Hamilton. Laurens’s death in a minor battle in August 1782 was a tragic loss for the new state and nation. Unlike other prominent southerners, Laurens believed blacks shared a similar nature with whites, and he formulated a plan to free slaves in return for their service in the Continental Army. Massey explores the personal, social, and cultural factors that prompted Laurens to diverge so radically from his peers and to raise vital questions about the role African Americans would play in the new republic. “Insightful and balanced . . . an intriguing account, not only of the Laurens family in particular but, equally important, of the extraordinarily complex relationships generated by the colonial breach with the Mother Country.” —North Carolina Historical Review
This book examines the life and legacy of John Lowell Jr (1799–1836) through the establishment of the Lowell Institute, still active in Boston, which offers free education.
Originally published in 1979, this was the first biography of Jonathan Potts, a prominent Pennsylvania Quaker and physician who served in the Continental army during the Revolutionary War. It was also the first study to be published since 1931 of the role of medical doctors in the northern campaigns. No detailed memoir by an army physician or surgeon has survived to document the conditions they faced. The military career of Dr. Potts, reconstructed here from source materials, including first-hand accounts by Potts and his contemporaries provides considerable information to fill this historical gap.
In the tradition of the preceding volumes - the first of which was published in 1964 - this work synthesizes edited documents, including correspondence, ship logs, muster rolls, orders, and newspaper accounts, that provide a comprehensive understanding of the war at sea in the spring of 1778. The editors organize this wide array of texts chronologically by theater and incorporate French, Italian, and Spanish transcriptions with English translations throughout.
A lavishly illustrated volume marking the defining point in American history. The American Revolution reshaped the political map of the world, and led to the birth of the United States of America. Yet these outcomes could have scarcely been predicted when the first shots were fired at Lexington and Concord. American rebel forces were at first largely a poorly trained, inexperienced and disorganized militia, pitted against one of the most formidable imperial armies in the world. Yet following a succession of defeats against the British, the rebels slowly rebounded in strength under the legendary leadership of George Washington. The fortunes of war ebbed and flowed, from the humid southern states of America to the frozen landscapes of wintry Canada, but eventually led to the catastrophic British defeat at Yorktown in 1781 and the establishment of an independent United States of America. The Improbable Victory is a revealing and comprehensive guide to this seminal conflict, from the opening skirmishes, through the major pitched battles, up to the Treaty of Paris in 1783. Impressively illustrated with photographs and artwork, it provides an invaluable insight into this conflict from the major command decisions down to the eye level of the front-line soldier. Published to coincide with the official opening of the new American Revolution Museum at Yorktown.