Band of Giants: The Amateur Soldiers Who Won America's Independence
Band of Giants brings to life the founders who fought for our independence in the Revolutionary War. Jefferson, Adams, and Franklin are known to all; men like Morgan, Greene, and Wayne are less familiar. Yet the dreams of the politicians and theorists only became real because fighting men were willing to take on the grim, risky, brutal work of war. We know Fort Knox, but what about Henry Knox, the burly Boston bookseller who took over the American artillery at the age of 25? Eighteen counties in the United States commemorate Richard Montgomery, but do we know that this revered martyr launched a full-scale invasion of Canada? The soldiers of the American Revolution were a diverse lot: merchants and mechanics, farmers and fishermen, paragons and drunkards. Most were ardent amateurs. Even George Washington, assigned to take over the army around Boston in 1775, consulted books on military tactics. Here, Jack Kelly vividly captures the fraught condition of the war—the bitterly divided populace, the lack of supplies, the repeated setbacks on the battlefield, and the appalling physical hardships. That these inexperienced warriors could take on and defeat the superpower of the day was one of the remarkable feats in world history.
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Band of Giants: The Amateur Soldiers Who Won America's Independence
Band of Giants brings to life the founders who fought for our independence in the Revolutionary War. Jefferson, Adams, and Franklin are known to all; men like Morgan, Greene, and Wayne are less familiar. Yet the dreams of the politicians and theorists only became real because fighting men were willing to take on the grim, risky, brutal work of war. We know Fort Knox, but what about Henry Knox, the burly Boston bookseller who took over the American artillery at the age of 25? Eighteen counties in the United States commemorate Richard Montgomery, but do we know that this revered martyr launched a full-scale invasion of Canada? The soldiers of the American Revolution were a diverse lot: merchants and mechanics, farmers and fishermen, paragons and drunkards. Most were ardent amateurs. Even George Washington, assigned to take over the army around Boston in 1775, consulted books on military tactics. Here, Jack Kelly vividly captures the fraught condition of the war—the bitterly divided populace, the lack of supplies, the repeated setbacks on the battlefield, and the appalling physical hardships. That these inexperienced warriors could take on and defeat the superpower of the day was one of the remarkable feats in world history.
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Band of Giants: The Amateur Soldiers Who Won America's Independence

Band of Giants: The Amateur Soldiers Who Won America's Independence

by Jack Kelly
Band of Giants: The Amateur Soldiers Who Won America's Independence

Band of Giants: The Amateur Soldiers Who Won America's Independence

by Jack Kelly

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$16.99 
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Overview

Band of Giants brings to life the founders who fought for our independence in the Revolutionary War. Jefferson, Adams, and Franklin are known to all; men like Morgan, Greene, and Wayne are less familiar. Yet the dreams of the politicians and theorists only became real because fighting men were willing to take on the grim, risky, brutal work of war. We know Fort Knox, but what about Henry Knox, the burly Boston bookseller who took over the American artillery at the age of 25? Eighteen counties in the United States commemorate Richard Montgomery, but do we know that this revered martyr launched a full-scale invasion of Canada? The soldiers of the American Revolution were a diverse lot: merchants and mechanics, farmers and fishermen, paragons and drunkards. Most were ardent amateurs. Even George Washington, assigned to take over the army around Boston in 1775, consulted books on military tactics. Here, Jack Kelly vividly captures the fraught condition of the war—the bitterly divided populace, the lack of supplies, the repeated setbacks on the battlefield, and the appalling physical hardships. That these inexperienced warriors could take on and defeat the superpower of the day was one of the remarkable feats in world history.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781466893283
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date: 01/26/2016
Edition description: Reprint
Pages: 288
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

JACK KELLY is an award-winning author and historian. His books include Band of Giants, which received the DAR History Medal, and God Save Benedict Arnold, a Finalist for the New England Book Awards. He has published five novels, and is a New York Foundation for the Arts fellow in Nonfiction Literature. Kelly has appeared on The History Channel, National Public Radio, and C-Span. He lives in New York's Hudson Valley.

Table of Contents

Contents

Chapter 1 Knowledge of the Military Art - 1754

Chapter 2 Blows Must Decide - 1774

Chapter 3 The Predicament We Are In - 1775

Chapter 4 Learning to be Soldiers - 1775

Chapter 5 Precious Convoy - 1776

Chapter 6 Sudden and Violent - 1776

Chapter 7 Valcour Island - 1776

Chapter 8 An Indecisive Mind - 1776

Chapter 9 Your Country is at Stake - 1776

Chapter 10 A Continual Clap of Thunder - 1777

Chapter 11 Fight As Well As Brag - 1777

Chapter 12 Something More at Stake - 1777

Chapter 13 The Discipline of the Leggs - 1778

Chapter 14 The Boldest Conduct - 1779

Chapter 15 The Fate of Battle - 1780

Chapter 16 Downright Fighting - 1780

Chapter 17 War is an Intricate Business - 1781

Chapter 18 America is Ours - 1781

Chapter 19 Our Troops - 1782

Chapter 20 The Large Hearts of Heroes - 1824

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