George Washington: Gentleman Warrior
George Washington: Gentleman Warrior
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Overview
WINNER OF THE GEORGE WASHINGTON BOOK PRIZE 2013.
'I am a warrior'. These were the uncompromising words that George Washington chose to describe himself in May 1779, at the height of the Revolutionary War against Britain. It's an image very different to the one that he's been assigned by posterity - the patriotic plantation owner who would become the dignified political leader of his country.
Stephen Brumwell's new book focuses on a side of Washington that is often overlooked: the feisty young frontier officer and the tough forty-something commander of the revolutionaries' Continental Army. It examines Washington's long and chequered military career, tracing his evolution as a soldier, and his changing attitude to the waging of war. Brumwell shows how, ironically, Washington's reliance upon English models of 'gentlemanly' behaviour, and on British military organisation, was crucial in establishing his leadership of the fledgling Continental Army, and in forging it into the weapon that won American independence.
George Washington is a vivid recounting of the formative years and military career of 'The Father of his Country', following his journey from brutal border skirmishes with the French and their Indian allies to his remarkable victory over the British Empire, an achievement that underpinned his selection as the first president of the United States of America. Drawing on a wide range of sources, including original archival research, Stephen Brumwell paints a compelling and challenging portrait of an extraordinary individual whose fusion of gentleman and warrior left an indelible imprint upon history.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781849167284 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Quercus Publishing |
| Publication date: | 06/07/2012 |
| Sold by: | Hachette Digital, Inc. |
| Format: | eBook |
| File size: | 2 MB |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
Introduction:
During the late summer of 1777, Major Patrick Ferguson was, by common consent, the best marksman in the formidable British army bent upon breaking the back of American rebellion against King George III. Early on the morning of September 11, while observing the rebel forces arrayed in a defensive position along Brandywine Creek, southwest of the revolutionaries’ capital of Philadelphia, Ferguson identified a tempting pair of targets. Some 100 yards off, in clear sight, were two horsemen. One wore the flamboyant uniform of a French hussar officer. The other, who rode a fine bay, was far more soberly dressed in a dark coat and an unusually large and high cocked hat. Like Ferguson himself, both riders were plainly engaged in reconnoitering their enemy’s dispositions.
Against individual targets, 100 yards was long range for the muzzle-loading smooth bore muskets carried by most of the soldiers assembling along either side of the creek. Yet the major was not squinting down the barrel of a simple “firelock,” but over the sights of a sophisticated breech-loading rifle of his own invention. Its seven- grooved bore could spin a ball with far greater accuracy than a common musket and over a longer distance. A year before, at the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich, London, Ferguson had demonstrated that fact before a panel of skeptical high- ranking officers, fi ring off four shots a minute to pepper a target set 200 yards away: the riders he now contemplated were sitting ducks.
The dark-clad horseman was obviously a general officer, the dashing hussar his aide-de-camp. The hussar turned back, but his companion lingered. Moving out from the trees that sheltered him and a score of his corps of riflemen, Ferguson shouted a warning. The rider stopped, looked, and then calmly continued about his business. The major called again, this time drawing a bead upon the heedless horseman. The distance between them was, as Ferguson reported, one at which during even the most rapid firing he had “seldom missed a piece of paper,” and he “could have lodged a half a dozen of balls in or about him” before he could ride out of range. But something stopped him from squeezing the trigger. Ferguson was an officer and a gentleman. As he conceded with unconcealed admiration, his proposed target was conducting himself with such coolness that to have shot him in the back would have seemed an unsporting, “unpleasant” action. And so the major let him trot off unmolested.
Later that same day the rival armies clashed in earnest. After a stubborn fight, British discipline prevailed, pushing back the rebels and increasing the threat to Philadelphia. Ferguson, who had been badly wounded in the right hand during the fighting, spoke with a doctor busy treating the wounded of both sides. From the surgeon’s recent conversation with a group of enemy officers, it seemed that the two distinctively clad riders Ferguson had seen earlier were none other than General George Washington, the commander in chief of the revolutionaries’ Continental Army, and the French officer attending him that day. As Ferguson freely acknowledged, he was “not sorry” to have remained oblivious of their identity.
Had he known what the future held, both for him personally and for the cause in which he soldiered, the gallant major may have thought—and acted—differently. And if ever a single shot could have changed the course of history, an unwavering ball sped from Ferguson’s rifle would surely have done so.
“I am a warrior.” These were the uncompromising words that George Washington chose to describe himself in May 1779, at the height of the Revolutionary War. Washington was addressing the “Chief Men” of the Delaware nation of Indians, and his language was calculated to strike a chord with listeners who were themselves first and foremost tribal fighters—warriors in the purest sense. Yet even allowing for Washington’s deliberate use of the rhetoric and vocabulary of Indian diplomacy, his self- characterization is telling.
In 1779, George Washington was a warrior, “the commander in chief of all the armies in the United States of America,” as he put it. In his message, Washington made a point of distancing himself from the revolutionary movement’s political leaders while at the same time emphasizing what he shared with the Delawares: there were some matters about which he would not speak, “because they belong to Congress, and not to us warriors.”
Table of Contents
Maps ix
List of Illustrations xiii
Introduction 1
1 Finding a Path 13
2 Hearing the Bullets Whistle 49
3 Defending the Frontier 83
4 Tarnished Victory 119
5 Between the Wars 155
6 His Excellency General Washington 191
7 The Times That Try Men's Souls 227
8 Victory or Death 271
9 Treason of the Blackest Dye 323
10 The World Turned Upside Down 371
Notes 433
Acknowledgments 487
Index 493
Reading Group Guide
Stephen Brumwell’s GEORGE WASHINGTON: GENTLEMAN WARRIOR is a unique book in several regards. For one, it is a close analysis by a British historian of perhaps the most iconic hero of American history. Also, it debunks the typical perception of Washington as a dull, wooden personality by focusing on his fiery leadership on the battlefield and his refined and engaging sense of etiquette.
1. “History is written by the winners”, goes an old saying. But in this case, a history of George Washington has been crafted by a historian from the nation Washington defeated (albeit centuries ago). How do you think this affects Stephen Brumwell’s treatment of his subject? What are the potential strengths and weaknesses of someone from one country writing about another nation’s hero?
2. We see numerous examples of the very strict ways Washington disciplined the troops under his command, including severe corporal punishment. Do you think his success in battle justifies these harsh methods of developing toughness and loyalty in his men?
3. Discuss how George Washington’s attitude towards war changed throughout the course of his life and military career as described in GEORGE WASHINGTON: GENTLEMAN WARRIOR.
4. Looking at Washington’s early life as described by Stephen Brumwell, what events, circumstances, or people do you see as the most formative for young George? How did they affect his character as an adult?
5. In narrating the British victory of the battle for New York, Brumwell notes that Washington was very likely ready to torch the entire city rather than leave it in British hands. What do you imagine New York City would look like today if he had gone through with the plan?
6. Identify, as specifically as you can, 2-3 ways your perception of George Washington is different as a result of reading GEORGE WASHINGTON: GENTLEMAN WARRIOR. Similarly, identify any conceptions of the man you had that are now reinforced.
7. With the changed face of warfare today—weapons of mass destruction, IEDs, drones, etc.—do you think a general of Washington’s background and temperament would still be successful in a modern battle? How would he have to adapt?
8. Other than Washington, who did you find to be the most interesting historical figure in GEORGE WASHINGTON: GENTLEMAN WARRIOR, and why?
9. Discuss Brumwell’s treatment of Benedict Arnold and his infamous defection to the British side. Do you think that Brumwell goes any “easier” on Arnold than an American historian would?
10. Based on the events described in GEORGE WASHINGTON: GENTLEMAN WARRIOR, what do you think was the worst decision—on or off the battlefield—that George Washington ever made?