This Fierce People: The Untold Story of America's Revolutionary War in the South
A groundbreaking, important recovery of history; the overlooked story-fully explored-of the critical aspect of America's Revolutionary War that was fought in the South, showing that the British surrender at Yorktown was the direct result of the southern campaign, and that the battles that emerged south of the Mason-Dixon line between loyalists to the Crown and patriots who fought for independence were, in fact, America's first civil war.

The famous battles that form the backbone of the story put forth of American independence-at Lexington and Concord, Brandywine, Germantown, Saratoga, and Monmouth-while crucial, did not lead to the surrender at Yorktown.

It was in the three-plus years between Monmouth and Yorktown that the war was won.

Alan Pell Crawford's riveting new book,This Fierce People, tells the story of these missing three years, long ignored by historians, and of the fierce battles fought in the South that made up the central theater of military operations in the latter years of the Revolutionary War, upending the essential American myth that the War of Independence was fought primarily in the North.

Weaving throughout the stories of the heroic men and women, largely unsung patriots-African Americans and whites, militiamen and “irregulars,” patriots and Tories, Americans, Frenchmen, Brits, and Hessians, Crawford reveals the misperceptions and contradictions of our accepted understanding of how our nation came to be, as well as the national narrative that America's victory over the British lay solely with General George Washington and his troops.
"1144153441"
This Fierce People: The Untold Story of America's Revolutionary War in the South
A groundbreaking, important recovery of history; the overlooked story-fully explored-of the critical aspect of America's Revolutionary War that was fought in the South, showing that the British surrender at Yorktown was the direct result of the southern campaign, and that the battles that emerged south of the Mason-Dixon line between loyalists to the Crown and patriots who fought for independence were, in fact, America's first civil war.

The famous battles that form the backbone of the story put forth of American independence-at Lexington and Concord, Brandywine, Germantown, Saratoga, and Monmouth-while crucial, did not lead to the surrender at Yorktown.

It was in the three-plus years between Monmouth and Yorktown that the war was won.

Alan Pell Crawford's riveting new book,This Fierce People, tells the story of these missing three years, long ignored by historians, and of the fierce battles fought in the South that made up the central theater of military operations in the latter years of the Revolutionary War, upending the essential American myth that the War of Independence was fought primarily in the North.

Weaving throughout the stories of the heroic men and women, largely unsung patriots-African Americans and whites, militiamen and “irregulars,” patriots and Tories, Americans, Frenchmen, Brits, and Hessians, Crawford reveals the misperceptions and contradictions of our accepted understanding of how our nation came to be, as well as the national narrative that America's victory over the British lay solely with General George Washington and his troops.
22.5 In Stock
This Fierce People: The Untold Story of America's Revolutionary War in the South

This Fierce People: The Untold Story of America's Revolutionary War in the South

by Alan Pell Crawford

Narrated by Cary Hite

Unabridged — 12 hours, 16 minutes

This Fierce People: The Untold Story of America's Revolutionary War in the South

This Fierce People: The Untold Story of America's Revolutionary War in the South

by Alan Pell Crawford

Narrated by Cary Hite

Unabridged — 12 hours, 16 minutes

Audiobook (Digital)

$22.50
FREE With a B&N Audiobooks Subscription | Cancel Anytime
$0.00

Free with a B&N Audiobooks Subscription | Cancel Anytime

START FREE TRIAL

Already Subscribed? 

Sign in to Your BN.com Account


Listen on the free Barnes & Noble NOOK app


Related collections and offers

FREE

with a B&N Audiobooks Subscription

Or Pay $22.50

Overview

A groundbreaking, important recovery of history; the overlooked story-fully explored-of the critical aspect of America's Revolutionary War that was fought in the South, showing that the British surrender at Yorktown was the direct result of the southern campaign, and that the battles that emerged south of the Mason-Dixon line between loyalists to the Crown and patriots who fought for independence were, in fact, America's first civil war.

The famous battles that form the backbone of the story put forth of American independence-at Lexington and Concord, Brandywine, Germantown, Saratoga, and Monmouth-while crucial, did not lead to the surrender at Yorktown.

It was in the three-plus years between Monmouth and Yorktown that the war was won.

Alan Pell Crawford's riveting new book,This Fierce People, tells the story of these missing three years, long ignored by historians, and of the fierce battles fought in the South that made up the central theater of military operations in the latter years of the Revolutionary War, upending the essential American myth that the War of Independence was fought primarily in the North.

Weaving throughout the stories of the heroic men and women, largely unsung patriots-African Americans and whites, militiamen and “irregulars,” patriots and Tories, Americans, Frenchmen, Brits, and Hessians, Crawford reveals the misperceptions and contradictions of our accepted understanding of how our nation came to be, as well as the national narrative that America's victory over the British lay solely with General George Washington and his troops.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Mr. Crawford’s account is incisively and carefully written, splendidly paced, and supported by a mine of primary and secondary sources. This Fierce People is military history in an older tradition, in which the outcomes of great conflicts depend on the foresight, character and courage of individual men. Yet Mr. Crawford, a journalist and historian based in Richmond, Va., doesn’t ignore the role of slavery in the ferocity of southern resistance. . . . Rivetingly related.” —Barton Swaim, The Wall Street Journal

"Crawford brings his cast of characters, ranging from 'Swamp Fox' Francis Marion to the alternately cavorting and cruel British officer Banastre Tarleton, to life with a beguiling blend of erudition, wit, insight and sympathy." —Bill Kauffman, The Spectator World

"Crawford provides a vivid, page-turning account . . . rich in memorable characters and dramatic scenes." —Dan McLaughlin, National Review


“Elegant . . . Incisive . . . Crawford’s objective discussion of the South’s role in the Revolutionary War makes for compelling reading.” —Andy Brack, Charleston City Paper

“A valuable addition to Revolutionary War history that adds useful detail and perspective.” —Mark Knoblauch, Booklist

Kirkus Reviews

2024-03-15
A vivid re-creation of the Revolutionary War in the American South, a guerrilla-style conflict that paved the way for the British surrender at Yorktown.

In this intriguing work of military and social history, Crawford, author of Unwise Passions, argues convincingly that the South was where “the most decisive battles…were fought.” The author mines the historical record to show that the Southern conflict was an exceedingly violent version of a guerrilla war, one that pitted loyalists against revolutionaries at every level of Southern society. Gen. Nathanael Greene, taking command of the American side after some near-catastrophic losses, understood “that he had stepped into what a later generation would also call a civil war. Neighbors were killing each other with horrifying regularity.” On the field of battle, conditions were punishing. Infectious diseases and starvation stalked the soldiers as both sides employed scorched-earth tactics and fought bitterly to hold their ground in South and North Carolina. Many Americans barely remember learning about the siege of Charleston and the battles of Camden, Kings Mountain, and Cowpens, but these were crucial to the eventual victory at Yorktown. There were some heroes, such as Johann von Robais, a superb German military officer who died fighting for the Americans, but there were cruel and opportunistic officers on both sides: the “coldblooded and ruthless” British officer Banastre Tarleton and American officer Thomas Sumter, who authorized his troops to pay themselves by plundering property, which included enslaved people. Crawford follows the revolutionaries in their quest to cut off British supply lines from the coast to the backcountry. The author could have strengthened his superior account with more attention to the loyalists’ point of view. Nonetheless, he provides a clear picture of the stark cost of American independence on both sides of the conflict.

A clear, coherent, and even suspenseful account of the American Revolution.

Product Details

BN ID: 2940160217239
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Publication date: 07/02/2024
Edition description: Unabridged
Sales rank: 426,094
From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews