America's victory came as a surprise to many people. How did untrained American generals, essentially military amateurs at the outbreak of war, and their ragged, half-starved troops manage to defeat British professionals? To what extent did the quality of British military leadership affect the outcome? Was the American success due to the British commanders' incompetence and faulty strategy, or were timing and opportunity more responsible for Washington and his colleagues' achievement? This book provides superbly balanced portraits of the British and American leadership. Renowned historians have contributed concise, remarkably informative, and authoritative essays on generals of both sides. The military gallery includes such Americans as George Washington, Nathaniel Greene, Benedict Arnold, Marquis de Lafayette, and eight others. The British are well-represented by Thomas Gage, Sir William Howe, Charles Lord Cornwallis, and seven others.Each piece not only explores the subject's personality and exploits, but interprets his contribution to victory or defeat. In the process the scholarship never loses sight of the brave, touchy, brilliant, and flawed personalities who fought beside and against one another. Rarely, if ever, has one volume offered such stimulating commentary and insights into key commanders of the Revolutionary War.
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About the Author
George Athan Billias is Jacob and Frances Hiatt Professor of History (Emeritus) at Clark University and author of Elbridge Gerry: Founding Father and Republican Statesman and General John Glover and His Marblehead Mariners.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Key Players of the Revolutionary War,
By
This review is from: George Washington's Generals and Opponents: Their Exploits and Leadership (Paperback)
This excellent book provides compendium biographies for all the major commanding generals of both sides during the American Revolution. The average length of each bio is roughly 10-30 pages, which provides enough general detail for each personality. No book has put under one cover all the key military players of the Revolution. In addition to all the standards like Washington and Lafayette, the reader also gets many lesser known American generals, as well as the main British personalities like Howe and Clinton. The American Revolution was not a war that produced any brilliant generals on either side. Reading these various bios will show that military brilliance was not really displayed in the Revolution by either side. Washington was an inpired leader of men, but a poor tactican. Sir William Howe a good tactician, but a conservetive strategist. Readers may be surprised to learn how imcompetent many American generals were, and how basically competent most of the British were. This was a war about the hearts and minds of the American people, and this was a problem the British never really understood. Leadership displyaed by both sides was often haphazzard, and this book should provide ample evidence of that. There is a lot of duplication of events because many of the generals were involved in the same events, but each bio is complete in itself and should provide interesting reading on the major commanders involved on both sides during the American Revolution.
13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Evenhanded and thus unique!,
By Steven Charnick "a solo cello outside a chorus" (Ocean, NJ United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)
This review is from: George Washington's Generals and Opponents: Their Exploits and Leadership (Paperback)
This book examines both Washington's subordinates (there were many) as well as his supposedly better trained British antagonists. Only recently have books surfaced positing that the British lost the War for Independence more out of failings in their strategy than brilliance by American generals. After reading this book you may agree.
The future United States lost more than 70% of the battles in the war. In some cases the losses were catastrophic. Yet the Americans won the war. A Chinese proverb says, "The best lie is to tell the truth". As the truth comes out it makes me prouder to call myself an American. This is because one eventually comes to an understanding as to how we could possibly have defeated the most mighty nation on Earth at the time. Enjoy!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Amazingly Well Written Collection of Essays on the Men Who Won and Lost the Revolutionary War!,
This review is from: George Washington's Generals and Opponents: Their Exploits and Leadership (Paperback)
How did the Americans emerge victorious in the Revolutionary War? Was it due to the talents of George Washington and his commanders, as some historians argue? Or to the incompetence of a long series of British Generals and Admirals?
This is the question this excellent volume attempts to answer. George Billias's book, originally published as two separate volumes, is now available as a single integrated work. In each of the book's two parts, a series of historians and scholars each examine the life and battlefields victories and defeats of a single individual general. The book is well balanced. Twelve American Generals are examined in the first part; twelve British General and Admirals in the second. The result is an amazingly well written collection of essays on the men who won and lost the Revolutionary War. A great many myths are dispelled and a number of interesting military figures, both American and British, have been illuminated. The editors (and authors) conclude that the relatively inexperienced Americans took timely advantage of a series of strategic and tactical mistakes by their British counterparts, on land and at sea, to win the war. Those interested in learning more about the key military figures of the war will find this book a great read and a welcome addition to their library!
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First Sentence:
AT first sight there is not much to be said about George Washington's generalship. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
detach troops, fighting instructions, northern army Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Sir Henry, South Carolina, George Washington, Lord Howe, Rhode Island, Cornwallis Papers, American Revolution, New Jersey, West Indies, North Carolina, General Howe, Sir William, Continental Congress, Clements Library, Nathanael Greene, New England, Lake Champlain, Charles Lee, Benedict Arnold, Lee Papers, John Adams, North America, Bunker Hill, Lord George Germain New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
AT first sight there is not much to be said about George Washington's generalship. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
detach troops, fighting instructions, northern army Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Sir Henry, South Carolina, George Washington, Lord Howe, Rhode Island, Cornwallis Papers, American Revolution, New Jersey, West Indies, North Carolina, General Howe, Sir William, Continental Congress, Clements Library, Nathanael Greene, New England, Lake Champlain, Charles Lee, Benedict Arnold, Lee Papers, John Adams, North America, Bunker Hill, Lord George Germain New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 37
books:
See all 37 books this book cites
2
books
cite this book:
- Lafayette Joins the American Army by Louis Gottschalk on page 49, page 3 (1), and page 3 (2)
- British Navy in Adversity: a Study of the War of American Independence by William M. James on page 322, and page 325
- Secret History of the American Revolution by Carl Van Doren on page 3 (1), and page 3 (2)
- Origin of the American Revolution: 1759-1766 by Bernhard Knollenberg on page 35, and page 38
- The Papers of Thomas Jefferson VOL 1, 1760-1776 by Thomas Jefferson on page 105, and page 145
See all 37 books this book cites
- The Road to Guilford Courthouse: The American Revolution in the Carolinas by John Buchanan on page 405, and page 414
- Return of the Revolutionaries: The Case for Reincarnation and Soul Groups Reunited by Walter Semkiw in Back Matter
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