Hurricane of Independence: The Untold Story of the Deadly Storm at the Deciding Moment of the American Revolution [Paperback]

Tony Williams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2009

The sleeper history hit of 2008, released in paperback to coincide with the heart of hurricane season

On September 2, 1775, the eighth deadliest Atlantic hurricane of all time landed on American shores. Over the next days, it would race up the East Coast, striking all of the important colonial capitols and killing more than four thousand people. In an era when hurricanes were viewed as omens from God, what this storm signified to the colonists about the justness of their cause would yield unexpected results.

Drawing on ordinary individuals and well-known founders like Washington and Franklin, Tony Williams paints a stunning picture of life at the dawn of the American Revolution, and of the weighty choice people faced at that deciding moment.

Hurricane of Independence brings to life an incredible time when the forces of nature and the forces of history joined together to produce courageous stories of sacrifice, strength, and survival.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In his first book, Williams sheds light on the obscure hurricanes that battered America's east coast all the way up to Newfoundland in September 1775. But this account promises more than it delivers: the first vaunted storm at the deciding moment of the American Revolution affected the colonies very little, while the second hurricane hit Canada and killed some 4,000 cod fishermen, but is tangential to the American uprising. Williams consequently presses the storm of war metaphor and fills out the book with lengthy descriptions of what was going on in various American cities hit by the hurricane. He is on surer ground in his discussions about how weather influenced political affairs and its potent religious symbolism. Were the storms evidence of God's desire to punish the rebels for their insolence toward King George III? If so, then why were the British prevented from attacking Dorchester Heights by a fierce storm, and why was Lord Cornwallis's plan to escape from Yorktown frustrated by a powerful gale? Thinner than his first, this book offers some illumination on the colonial worldview, but little on the Revolution. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Williams provides an interesting sidebar to the opening of the American Revolution by recalling one of the deadliest storms ever to hit the North American Atlantic coast, a hurricane that raced northward in September 1775, drubbing several colonial capitals and causing severe losses. It was closely followed by another—probably: whether they were one or two storms is still argued—that devastated the Newfoundland fleet at the height of the cod season and caused more than 4,000 deaths. At a time when natural disasters and astronomical phenomena were widely believed to be signs of divine will, people on both sides of the developing colonial conflict wondered what God intended by this deadly portent. Williams quotes diaries, letters, and other documents of the time, showing how both the well-known and the well-nigh-forgotten reacted. He acknowledges, however, that the hurricane wasn’t the most important meteorological phenomenon that impinged upon the Revolutionary War. Still, his double tale of natural disaster and epochal human events makes good reading. --Frieda Murray --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc. (July 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402221231
• ISBN-13: 978-1402221231
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,563,402 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Tony Williams is the author of "Hurricane of Independence: The Untold Story of the Deadly Storm at the Deciding Moment of the American Revolution," which was recently published in paperback with an excerpt from his forthcoming book. In April, 2010, Sourcebooks will publish his "Pox and the Covenant: Franklin, Mather, and the Epidemic that Altered America's Destiny" about a 1721 Boston smallpox epidemic that led to the introduction of inoculation for the first time. He holds history degrees from Syracuse University and Ohio State University and was most recently a fellow at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. He is a former history teacher of ten years and a renowned lecturer. He is a full-time author living in Williamsburg and is currently writing a history of the Jamestown colony among other books.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a great christmas gift for history lovers, September 21, 2008

By 

Jessie (Oakland, NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hurricane of Independence: The Untold Story of the Deadly Storm at the Deciding Moment of the American Revolution (Hardcover)

I have to admit that I'm not much of a history book reader. I disliked history in high school and don't know much about it. I usually read spy stories and mysteries. I found the book in a bookstore one day and thought the cover was very cool. I flipped through the pages and liked the flow of the writing. With all the news about hurricanes I thought I would give it a try. I was not disappointed.

The book is about a hurricane that hit during the American Revolution in 1775. The author described it hitting the shores of North Carolina and Virginia. It killed hundreds of people there. The author then follows the hurricane hitting the capitals of Annapolis, Philadelphia, New York, and Boston and talks about the damage it caused. Actually it didn't hit New York but the author talks about another hurricane out in the ocean almost at the same time. Almost like a perfect storm. Very cool and dramatic.

The author tells a lot of stories about the American Revolution that I didn't know much about. He told them in an interesting way that I could understand. George Washington became the general of the army, Paul Revere went on his famous ride and a general brought guns all the way from New York to Boston to use against the British army.

The big ending that the author nicely built up to was the storm hitting Newfoundland and killing 4,000 fishermen. I didn't know anyone fished for cod there back then but the author made me feel as if I was there. No one I am telling the book about has ever heard of this hurricane even though it was the second deadliest after the Galveston one.

I learned a lot about the hurricane and history by reading this book. I really enjoyed it and think it would be a good book for anyone who is not really a history buff but likes a really good story. I am going to buy a copy for my family members who do like history for Christmas.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy read, enjoyable diversion into American history, June 3, 2009

By 

S. jerrems (las vegas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hurricane of Independence: The Untold Story of the Deadly Storm at the Deciding Moment of the American Revolution (Hardcover)

I found this book enjoyable, because it was a refreshing break from heavier historic reading. It is a quick read for advanced readers, but still well enough written with a good amount of history and a good reflection of the people of the Revolutionary era to be worthwhile. I enjoyed it, though it is probably written more towards younger readers, teen-age level. A nice over view of the colonial areas and the people at the the beginning of the Revolution more than the hurricane itself. Though it is non-fiction, it paces more like a novel, making it informative and pleasant.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More Than a Storm, December 8, 2008

By 

John M. Lane "statesman and philosopher" (Hardin, Montana, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hurricane of Independence: The Untold Story of the Deadly Storm at the Deciding Moment of the American Revolution (Hardcover)

I never realized that there'd been a devastating hurricane during the critical period leading up to our War for Independence from Great Britain, but there was. And Professor Tony Williams describes it with the smooth readability of a novelist in HURRICANE OF INDEPENDENCE: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE DEADLY STORM AT THE DECIDING MOMENT OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.

Williams sprinkles all sorts of little nuggets of information through his description of this storm and the damage it caused. Being a confirmed landlubber, I never suspected that sailors fashioned buttons for their coats out of hardened cheese, for example, or that New Bern, Norfolk and other port towns had such distinct personalities.

I'd either forgotten, or never knew, that Roman Catholics operated under some significant disabilities in some colonies at this time. In Maryland, for example, they couldn't vote, hold office, practice law, bear arms, serve in the militia, send their children to Catholic schools or even worship publically. Describing someone as a "papist" could prompt a challenge to a duel.

Williams includes endnotes, a bibliography and a very useful index in this attractively bound book. I carried it around for a couple of weeks while reading it and it held up just fine.

I like this book and gave it five stars. It's well written, well-researched and beautifully put together.

If you're interested in hurricanes, weather, colonial history, naval lore, the American Revolution or significant port cities of this period, you'll enjoy this book.