Ok, so this is not a theology book. But sometimes you have to take a break and read widely. I can’t say that I read really widely, but I love history, especially military history and American history. This book has been out for some time. However, if you haven’t read it yet, I would highly recommend it. 1776 is a fast-paced and readable look at the military and to some extent the political side of the pivotal year of 1776. Many people do not truly understand that 1776 was a crucial year for the American Revolution, one that almost saw the end of the fight. When the year began, the Continental Army was not in the best of spirits and certainly not equipped and fed for a long campaign with the best army in the world at that time. 1776 witnessed one of the strongest defeats of the Continentals, the Battle of Brooklyn, and throughout the spring, summer, and fall, the Continentals were being pushed back on all fronts. When the Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence, the British were knocking at their doors in Philadelphia.
McCullough is also a master storyteller, making this tumultuous year come alive with events, personalities, and conflicts. There is not much detail as one would expect of a book just at 400 pages that covers one of the most important years in American history. However, it is great if one wants to understand the situation on both sides of the fight. Some of the personalities on both sides, such as Washington, and several of the British generals, are brought to the forefront. If one wants to understand war, one must understand the people that fought it. The American Revolution is a classic case in point. The British were well-equipped, well-armed, and well-trained, yet morale was not the best. The Continental Army was constantly starving, ill-equipped, ill-fed, yet led by some of the most brilliant men ever to have lived in this country.
McCullough shows that it was Washington who literally held the nation and the army together for the entire fight, but especially during this crucial year. Washington was not the best general, nor the best tactician, nor the best politician, but he was truly the best leader we could have had. He was the right person for the right time, and his tenacity and perseverance did more to hold the army and the country together than any other person in the colonies. 1776 is a great study of a most important year, but it is also a great portrait of a man that deserves even more credit than he is given typically in America today. It was literally Washington who was the pivotal personality.
The turning point of this year came at the very end. There are only a few pages on the battles of Trenton and Princeton, but these two minor victories gave the colonies and the army a significant morale boost just when they needed it most. These two battles showed that Washington could be a brilliant tactician, and stunned the British militarily. While the victories were minor in the grand scheme of things militarily, they provided a big impetus for more recruits, extended enlistments, and a boost in morale for the Continental Army at a time when they desperately needed all three. For a more in-depth study of these battles and the events surrounding them, I would heartily recommend David Hackett Fischer’s Washington’s Crossing.
I am looking forward to reading American Creation by Joseph J. Ellis next, due out mid-November.
