@# Washington s Crossing Pivotal Moments in American History

If you loved David McCullough's 1776, and wanted to read the next chapter in the story, this is an outstanding place to find it. Washington's Crossing is so much fun to read that it might be a suspense novel. Fischer makes it clear from the start that the men who fought this battle, on both sides, knew the importance of the outcome. But more than that Fischer paints a detailed, compelling portrait of all of the participants in the fight including the British soldiers, the American Army, the Hessians, the loyalists and patriots who lived and farmed in New York and New Jersey. Fischer's description of the various American regiments, from Maine sailors who became soldiers, to Philadelphia volunteers to Marylanders in their hunting gear, to aristocratic Virginians in ruffles, gives us a great idea of the diversity of the American rebel Army. His description of Washington and his "man" (an African slave who was a gifted horseman) breaking up a troop riot is worth the price of the book.



Like David McCullough, David Hackett Fischer is a serious scholor and he writes the same kind of exciting, detailed narrative that has made McCullough's books so popular. His portrait of the British Army with its emphasis on cleanliness and discipline explains why the British lost so few men to disease. His explanation of the numerous British court marshalls for rape puts a new slant on old information. As Fischer points out, the British Army punished soldiers for abusing the populace, something that we might take for granted, but which was uncommon at the time--or perhaps any time.



And then there is the description of the battle itself, You have to smile when Fischer debunks the snobbish "debunkers" of the famous painting, with his discovery that George Washington probably was standing up in that boat! Fischer's use of Hessian diaries and letters provided some interesting surprises. After being told for generations that the lazy Hessians were drunk on Christmas and lost the battle for that reason, it was amazing to learn that not only were the Hessians not drunk, they were lying in their beds fully dressed, waiting for the attack! When a history book surprises you like that, you have to smile.
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More Detail For Washington s Crossing Pivotal Moments in American History

• ISBN13: 9780195181593
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.