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George Washington #5
George Washington: A Biography : Victory With the Help of France
Book is in good condition with no markings inside. Includes original dust jacket. NOT ex-library.
570 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1952
About the author
Douglas Southall Freeman
240 books94 followersThe son of a Confederate veteran, Douglas Southall Freeman was long interested in the Civil War. A man of intense work ethic, he earned his PhD at 22, then balanced a journalist's demanding schedule with a historian's, as he churned out Lee's Dispatches (1915), the Pulitzer-Prize-winning four-volume R. E. Lee: A Biography (1934-35), Lee's Lieutenants: A Study in Command (1942-44), and finally, the multi-volume George Washington (1948-54). A respected historian, renown for his research, he garnered fame in his native Virginia and the friendship of major military figures.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 31, 2020
This volume covers Washington from the Spring of 1778 at Valley Forge, when he got word of the alliance with France, through Yorktown and the eventual peace treaty, to his retirement from the army and his arrival back at Mt. Vernon on Christmas Eve, 1783.
Throughout the volume we see Washington struggling, still, to feed and clothe the army, thanks to the ineffectiveness of the federal government under the newly signed, but inadequate, Articles of Confederation. Lack of men and equipment severely limited Washington's options, but he held the army together. When the opportunity came to combine the French fleet with both the American and French armies, he acted.
As for the title, it was interesting to see just how important a role the French played. Washington did indeed hold everything together, but France's contributions of men, materiel, and tactics -- the siege tactics used at Yorktown were apparently translated from a French field manual -- were indispensable.
My favorite volume so far. The pacing and the amount of detail seem right to me. While Freeman does deep dives where you would expect -- Benedict Arnold, the Pennsylvania Line and Pompton Mutinies, Yorktown -- most of the chapters cover longer periods of time and are less detailed then in the previous volume. Some of this is likely because most of the action during this period was in the south, while Washington remained with the main army in the north.
Throughout the volume we see Washington struggling, still, to feed and clothe the army, thanks to the ineffectiveness of the federal government under the newly signed, but inadequate, Articles of Confederation. Lack of men and equipment severely limited Washington's options, but he held the army together. When the opportunity came to combine the French fleet with both the American and French armies, he acted.
As for the title, it was interesting to see just how important a role the French played. Washington did indeed hold everything together, but France's contributions of men, materiel, and tactics -- the siege tactics used at Yorktown were apparently translated from a French field manual -- were indispensable.
My favorite volume so far. The pacing and the amount of detail seem right to me. While Freeman does deep dives where you would expect -- Benedict Arnold, the Pennsylvania Line and Pompton Mutinies, Yorktown -- most of the chapters cover longer periods of time and are less detailed then in the previous volume. Some of this is likely because most of the action during this period was in the south, while Washington remained with the main army in the north.
June 28, 2021
Again, military history is Freeman's strength. No surprise this volume was one of the best in the set.
April 18, 2020
Southall Freeman continues his magisterial biography of Washington in this fifth volume, showing how the Man of Mount Vernon managed to turn the entire world upside down. From the Battle of Monmouth through Yorktown and the cessation of hostilities in the Revolutionary War, Washington ascends further in the hearts and minds of his countrymen by achieving victory, and achieving it with honor, integrity and supreme deference to the powers of the federal and state governments.
Freeman's narrative is stymied, not so much by the plodding prose (which works well in more battle-filled periods of the war) as the plodding pace of the war between Monmouth and Yorktown. Large battles are confined to the Southern theater, where Cornwallis earns a reputation as an American Hannibal, extinguishing the fame of Horatio Gates and enhancing that of Greene. While the administrative and supply issues of the Continental Army remain vexing, and as the Army nearly falls apart due to poor pay, poor food, and poor clothing, Washington holds it all together in a determination matched by precious few military commanders in history.
Washington earns victory not by selfish aggression, but rather by patient work with America's new ally: France. Despite repeated headaches with coordination with the French fleets, Washington forges a link with Rochambeau that results in a final coming together of the forces at Yorktown in 1781. Despite the man's military fame, he is often derided for tactical and even strategic inferiority to a Napoleon; the Yorktown campaign, however, should forever put such questions to rest, as Washington massed troops quickly and, with the aid of France's seapower, inflicted a blow at precisely the right time.
At last, with victory, Washington does not assume the laurels of leadership or riches, but rather simple retirement. It remains remarkable, in 2020, to read of Washington laying down his sword to Congress in 1783, a posture of such deference that one cannot imagine many, if any, modern politicians or commanders doing so.
Washington's greatest strength comes in understanding that liberty can be bought only dearly in a long, protracted war requiring perseverance and management of troops and tribunes. One man or woman rarely change history; Washington may just be one of the few exceptions to that rule.
Freeman's narrative is stymied, not so much by the plodding prose (which works well in more battle-filled periods of the war) as the plodding pace of the war between Monmouth and Yorktown. Large battles are confined to the Southern theater, where Cornwallis earns a reputation as an American Hannibal, extinguishing the fame of Horatio Gates and enhancing that of Greene. While the administrative and supply issues of the Continental Army remain vexing, and as the Army nearly falls apart due to poor pay, poor food, and poor clothing, Washington holds it all together in a determination matched by precious few military commanders in history.
Washington earns victory not by selfish aggression, but rather by patient work with America's new ally: France. Despite repeated headaches with coordination with the French fleets, Washington forges a link with Rochambeau that results in a final coming together of the forces at Yorktown in 1781. Despite the man's military fame, he is often derided for tactical and even strategic inferiority to a Napoleon; the Yorktown campaign, however, should forever put such questions to rest, as Washington massed troops quickly and, with the aid of France's seapower, inflicted a blow at precisely the right time.
At last, with victory, Washington does not assume the laurels of leadership or riches, but rather simple retirement. It remains remarkable, in 2020, to read of Washington laying down his sword to Congress in 1783, a posture of such deference that one cannot imagine many, if any, modern politicians or commanders doing so.
Washington's greatest strength comes in understanding that liberty can be bought only dearly in a long, protracted war requiring perseverance and management of troops and tribunes. One man or woman rarely change history; Washington may just be one of the few exceptions to that rule.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews