The 10 Key Campaigns of the American Revolution

by Edward G. Lengel (Editor)

A Nation is Born Lexington, Bunker Hill, Saratoga, Washington, Hamilton, Benedict Arnold. All familiar names, but how did they all fit together? How did merchants, lawyers, farmers, and cobblers come together to defeat the British Empire, its powerful navy, and its Hessian auxiliaries? For that matter, who were the Hessians, and what is an auxiliary? Bringing together ten eminent Revolutionary War experts, editor Ed Lengel presents their stirring narratives of the military campaigns that changed history and gave birth to a new nation. These historians guide you through the fateful decade of the 1770s in British America. In 1776, you battle in Brooklyn Heights, then cross the Delaware with Washington. In the late summer and fall of ’77, you bushwhack down the Champlain Valley with Johnny Burgoyne. You struggle through winter with Washington and his beleaguered troops in Valley Forge. When the spring of ’78 turns to summer, you endure the oppressive heat and the massive battle on New Jersey farmland at Monmouth Courthouse. In 1780 your journey takes you south into a bloody civil war—Tory versus patriot, neighbor versus neighbor in Georgia and the Carolinas. Finally, in ’81, you join the patriots as they maneuver north into Virginia, whereWashington and the French navy can trap the British on the Yorktown Peninsula. Complete with maps and suggested further reading, The 10 Key Campaigns of the American Revolution is a short course in one of history’s most consequential wars, explaining how citizens became soldiers and how their dedication, determination, and force of will defeated the world’s greatest power and launched a nation like no other.

Genres: American Revolution, History, American History, Nonfiction, War, American Revolutionary War, Military Fiction

255 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 18, 2020

About the author

Independent historian, hiker, and voracious reader. As an author, I'm delighted to have reached the stage where I can write purely for personal enjoyment and interest, as my forthcoming works will attest!

Reviews

[Al Berry · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Short; nothing new, nor written in a compelling or interesting fashion.

[Steve Wiggins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book of collected essays and it covers much of the territory of Ken Burns’ American Revolution, but in a much more piecemeal fashion. Each of the ten campaigns is written about by a different person, meaning the treatment is a bit uneven. That’s usually the case with edited books.

The ten campaigns covered are these: Lexington and Concord (one), the campaign to take Quebec (two), New York City (three), the battles of Trenton and Princeton (four), Ticonderoga and Saratoga (five), Philadelphia (six), Monmouth (seven), the battles in and around Charleston (eight and nine), and finally, Yorktown (ten). There were, of course, many other battles fought and many people died to make America a free country. Believe it or not.

As with most books of this sort, there is room to quibble about the importance of various campaigns, but these all come with hindsight. As I point out in my blog post (Sects and Violence in the Ancient World), I’m no fan of reading about wars, but at this moment in history it seems good to remind ourselves that Americans could pull together, once upon a time, when the the nation’s very existence was hanging in the balance.

[Corey Bourne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to wet your appetite for Revolutionary War battles and campaigns. The end of each battle are a list of other books that go in greater detail. Buy this for quick facts and keep for all the good reference material.

[Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great refresher for lovers of history. Also a great way to find a new author/book to read since the authors books are listed at the end of each campaign.

[Kristen]

This read more like a textbook with a LOT of names and exact troop movements, etc. A little tedious to read and I stopped halfway through.

[Christopher Lutz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would be an excellent first book to read/listen to for a newcomer to this era of military history.

[Scooter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent primer to the military history of the American Revolution.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The authors laid out each important campaign, situated it within the context of the war nicely, and gave just enough information for a good overview. This is a good general history of the battles and the important actors. However, not all of the historians wrote as well as some of the others, or researched as carefully.