Posts by Roger T Kennedy

Von Steuben has been a figure of pop Revolutionary War mythology for too long. This excellent 2008 bio places him firmly within the context of the 1700s. With family connections close to the Hohenzollern Monarchy, Steuben should have been placed to rise pretty high in the Prussian officer hierarchy. He saw active service in the beginning of the Seven Years War and witnessed the bloodshed of the first heavy battles of the war at Prague in 1756. He saw further service commanding Free Batalion Mayer, a unique command that subsequently suited his future employment very well in America.

Fusiliers: The Saga of a British Redcoat Regiment in the American Revolution by Mark Urban should be required reading for all aspiring historians on the American Revolutionary War. Many older historians should also take note of this fine book. Mark Urban purports to tell the story of one British regiment, the 23rd, or Royal Welch Fusiliers, but it is really about the whole British expereince in the war that the book concerns itself. While focusing on this one illustrious corps the author provides us a means to evaluate the whole evolutionary process the British army went through in this conflict.

Many Brooklynites today may not realize that their borough was the scene of the first major battle of the American Revolution in August 1776. The British had gathered a major fleet with over 25,000 men and marshaled their forces on nearby Staten Island. Washington unwisely split his army of almost 20,000 between defending New York City, located in what is today Battery Park area, and Brooklyn. The Heights of Guan, known today as Prospect Heights were considered key to defending New York. In John Gallagher’s Battle for Brooklyn, 1776 published by Castle Books, we get a pretty clear picture of the situation. The Battle of Brooklyn, sometimes known as Battle of Long Island 

Did Washington wage a secret war while he was at Valley Forge? Yes and no. Against the British he had to maintain a vigorous war of outposts while they occupied Philadelphia. But the other war he had to fight was against his own generals. In Thomas Fleming's Washington's Secret War: The Hidden History of Valley Forge (Smithsonian Books, 2005)
Washington was not only threatened from the British, but from increasing political enemies as well. Conway, Mifflin and Gates were all ambitious officers with little military talent, but great scheming abilities off the battlefield. Together this trio of military politicos formed what would be known as the Conway Cabal. With 

Many people in the New York and New Jersey areas today probably don’t realize how much history there is about the American Revolution right at their doorstep. The key early parts of the war were enacted right here. The battles of Trenton and Princeton have to be the most popular and covered aspects of the Rev War. So any recent book on these well worn topics should offer something new. For the most part, Washington's Crossing, by David Hackett Fischer (Oxford Univ. Press, 2004), does, but the author still allows himself to get carried away by the ever present Spirit of 76 Syndrome.

There is a lot of background information provided on the American army, the British