The American Revolution 100: The Battles, People, and Events of the American War for Independence, Ranked by Their Significance

386 Pages·2009·7.86 MB·English

by  Michael Lanning Lt. Col.

100 of the great names and historic events of
history $24.95 U.S./$27.99 CAN/£12.99 UK
the war that gave birth to america, ranked
by a decorated military veteran and author.
among the entries are: Beginning with Lexington and
ending with Yorktown, The
ROBERT MORRIS COMMON SENSE AND THE CRISIS
American Revolution 100 brings to
Morris, the brain behind George Washington was so impressed by Thomas
life the defining moments, battles,
the Revolution’s finances Payne’s The Crisis that he had it read to all his
and the inventor of the soldiers before crossing the Delaware River. people, and leaders who gave birth
dollar sign, died with barely to a great democratic nation. In
a penny to his name. AMERICAN comprehensive fashion, celebrated
MICHAEL LEE LANNING
MILITIAS
veteran and military expert Michael
is the author of seventeen nonfiction George Washington
Lee Lanning ranks and analyzes
books on military history, including called militiamen
the war’s most significant events,
The Battle 100 and The Civil War “exceedingly dirty
showing how each influenced the
100. More than a million copies of his TRENTON, NEW JERSEY, DECEMBER 26, 1776 and nasty people” and
books are in print in fifteen countries After a long series of defeats, support for the a Continental Army outcome.
and editions have been translated into rebel army was drying up. Washington’s victory officer recalled, “it
eleven languages. He has appeared at Trenton reignited the patriotic cause and saved was easier to raise the Relive the memorable battles,
on major television networks and the the revolution. dead than a militia when a country of citizen-farmers
History Channel as an expert on the company.” prepared themselves to take on the
individual soldier on both sides of the HENRY KNOX mightiest army in the world. Learn
Vietnam War. Henry Knox drove 55 MONMOUTH, NEW JERSEY, JUNE 28, 1778
about the influential figures and
cannons 300 miles to Boston, According to legend, Mary Hayes took her
A veteran of more than twenty years forces of the time—from George
on poor roads and through husband’s place as a cannon crewmember after he
in the U.S. Army, Lanning is a retired heavy snows and miserable was wounded. Her story inspired revolutionaries Washington, the Continental Army,
lieutenant colonel. During the Vietnam
cold. When the cannons across the country. and Benjamin Franklin to William
War he served as an infantry platoon
were finally positioned over Howe, the Hessians, and George III.
leader, reconnaissance platoon leader,
the city, the British were THOMAS SUMTER,
Included too are the parts played by
and an infantry company commander. In
forced to evacuate. AMERICAN GENERAL
America’s nascent navy, Tom Paine’s
addition to having earned the Combat
AND PARTISAN
Infantryman’s Badge and Bronze Star Common Sense, the participation of
AMERICAN ALLIES Sumter recruited his soldiers
with “V” device with two oak leaf African and Native Americans, the
The French invented a fake firm named Hortalez & with promises that their pay
clusters, Lanning is Ranger-qualified Cie, which supplied 90 percent of the gunpowder would be “all that they could British parliament and army, and
and a senior parachutist.
used by the rebels. plunder from the Loyalists.” much more.
Lanning was born in Sweetwater, Texas
and is a 1968 graduate of Texas A&M
University. He currently resides on
History $24.95 U.S.
the Bolivar Peninsula of Texas and in ISBN-13: 978-1-4022-1083-9 $27.99 CAN
ISBN-10: 1-4022-1083-3 £12.99 UK
Phoenix, Arizona.
N
www.sourcebooks.com A
E
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BOOKS BY MICHAEL LEE LANNING
(cid:129) The Only War We Had: A Platoon’s Leaders Journal of Vietnam
(cid:129) Vietnam 1969–1970: A Company Commander’s Journal
(cid:129) Inside the LRRPs: Rangers in Vietnam
(cid:129) Inside Force Recon: Recon Marines in Vietnam (with Ray W. Stubbe)
(cid:129) The Battles of Peace
(cid:129) Inside the VC and NVA: The Real Story of North Vietnam’s Armed Forces
(with Dan Cragg)
(cid:129) Vietnam at the Movies
(cid:129) Senseless Secrets: The Failures of U.S. Military Intelligence from George
Washington to the Present
(cid:129) The Military 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Military Leaders of
All Time
(cid:129) The African-American Soldier: From Crispus Attucks to Colin Powell
(cid:129) Inside the Crosshairs: Snipers in Vietnam
(cid:129) Defenders of Liberty: African-Americans in the Revolutionary War
(cid:129) Blood Warriors: American Military Elites
(cid:129) The Battle 100: The Stories Behind History’s Most Influential Battles
(cid:129) Mercenaries: Soldiers of Fortune, from Ancient Greece to Today’s Private
Military Companies
(cid:129) The Civil War 100: The Stories Behind the Most Influential Battles, People,
and Events in the War Between the States
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Copyright © 2008 by Michael Lee Lanning
Cover and internal design © 2008 by Sourcebooks, Inc.
Cover photos © Getty Images, Corbis
Maps © Bob Rosenburgh
Internal photos used by permission of Library of Congress
Sourcebooks and the colophon are registered trademarks of Sourcebooks, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any
electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval sys-
tems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—
without permission in writing from its publisher, Sourcebooks, Inc.
All brand names and product names used in this book are trademarks, registered
trademarks, or trade names of their respective holders. Sourcebooks, Inc., is not asso-
ciated with any product or vendor in this book.
Published by Sourcebooks, Inc.
P.O. Box 4410, Naperville, Illinois 60567-4410
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lanning, Michael Lee.
American Revolution 100 : the battles, people, and events of the American war for
independence, ranked by their signifi cance / Michael Lee Lanning.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. United States—History—Revolution, 1775-1783—Handbooks, manuals, etc. I.
Title. II. Title: American Revolution one hundred.
E209.L36 2008
973.3—dc22
2008017859
Printed and bound in the United States of America
BG 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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To
The staff of the Hippocrates Health Institute, West Palm Beach,
Florida, for showing me the way;
Dr. Pamandee Shama of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston,
Texas, for her candor and support;
Major General Bernard O. Loeffke (U.S. Army, Retired), Hollywood,
Florida, for his mentorship in war, in peace, and in health;
and
Linda, for everything.
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CONTENTS
Introduction.......................................................................................................1
1. George Washington (1732–1799) ...............................................................3
2. Yorktown, Virginia (May–October, 1781) ..................................................8
3. Saratoga, New York (October 7, 1777) .....................................................12
4. Nathanael Greene (1742–1786) ................................................................16
5. American Allies (1775–1783) ....................................................................20
6. Robert Morris (1734–1806) .....................................................................24
7. Continental Army (1775–1783) ................................................................28
8. Trenton, New Jersey (December 26, 1776) ...............................................31
9. George Sackville Germain (1716–1785) ....................................................35
10. Continental Congress (September 5, 1774–March 1, 1781) .....................38
11. British Army (1775–1783) .......................................................................42
12. Henry Knox (1750–1806) ........................................................................46
13. Chesapeake Capes, Virginia (September 5, 1781) .....................................49
14. Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776) ................................................52
15. William Howe (1729–1814) ....................................................................56
16. Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union (1776–1788) ......................59
17. Henry Clinton (1738–1795) ....................................................................62
18. Cowpens, South Carolina (January 17, 1781) ..........................................66
19. Navigation, Stamp, Townshend, Boston Port, Quebec,
and Quartering Acts (1763–1774) ...........................................................70
20. George III (1738–1820) ...........................................................................74
21. Common Sense and The Crisis (1776) .....................................................78
22. Charles Cornwallis (1738–1805) ..............................................................82
23. Bunker Hill, Massachusetts (June 17, 1775) .............................................85
24. Jean Baptiste de Rochambeau (1725–1807) .............................................89
25. Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) ..............................................................92
26. Guilford Court House, North Carolina (March 15, 1781) .......................95
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27. François Joseph Paul de Grasse (1722–1788) ...........................................99
28. Valcour Island, New York (October 11–12, 1776) .................................102
29. Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (1732–1799) ...........................106
30. West Point, New York (1775–1783) ......................................................110
31. Horatio Gates (1728–1806)....................................................................114
32. Long Island, New York (August 27, 1776) .............................................117
33. John Burgoyne (1722–1792) ..................................................................120
34. Loyalists (1775–1783) ............................................................................123
35. Daniel Morgan (1736–1802) ..................................................................126
36. Kings Mountain, South Carolina (October 7, 1780) ..............................130
37. German Mercenaries (Hessians) (1775–1783) ........................................133
38. Anthony Wayne (1745–1796) ................................................................137
39. Valley Forge, Pennsylvania (December 19, 1777–June 18, 1778) ..........140
40. Bernardo de Galvez (1746–1786) ...........................................................143
41. Naval Operations (1775–1783) ..............................................................146
42. John Eager Howard (1752–1827) ...........................................................150
43. Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts (April 19, 1775) .......................153
44. Banastre Tarleton (1754–1833) ..............................................................156
45. West Indies (1775–1783) .......................................................................160
46. Marquis de Lafayette (1757–1834) .........................................................163
47. Charleston, South Carolina (February 11–May 12, 1780) .....................166
48. Germantown, Pennsylvania (October 4, 1777) .......................................170
49. Guy Carleton (1724–1808) ....................................................................174
50. Boston Siege (April 19, 1775–March 17, 1776) .....................................177
51. John Adams (1735–1826) ......................................................................181
52. Ticonderoga, New York (May 10, 1775) ................................................185
53. American Militias (1775–1783) ..............................................................189
54. Population and Resources (1775–1783) .................................................193
55. George Rogers Clark (1752–1818) .........................................................197
56. African Americans (1775–1783) .............................................................201
57. Moores Creek Bridge, North Carolina (February 27, 1776) ...................206
58. John Paul Jones (1747–1792) .................................................................210
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59. Monmouth, New Jersey (June 28, 1778) ................................................214
60. Francis Marion (1732–1795) ..................................................................217
61. Privateers (1775–1783) ...........................................................................220
62. Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben (1730–1794) ........................................223
63. Eutaw Springs, South Carolina (September 8, 1781) ..............................227
64. Barry St. Leger (1737–1789) ..................................................................230
65. Camden, South Carolina (August 16, 1780) ..........................................233
66. John Trumbull (1756–1843) ..................................................................236
67. Pay, Rations, Uniforms, and Medicine (1775–1783) .............................239
68. John Stark (1728–1822) .........................................................................243
69. Treaty of Paris (September 3, 1783) .......................................................246
70. Weapons and Tactics (1775–1783) ........................................................249
71. John Sullivan (1740–1795).....................................................................252
72. Brandywine Creek, Pennsylvania (September 11, 1777) .........................255
73. Francis Rawdon (1754–1826) ................................................................259
74. Waxhaw Creek, South Carolina (May 29, 1780) ....................................262
75. Intelligence (1775–1783) ........................................................................265
76. Benjamin Lincoln (1733–1810) .............................................................268
77. White Plains, New York (October 28, 1776) .........................................271
78. Future United States Presidents (1775–1783) ........................................274
79. Charles Lee (1731–1782) .......................................................................278
80. Savannah, Georgia (First Savannah) (December 29, 1778) .....................281
81. James Grant (1720–1806) ......................................................................285
82. Newport, Rhode Island (July 29–August 31, 1778)................................288
83. Thomas Sumter (1734–1832) .................................................................291
84. Canada Invasion (August 1775–October 1776) ......................................294
85. Benedict Arnold (1741–1801) ................................................................298
86. Fort Washington, New York (November 16, 1776) ...............................302
87. Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) .............................................................306
88. Stony Point, New York (July 16, 1779) ..................................................309
89. Newburgh Addresses (March 10 and 12, 1783) ......................................312
90. Richard Howe (1726–1799) ...................................................................315
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