Almost a Miracle: The American Victory in the War of Independence | John Ferling

Almost a Miracle: The American Victory in the War of Independence | John Ferling | Truly a miracle

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Almost a Miracle: ...

	Almost a Miracle: The American Victory in the War of Independence John Ferling Oxford University Press, USA, 2007 - 704 pages average customer review:based on 30 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Revisiting 'the late unfortunate rebellion'

Judging by a recent cluster of bestselling titles, it would seem that Americans never tire of reading about how their ancestors worsted the mighty British Empire. As a 'Brit', I expected 'Almost a Miracle' to beat the well-worn patriotic drum, but was pleasantly surprised to find a far more balanced and thoughtful assessment of the Revolutionary War.
This is a chunky book, and the generous page-count gives its author the scope to really get to grips with the topic. A fast-paced narrative, including enough detail to breathe life into the conflict's events and personalities, is balanced by perceptive analysis. There is room not only for the military operations, but also the diplomatic background upon which they hinged.
Professor Ferling boasts impressive credentials as a historian of the Colonial and Revolutionary eras, and his knowledge is reflected in the scholarly foundations of his latest book. As the notes show, his account rests upon a truly vast range of primary and secondary sources, including works published as recently as 2006. To distill this mass of material into a coherent and readable volume is no small achievement in itself, but Ferling also succeeds in refreshing the old story with some provocative verdicts, particularly regarding the strengths and weaknesses of the key players. Not only does George Washington come in for a more realistic assessment than he often receives from awe-struck biographers, but even such traditional bogeymen as Benedict Arnold and Banastre Tarleton here enjoy fairer than customary treatment.
The final chapter, 'Accounting for America's Victory', is especially well written, and will no doubt be quarried by many a hard-pressed college student for decades to come. As Ferling shows, when the British had the best chance of quelling the rebellion, they lacked the inclination to do so, with men like General William Howe pulling their punches rather than going for the knock-out blow. By the time the gloves were finally off, French intervention had transformed the conflict into a world war that Britain could not hope to win. Having just finished Stephen Brumwell's new biography of General James Wolfe ('Paths of Glory') I was intrigued by what might have happened if the aggressive 'Hero of Quebec' had survived to confront the 'rebels' in 1775-76. Would he have shown more boldness than his protege Howe, and crushed Washington when he was still prepared to stand and fight at New York?
Both engaging and authoritative,'Almost a Miracle' offers plenty of raw material for many other such 'what if' scenarios. It now stands as the best overview of the Revolutionary War, and deserves recognition by specialists and general readers alike - on both sides of the Atlantic.

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Truly a miracle

Superb book that must be read as a new look at the totality of war, politics, alliances, Atlantic Rim struggles, and the art of the possible. This is much more than simply a rehash of American Fabian tactics. In fact, it is a "soup to nuts" review of the War from its first bubbling of dissatisfaction, to the British Crown's initial hesitant steps, through the conflagration, Southern Strategy, defeat at Yorktown, and final peace treaty.

The book is broken into four parts, named Going to War, The War in the North, The War in the South, and American Victory. In each of these parts, Ferling does a very good job of looking at the conflict from the perspective of British home politics and worldwide operations, the evolving interactions and effects of the war on the inhabitants of the colonies, Canada and peripheral areas, and potential other combatants of interested parties in the alliances. Additionally, Ferling does a very good job of comparing and contrasting the leadership of each side, mostly American (Washington), British (Lord North, Americas Secretary Lord Germain and generals Gage, Howe and Clinton) and the French.

Ferling starts his book by noting the prevalence of the `warrior spirit' in Colonial America. "Warfare was woven into the fabric of life of Colonial America...hardly any American escaped the sullen impact of hostilities." (p. 15) He concludes this opening noting that "a literature flowered that praised soldiering and sought to infuse young men with qualities that included boldness, heartiness, fortitude and sobriety...young men were to be strong and bold, to renounce indolence and effeminacy." (p.17) In other words, culture counts, and Ferling makes this the cornerstone of this 600 page treatment of the War in America.

By way of immediate pre-history, Ferling then spends some time chronicling the involvement of Colonial Soldiers in the French Indian War. The end result was that the colonists to a large degree more closely identified with Great Britain than ever before, to the point that Ben Franklin declared "I am a BRITON." It then begs the question - with such good will from west to east across the Atlantic, how did it devolve in a few short years to such antipathy and hatred that it would sustain the Colonies through a grinding, difficult war?

To a large degree the answer resides in London and the appointments that King George made to run his affairs. Lord Germain, a former Major General, was a man with very hawkish views who served as one of three Foreign Secretaries (the other two responsible for Northern Europe and Southern Europe). To read Ferling's history is almost to pre-visit the summer of 1914. Both the British and Continental governments are preparing for war. In great detail Ferling lays out the actions and decisions on both sides of the Atlantic that fanned a smoldering discontent into an armed rebellion and war. There are great cautionary lessons in statecraft to be read here. The governments were far more uncertain about what their strategic objectives should be, who should be appointed and with how much authority, where the division of labor and responsibility should be, and then, what the operational campaign should look like to implement those desired strategic effects.

Ferling then moves quickly forward over familiar ground to the Battle of Saratoga, and dissects it for its strategic impact. He shows that Burgoyne had options, many of them good, but chose to take little to no risk at each stage of the campaign, thereby putting himself, his force, and the position of Britain at great risk. While Burgoyne's failed attempt to reach New York resulted in an impressive and crucial victory for the Americans, it also sealed the "Canada question" but to the favor of the Americans. No longer to realistically entertain ideas of invading Canada, it forced the British to still keep garrisons there (in case the Americans did try to invade again) while freeing up the Americans to focus on the mid-Atlantic and the southern colonies. At the same time, the British are now forced to concede that this will not be a quick war, and it emboldens the French and Spanish to start negotiations to see what effects the American War can generate for their own state policies. It is not without irony that to become a free and liberal democracy, the Old World politics of balance of power with two autocratic monarchies must be played by the young American generals, politicians and diplomats.

Ferling then spends considerable text analyzing the "transition year' of 1778. North's government starts to put together a peace commission at the same time that Howe and Germain are pilloried in the press for failing "to secure ground in America." Ferling then segues into 1779 and the "forgotten war" between the `northern campaign' and the `southern campaign.' The key is General Washington, who has been gone from home for 3.5 years, has made mistakes and learned from them, who maintains a vigorous and simple lifestyle, rises early, works hard, retires early, and enjoys phenomenal good health throughout. Inspired by that example, Continental soldiers almost never desert, despite no pay, and frequently, no boots. They are fueled by the "principles of patriotism - they glory in the noble cause of their country." (p.338) By now there is no hope of a peaceful de-escalation - this has become a fight to the finish, and no where is that more evident than in the vicious fighting in the southern Colonies.

Clinton's force, sent to execute a southern `end around' and at least secure the economically rich colonies of Georgia and the Carolinas, and perhaps even Virginia, starts ominously when the British attempt a sea movement in heavy winter storms that beat his ships and soldiers mercilessly for days before they make landfall. Much of this campaign design is built on a hope that the Loyalists of the south will rise up, be armed by the British, and take the fight to the `underbelly of the rebellion.' Again, a failure of the British to carefully consider the politics and the topography of the south, combined with personal friction between the leading British generals (further degraded by unclear strategic guidance and a three month transit time for letters to and from London) plays to the Continental's favor. With such leaders and Daniel Morgan, Thomas Sumter, Andrew Pickens and Francis Marion, Generals Clinton and Cornwallis have a steep challenge to overcome in sparsely populated terrain that is broken by rivers, swamps and foot hills. Of Marion, Ferling notes that he "lived a Spartan existence, ate little, had a passion for order and cleanliness, and that men flocked to serve under him, not because he was endearing, but because he tended to succeed." (p.454)

Ultimately, General Cornwallis and Lieutenant Colonel Tarleton met their match, and then some, in the cagey tactics and hard marching of the Americans. Even Tarleton, vicious in combat (but no more so than others on both sides) and able to drive his men 20 hours a day while covering upwards of forty miles in forced marches, could not out maneuver and defeat decisively the American forces. Finally, in desperation, Cornwallis notifies Clinton that he is entering into Virginia, implores Clinton to de-camp from New York, and join him in Virginia for a combined force decisive campaign. Washington decides, and acts faster, sneaking out of the siege works at New York City, and forced marching to Yorktown, where Cornwallis, formerly brave, decisive, and driving, passively awaits the force and leadership that Clinton never provides.

Nonetheless, as Ferling points out, the victory at Yorktown did not end the war. Two more years of negotiating in Europe were required before a peace treaty could be arranged, agreed to and signed. In the end, the squabbling of European politics was almost as important a precursor to the success of the American Revolution as was Washington and Yorktown. This book does a superb job of analyzing the politics of government, on both sides of the Atlantic, the strategy, campaigns, tactics and individual actions that produced a result almost impossible for anyone, even John Adams, to have envisioned in April 1775. As such , it is an indispensable read to any student of history, warfare, campaign design, and diplomacy.

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Almost a Miracle: The American Victory in the War of Independence

The author of this book is a university professor who teaches military history of the American Revolution. The book is well written and makes a good use of maps and illustrations. The basic premise of the book is: Britain lost the war in the North, and the Americans won the war in the South. He does a good job of backstopping that premise.

He generally follows the war chronologically prefacing each year with a chapter called choices. This is where the political enters in and the planning of campaigns as well. This is followed by a chapter covering the military aspects of that year and you see how the planning lead to events.

He has two chapters in the text of interest. One is a chapter on attitudes and statistics of everyday soldiering etc. This is a very informative chapter. Especially concerning the role of women and minorities and the fate of POW's. Make no mistake this was a brutal and savage war.

The second chapter of interest to me anyway was the one about naval operations. I am a land forces man and so was unaware of the far ranging sea fight.

His conclusion chapter is also quite good. In a sense it is what he was building up to. I think many readers will be surprised at the economic state of the Colonies before, during, and after the war. It is a miracle that the entire society did not totally collapse, so run down was the economy and currency.

This would probably be a very good textbook or casual read for those interested in the subject. The details are enough for the student and the prose and sweep will hold the casual reader. It will disappoint those who are really focused.

There is only limited coverage on the frontier wars and while he does a lot for bring to light the southern campaigns, especially of N. Greene it goes by quickly. He does downgrade the contributions of foreigners such as Steuben and Lafayette. Those inclined to that area or to issues of engineering and mapmaking will be better served by reading The Continental Army by Robert K Wright.

There are excellent sources in the back organized by subject to further your reading on a specific topic. However they are not listed out but lumped together in paragraph format by topic which makes their retrieval diificult.

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Almost a Miracle

I have read a lot of book on the Revolution but John Ferling has done such a fantastic of job of not only discribing the battles and the different commanders he does a great job of showing both side of the political struggle both in American and with North in England. He does it in a short but very accruate manner that a lot of aurthor miss. This book should be mandatory reading for all 9th grade student in the U.S. History studies. I kown my grandchildren will read it.

Good but where's the rest of it??