Washington's Crossing (Pivotal Moments in American History) (Paperback)

The author does spend a good deal of time writing about what the common soldiers of both armies were suffering through but he does it in such a way that it only adds flavor to the bigger story he is telling. One gets a real feel for the miseries of the night marches through mud, ice, snow and rain with inadequate shoes and clothing. As the story unfolds one has to wonder how the men of either army managed to survive the weather, let alone combat. The author also tells of the infamous treatment suffered by the civilian population of New Jersey at the hands of British and German troops. This behavior turned a fairly docile population into angry patriots and this contributed mightily to the success of later American efforts.

Throughout most of this book Professor Fischer is very kind to George Washington and in the case of the disaster at New York perhaps too kind. On the whole though the author offers what seems to be a very credible picture of Washington the general and the trials he faced. In the modern age of instant communications it is hard to imagine that in 1776 Americans from different states had little in common except language and sometimes not even that. Washington faced a difficult task in fusing this disjointed group into an American Army but he did it and Fischer explains how. The author also clearly shows how Washington and his lieutenants learned from their mistakes and grew into their roles. The lessons learned in this campaign by Nathaniel Greene would become very important as the war wore on. It would also turn out to be very important that Lord Cornwallis failed to learn much at all from his Jersey experiences.

Most important of all however is that the American cause that was about to collapse in mid December 1776 was on the offensive by the following spring. The thesis of this book is that the campaigns that started with "Washington's Crossing" were a turning point in American history and the author makes a very compelling argument for his thesis. The campaigns of the winter of 1776-77 are not often given the credit they deserve in deciding the outcome of the American Revolution, an error I have been guilty of myself. Reading this extremely informative, well-written and thoroughly researched book has made a believer of me and hopefully it will influence generations of historians yet to come.

The author David Fischer is a highly regarded American historian and a well known author with a number of other popular books published. The present book is part of a series "Pivotal Moments in American History", and the present book concentrates on the important and perhaps pivotal winter of 1776 when after The Declaration of Independence the American forces suffered a series of military defeats in three colonies and they faced a possible dissolution of the army under Washington. The actions described in the book were important in maintaing the momentum of the revolution that continued for another six years.

I have just finished reading His Excellency George Washington by Joseph Ellis and I would - in addition to the present book - highly recommend that book. It gives a broad 50 year view of the build up to the revolution starting from approximately 1752 and continuing to around 1800. Ellis is a Pulitzer Prize winner and it is superbly written, simply a beautiful book. In any case I was interested in reading more about the struggles.

The author has put together a fine book here almost 600 pages long (564) that covers the story in much detail in 420 pages and then has a lengthy reference section at the back of the book. The war went on for almost seven years so this book is on one brief but important moment in that war - December 1776.

The book concentrates on the New York and the New Jersey actions around and during December 1776 time frame, but mostly on New Jersey. In the book the author provides a lot of background information on the citizens, the troops, how the armies functioned, tactics, battles, etc and their military leaders.

As a bonus, in addition to all the reference materials at the back, are the many pictures, paintings, and maps including some that show troop movements in different battles. These photos and other pictures are in black and white. These graphics and photographs fill in many details and give the book some life. All in all a beautiful job by the author.

Highly recommend.

They "dashed out their brains with their muskets and ran them through with their bayonets, made them like sieves." As American soldiers lay dying, their bodies were plundered with great violence. American prisoners, when taken, were housed in appalling conditions of cruelty, suffering and starvation. Most died. As one victorious officer pointed out, "Wherever our armies have marched, wherever they have been encamped during the last campaign, every species of barbarity has been executed. We planted an irrevocable hatred wherever we went, which neither time nor measures will be able to eradicate."

The victorious troops were British and Hessian, fighting American rebels. By December 1776, General Washington had lost 90 percent of the men who were in his army during the previous summer. British commanders were moving hard, fast and decisively, defeating the Americans in battle after after. Had colonists dug in to fight, the rebellion would have ended in one quick charge by "the thin red line."

Instead, Washington kept running. At least one spy in his headquarters kept the English fully up-to-date. By any reasonable standard, the rebellion was over. The Hessians, by any standard the best troops in the world, settled in comfortably at Trenton for the winter. They had fought hard, won much, deserved a rest and expected to be going home soon. The Revolution was all but lost.

Instead, during a howling nor'easter storm, Washington led the tattered remnants of his shattered army across the Delaware River. This time, when the smoke cleared at Trenton on Christmas Day, nearly a thousand Hessians were either dead or prisoners. Instead of revenge, Washington issued orders that the Hessians "were innocent people in this war, and were not volunteers, but forced into this war." He ordered them to be treated as friends.

In 12 weeks after Trenton, Washington won battle after skirmish after skirmish. He wrecked the British plans for a quick end to the war, and revived the forlorn hopes of the rebels. Washington went on to lose battle after battle, but Americans never again lost hope. Eventually, English politicians got tired of the American quagmire and quit.

Washington's policy reflected the attitude of the Continental Congress. As John Adams explained, "I know of no policy, God is my witness, but this -- Piety, Humanity and Honesty are the Best Policy. Blasphemy, Cruelty and Villainy have prevailed and may again. But they won't prevail against America, in this contest, because I find the more of them are employed, the less they succeed."

How effective was it? Well, almost 14,000 Hessians survived the war in America. Of these, almost 3,200 chose to stay in America. Others went home to Hesse to persuade their entire families to emigrate to America.

The book expresses more than the marching and counter-marching we expect of military campaign books. Fischer describes the attitudes which made the Revolution a success and attracted the admiration, support and envy of the world, including many in England and Germany. It is no accident America became a shining example to people everywhere looking for freedom. It began, not with "shock and awe," but with kindness and humility.

It's an outstanding book. Americans invented an entirely new way of war, based on "the policy of humanity" which gave an entirely new meaning to the Revolution. The Battle of Trenton was a pivotal event, but the real diference was in humanitarin policies instead of punitive military revenge.