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Author Ferling, John E., author.

Title Almost a miracle : the American victory in the War of Independence / John Ferling
Published Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2007

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Description 1 online resource (xiii, 679 pages) : illustrations, maps
Contents Introduction: "My country, my honor, my life" : bravery and death in war -- Going to war, 1775-1776. "Fear is not an American art" : the coming of the war -- "A loss that is greater than we can bear" : going to war -- Choices, 1775 -- The war in the North, 1776-1779. "Hastening fast to a crisis" : June 1775-June 1776 -- Choices, 1776 -- "Knock him up for the campaign" : the Battle for New York, 1776 -- "This hour of adversity" : to the end of 1776 -- Choices, 1777 -- "The caprice of war" : America's pivotal victory at Saratoga -- "We rallied and broke" : the Campaign for Philadelphia, September-December 1777 -- Choices, 1778 -- "A respectable army" : the grim year, 1778 -- Choices, 1779 -- "A band of brotherhood" : the soldiers, the army, and the forgotten war in 1779 -- "We have occasioned a good deal of terror" : the war at sea -- Choices, 1780 -- The war in the South, 1780-1781. "A year filled with our disgraces" : defeat in the South, 1780 -- "Southern means and Southern exertions" : hope and despair, June-December 1780 -- Choices, 1781 -- "Bloody and severe" : the pivotal Southern war, early 1781-- "We are suspended in the balance" : spring and summer 1781-- American victory, 1781-1783. "America is ours" : victory at Yorktown, 1781 -- Choices, 1782 -- "May we have peace in our time" : peace and demobilization, 1782-1783 -- "Little short of a miracle" : accounting for America's victory
Summary "In this gripping chronicle of America's struggle for independence, award-winning historian John Ferling transports readers to the grim realities of that war, capturing an eight-year conflict filled with heroism, suffering, cowardice, betrayal, and fierce dedication. As Ferling demonstrates, it was a war that America came much closer to losing than is now usually remembered. General George Washington put it best when he said that the American victory was "little short of a standing miracle."Almost a Miracle offers an illuminating portrait of America's triumph, offering vivid descriptions of all the major engagements, from the first shots fired on Lexington Green to the surrender of General Cornwallis at Yorktown, revealing how these battles often hinged on intangibles such as leadership under fire, heroism, good fortune, blunders, tenacity, and surprise. Ferling paints sharp-eyed portraits of the key figures in the war, including General Washington and other American officers and civilian leaders. Some do not always measure up to their iconic reputations, including Washington himself. The book also examines the many faceless men who soldiered, often for years on end, braving untold dangers and enduring abounding miseries. The author explains why they served and sacrificed, and sees them as the forgotten heroes who won American independence."-- ProQuest Ebook Central resource page, viewed January 20, 2023
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 653-661) and index
Notes Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002. http://purl.oclc.org/DLF/benchrepro0212 MiAaHDL
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digitized 2010 HathiTrust Digital Library committed to preserve pda MiAaHDL
Subject United States. Continental Army -- Biography
United States. Continental Army -- Military life
SUBJECT United States. Continental Army fast
Subject Generals -- United States -- Biography
Soldiers -- United States -- History -- 18th century
HISTORY.
Military campaigns
Armed Forces -- Military life
Generals
Politics and government
Soldiers
Amerikaanse Vrijheidsoorlog.
Militaire strategie.
Krijgsmacht.
SUBJECT United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Campaigns. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85140147
United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Biography. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85140143
United States -- Politics and government -- 1775-1783. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85140413
Subject United States
Verenigde Staten.
Genre/Form Electronic books
Biographies
History
Biographies.
Biographies.
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9780198040057
0198040059
1281162469
9781281162465
9781429491686
142949168X
9786611162467
6611162461