简介
Six months after the Declaration of Independence, the American Revolution was all but lost. A powerful British force had routed the Americans at New York, occupied three colonies, and advanced within sight of Philadelphia. George Washington lost 90 percent of his army and was driven across the Delaware River. Panic and despair spread through the states. Yet, as David Hackett Fischer recounts in this riveting history, Washington - and many other Americans - refused to let the Revolution die. Even as the British and Germans spread their troops across New Jersey, the people of the colony began to rise against them. George Washington saw his opportunity and seized it. On Christmas night, as a howling nor'easter struck the Delaware Valley, he led his men across the river and attacked the exhausted Hessian garrison at Trenton, killing or capturing nearly a thousand men. A second battle of Trenton followed within days. The Americans held off a counterattack by Lord Cornwallis's best troops
, then were almost trapped by the British force. Under cover of night, Washington's men stole behind the enemy and struck them again, defeating a brigade at Princeton. The British were badly shaken. In twelve weeks of winter fighting, their army suffered severe damage, their hold on New Jersey was broken, and their strategy was ruined. Fischer's richly textured narrative reveals the crucial role of contingency in these events. We see how the campaign unfolded in a sequence of difficult choices by many actors, from generals to civilians, on both sides. While British and German forces remained rigid and hierarchical, Americans evolved an open and flexible system that was fundamental to their success. At the same time, they developed an American ethic of warfare that John Adams called "the policy of humanity," and showed that moral victories could have powerful material effects. The startling victories of Washington and his compatriots not only saved the faltering American Revolution, but
helped to give it new meaning, in a pivotal moment for American history. - Dust jacket.
目录
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
The Painting
THREE ARMIES IN AMERICA
Rebels in Arms
Regulars
Hessians
A CATARACT OF DISASTER
Planning the Campaign
The Fall of New York
The Retreat
THE PIVOT POINT
The Crisis
The Occupation
The Opportunity
THE CROSSING
The River
The March
The Surprise
RISKING IT ALL
Hard Choices
Good Ground
The Bridge
THE BOLDEST STROKE
Two Councils
The Victory
The Aftermath
CONCLUSION
Consequences
A New Way of War
A Policy of Humanity
EPILOGUE
MEMORIES OF THE EVENT
Images and Interpretations
Contemporaries
The New Republicans
The Romantic Historians
Whigs and Liberals
A Tory Perspective
Nationalists and Fiiopietists
Debunkers
Conservative Interpretations
Karl Marx Crosses the Delaware
Douglas Southall Freeman and the Study of leadership
Military History
Popular Historians
Academic Historiography
An Age of Anxiety
Debunkers and Iconoclasts
Multiculturalism
The Revival of Patriotism
Crosscurrents
APPENDICES
A. Strength Estimates of American Forces, July 27, 1776-March 15, 1777.
B. Strength Estimates of British and Hessian Forces, August 27, 1776-January 8, 1777
C. Women of the Armies
D. American Order of Battle, New York, ca. August 24, 1776
E. British and German Order of Battle, New York, August 22, 1776
F. American Order of Battle, December 22, 1776
G. British Dispositions in New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island, December 25, 1776
H. The Hessian Garrison at Trenton, December 25, 1776
I. The Delaware Ferries in 1776
J. Ice Conditions on the Delaware River
K. Weather Records in the Delaware Valley: Phineas Pemberton's Diary, 1776-77
L. The American March on Trenton, December 26, 1776: Distance and Time
M. Artillery and Infantry: Ratios in British, Hessian and American Armies
N. Casualties: The First Battle of Trenton, December 26, 1776
O. American Order of Battle, Trenton, January 1-2, 1777
P. British and Hessian Order of March from Princeton, January 2, 1777
Q. Casualties: The Second Battle of Trenton, January 2, 1777
R. Casualties: The Battle of Princeton, January 3, 1777
S. The Forage War: Engagements and Casualties, January 4 to March 30, 1777
T. Total British and German Casualties in the New Jersey Campaign
U. Deaths From All Causes
V. New Jersey Nomenclature
W. Doubtful Documents
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary Materials
American Accounts
British Accounts
Hessian Accounts
Secondary Materials
General Histories
Monographs
Biographies and Local Histories
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Library of Congress Subject Headings for this publication: Delaware River Valley (N, Y, -Del, and N, J, ) History Revolution, 1775-1783, Washington, George, 1732-1799 Headquarters Pennsylvania Valley Forge
- 名称
- 类型
- 大小
光盘服务联系方式: 020-38250260 客服QQ：4006604884
云图客服：
用户发送的提问，这种方式就需要有位在线客服来回答用户的问题，这种 就属于对话式的,问题是这种提问是否需要用户登录才能提问
Video Player
×
Audio Player
×
pdf Player
×
