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Phillip S. Greenwalt

“An Army of skeletons appeared before our eyes naked, starved, sick and discouraged.” Gouverneur Morris recorded these words in his report to the Continental Congress after a visit to the Continental Army encampment at Valley Forge. Sent as part of a fact-finding mission, Morris and his fellow congressmen arrived to conditions far worse than they had initially expected. After a campaigning season that saw the defeat at Brandywine, the loss of Philadelphia, the capital of the rebellious British North American colonies, and the reversal at Germantown, George Washington and his harried army marched into Valley Forge on December 19, 1777. What transpired in the next six months prior to the departure from the winter cantonment on June 19, 1778 was truly remarkable. The stoic Virginian, George Washington solidified his hold on the army and endured political intrigue, the quartermaster department was revived with new leadership from a former Rhode Island Quaker, and a German baron trained the army in the rudiments of being a soldier and military maneuvers. Valley Forge conjures up images of cold, desperation, and starvation. Yet Valley Forge also became the winter of transformation and improvement that set the Continental Army on the path to military victory and the fledgling nation on the path to independence. In The Winter that Won the War: The Winter Encampment at Valley Forge, 1777-1778, historian Phillip S. Greenwalt takes the reader on campaign in the year 1777 and through the winter encampment, detailing the various changes that took place within Valley Forge that ultimately led to the success of the American cause. Walk with the author through 1777 and into 1778 and see how these months truly were the winter that won the war.

Savas Beatie

Emerging Revolutionary War Series

The Winter that Won the War: The Winter Encampment at Valley Forge, 1777–1778

William R. Griffith

Place yourself in the boots of the Continental Army and the British forces as they march towards a pivotal Revolutionary War battle.

June 1778 was a tumultuous month in the annals of American military history. Somehow, General George Washington and the Continental Army were able to survive a string of defeats around Philadelphia in 1777 and a desperate winter at Valley Forge. As winter turned to spring, and spring turned to summer, the army—newly trained by Baron von Steuben and in high spirits thanks to France’s intervention into the conflict—marched out of Valley Forge in pursuit of Henry Clinton’s British Army making its way across New Jersey for New York City.

What would happen next was not an easy decision for Washington to make. Should he attack the British column? And if so, how? “People expect something from us and our strength demands it, ” Gen. Nathanael Greene pressed his chieftain. Against the advice of many of his subordinates, Washington ordered the army to aggressively pursue the British and not allow the enemy to escape to New York City without a fight.

On June 28, 1778, the vanguard of the Continental Army under Maj. Gen. Charles Lee engaged Clinton’s rearguard near the small village of Monmouth Court House. Lee’s over-cautiousness prevailed and the Americans were ordered to hasty retreat. Only the arrival of Washington and the main body of the army saved the Americans from disaster. By the end of the day, they held the field as the British continued their march to Sandy Hook and New York City.

In A Handsome Flogging: The Battle of Monmouth, June 28, 1778, historian William Griffith retells the story of what many historians have dubbed the “battle that made the American army, ” and takes you along the routes trekked by both armies on their marches toward destiny. Follow in the footsteps of heroes (and a heroine) who, on a hot summer day, met in desperate struggle in the woods and farm fields around Monmouth Court House.

A Handsome Flogging: The Battle of Monmouth, June 28, 1778

Robert Orrison

A concise history of the “shot heard round the world”—and the dramatic day that began America’s war for independence. Includes maps and photos.

When shots were fired at Lexington and Concord on a spring day in 1775, few, if any, fully grasped the impact they would ultimately have on the world.

This concise book offers not only a guide to the historical sites involved but a lively, readable history of the events, a culmination of years of unrest between those loyal to the British monarchy and those advocating for more autonomy and dreaming of independence from Great Britain. On the morning of April 19, Gen. Thomas Gage sent out a force of British soldiers under the command of Lt. Col. Francis Smith to confiscate, recapture, and destroy the military supplies gathered by the colonists and believed to be stored in the town of Concord. Due to the alacrity of men such as Dr. Joseph Warren, Paul Revere, and William Dawes, utilizing a network of signals and outriders, the countryside was well aware of the approaching British—setting the stage for the day’s events.

From two historians, this is an outstanding introduction to a momentous battle, and the events that led up to it.

A Single Blow: The Battles of Lexington and Concord and the Beginning of the American Revolution April 19, 1775

Mark Maloy

An overview of the military actions and battlefields of three consecutive engagements during the “ten crucial days” of the American Revolution.

December 1776: Just six months after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, George Washington and the new American Army sit on the verge of utter destruction by the banks of the Delaware River. The despondent and demoralized group of men had endured repeated defeats and now were on the edge of giving up hope. Washington feared “the game is pretty near up.”

Rather than submit to defeat, Washington and his small band of soldiers crossed the ice-choked Delaware River and attacked the Hessian garrison at Trenton, New Jersey, on the day after Christmas. He followed up the surprise attack with successful actions along the Assunpink Creek and at Princeton. In a stunning military campaign, Washington had turned the tables, and breathed life into the dying cause for liberty during the Revolutionary War.

The campaign has led many historians to deem it as one of the most significant military campaigns in American history. One British historian even declared that “it may be doubted whether so small a number of men ever employed so short a space of time with greater or more lasting results upon the history of the world.”

In Victory or Death, historian Mark Maloy not only recounts these epic events, he also takes you along to the places where they occurred. He shows where Washington stood on the banks of the Delaware and contemplated defeat, the city streets that his exhausted men charged through, and the open fields where Washington himself rode into the thick of battle. Victory or Death is a must for anyone interested in learning how George Washington and his brave soldiers grasped victory from the jaws of defeat.

“Maloy faithfully recreates the patriotic story of Washington’s crossing and brings the events of this period to life. The inclusion of the travel guide with turn-by-turn directions and photographs of what the places look like today makes the story more tangible and gives readers the ability to follow and walk in the footsteps of the Continental Army.” —Michael Britt, ON POINT Magazine