Author: Charles River Editors
Narrator: Ross Jenkins
Unabridged: 2 hr 57 min
Format: Digital Audiobook
Publisher: Findaway Voices
Published: 07/21/2023
Genre: History - United States - Revolutionary Period (1775-1800)
At the end of 1776, the American war effort was on the verge of collapse, and despite Washington’s success at Trenton, the British were confident that they could quell the rebellion in 1777. That winter, the British planned a complicated campaign in which British armies from Canada and New York would strike out across New England and link up, with the goal of cutting off the Northern colonies. Indeed, 1777 did prove to be the pivotal year of the war, but not in the way the British intended.
In December 1776, Benjamin Franklin was sent by Congress to France to attempt to secure a critically needed alliance. Franklin was an ideal choice for Enlightened France, which revered Franklin for his scientific accomplishments and his known reputation as a brilliant man. Franklin had also been a diplomat before the Revolution, spending several years in London on behalf of the colonies. However, the French refused to provide more than arms and money throughout 1777, until they learned in December 1777 about Saratoga and Burgoyne’s surrender. With that news, French King Louis XVI entered into a formal military alliance with the United States, and in February 1778, France joined the war.
Yorktown was a former tobacco trading post now in decline, not much bigger than a large village. But Yorktown was tucked away on the northern edge of the York peninsula in rural Virginia, and in 1781 it became the site of a brief siege between two small armies, fought with all the decorum and formality of 18th century European warfare. As he made his dispositions at Yorktown in September 1781, he had every reason to expect another British success. The ensuing siege panned out rather differently. On October 19, 1781, for just the second time during the war (the other at Saratoga), an entire British field army surrendered to the rebel patriots.
In 1790, Moses Seixas of the Touro Synagogue wrote a letter to President Washington. Representing a people who had been escaping persecution for generations, he wanted confirmation that Jews would be given full freedom in the United States. Washingt...
These infamous words closed the impassioned speech Patrick Henry delivered at the Second Virginia Convention in 1775. With this speech, he persuaded the convention to mobilize troops to defend Virginia against the British. No official transcription ...
Before George Washington was president, he was a great general. He understood not only how to lead men into battle, but also how to keep them fighting when things became bleak. After the brutal Battle of Long Island, Washington wrote to the presiden...
George Washington gained a reputation for military excellence for his service in the French and Indian War. This experience, combined with his unique situation as a relative outsider, made him an obvious choice to lead the Continental Army. Washingt...
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As the Revolutionary War came to an end, Congress had failed to pay many of its soldiers. In response, a group of officers from the Continental Army planned a mutiny. When they met to discuss their plans, George Washington arrived on the scene to ha...
After the Treaty of Paris officially ended the Revolutionary War, Washington resigned from his position as leader of the Continental Army. By the end of the war, Washington held enough power and influence to establish himself as king or even dictato...
The act of dedicating a time to be thankful preceded the Thanksgiving holiday. It even preceded what most think of as the “First Thanksgiving” in Plymouth. This act became an official holiday only after a committee introduced a resolutio...