Washington's Crossing

We think of the American victories at Saratoga in 1777 and Yorktown in 1781 as the decisive battles of the war (and so, in a sense, they were). But in this Pulitzer Prize winner, Fischer makes a strong case that George Washington’s surprising victories at Trenton and Princeton were just as momentous, keeping “the Cause” alive at a moment when the Continental Army was on the verge of dissolution. Fischer provides a vivid account of the flow of battle and the key decisions that gave the Americans their advantage.

A book that won the Pulitzer Prize for History will tend to be a good read, and Washington’s Crossing does not disappoint. David Hackett Fischer paints a picture of the forces and people involved, and the critical decisions that shaped the campaigns of 1776 to 1777. I leaned heavily on Washington’s Crossing when researching my novel Times That Try Men’s Souls. More importantly, Fischer’s chapter on the aftermath of the Battle of Princeton directly inspired my third book, A Nest of Hornets. Growing up in Central New Jersey I was oblivious to the drama that played out there… show more.