The best books on the Continental Army

Stories of the American Revolution were first communicated by word of mouth, and these folkloric renditions, infinitely malleable, provided fertile ground for the invention of history: “One if by land, two if by sea.” “Do not fire till you see the whites of their eyes.” “Give me liberty or give me death!” We know the litany well, but such tales reflect the romantic individualism of the Nineteenth Century, when they were popularized in children’s books, and they sell our country short. Founding Myths reveals a deeper, richer national heritage. “Government has devolved upon the people,” wrote one disgruntled Tory in 1774, “and they seem to be for using it.” Yes, indeed. That’s a story we do not have to conjure, and what an epic it is.

Winter, 1777. After the American victories at Trenton and Princeton, the British have withdrawn to a handful of overcrowded positions in Northeastern New Jersey. In order to feed their men and horses the British must venture into the countryside to seize supplies, but the Continental troops and Jersey Militia challenge every British foray. One British officer describes the experience of walking into an American ambush as stumbling into “a nest of hornets.” Gideon Hawke and Ruth Munroe find themselves in the middle of this fighting. Not only must they battle the British, but it appears someone in the American camp is feeding information to the enemy. Will they find the spy before his efforts cost Gideon and his men their lives?

Winter, 1777. After the American victories at Trenton and Princeton, the British have withdrawn to a handful of overcrowded positions in Northeastern New Jersey. In order to feed their men and horses the British must venture into the countryside to seize supplies, but the Continental troops and Jersey Militia challenge every British foray. One British officer describes the experience of walking into an American ambush as stumbling into “a nest of hornets.” Gideon Hawke and Ruth Munroe find themselves in the middle of this fighting. Not only must they battle the British, but it appears someone in the American camp is feeding information to the enemy. Will they find the spy before his efforts cost Gideon and his men their lives?

The wild and suspenseful story of one of the most crucial and least known campaigns of the Revolutionary War when America's scrappy navy took on the full might of Britain's sea power.

During the summer of 1776, a British incursion from Canada loomed. In response, citizen soldiers of the newly independent nation mounted a heroic defense. Patriots constructed a small fleet of gunboats on Lake Champlain in northern New York and confronted the Royal Navy in a desperate three-day battle near Valcour Island. Their effort surprised the arrogant British and forced the enemy to call off their invasion. Jack Kelly's Valcour is a story of people. The northern campaign of 1776 was led by the underrated general Philip Schuyler (Hamilton's father-in-law), the ambitious former British officer Horatio Gates, and the notorious Benedict Arnold. An experienced sea captain, Arnold devised a brilliant strategy that confounded his slow-witted opponents.

In 1778, war is men's business. That doesn't stop Anna Stone from getting involved in the fight for liberty. When her soldier husband and brothers face starvation at Valley Forge, Anna is not content to pray and worry. She gets on her horse and strikes out alone over two hundred miles of rough roads to bring them life-sustaining supplies.

Eighty miles from her destination, Anna learns of a plot to overthrow General Washington and replace him with a commander who will surrender. With the fate of the American Revolution in her hands, she agrees to carry a message of warning and races to reach Valley Forge before one of the conspirators, who is in hot pursuit, can intercept her. Based on events in the life of the author's 6x great-grandmother.

Winter, 1777. After the American victories at Trenton and Princeton, the British have withdrawn to a handful of overcrowded positions in Northeastern New Jersey. In order to feed their men and horses the British must venture into the countryside to seize supplies, but the Continental troops and Jersey Militia challenge every British foray. One British officer describes the experience of walking into an American ambush as stumbling into “a nest of hornets.” Gideon Hawke and Ruth Munroe find themselves in the middle of this fighting. Not only must they battle the British, but it appears someone in the American camp is feeding information to the enemy. Will they find the spy before his efforts cost Gideon and his men their lives?

Patricia Kelley has been raised a proper British lady--but she's become a stowaway. Her father is dead, and her future in peril. To claim the estate that is rightfully hers, she must travel across the seas to Barbados, hidden in the belly of a merchant ship.

The plan works—for a time. Patricia's secret is revealed, and she is torn between two worlds. During the day, she wears petticoats, inhabits the dignified realm of ship's officers, and trains as a surgeon's mate; at night she dons pants and climbs the rigging. And it is there, alongside boson's mate Brian Dalton, that she feels stunningly alive. In this mesmerizing novel of daring, adventure, tragedy, and romance, Patricia must cross the threshold between night and day, lady and surgeon, and even woman and man.

A Crisis of Peace tells the story of a pivotal episode of George Washington's leadership and reveals how the American Revolution really ended: with fiscal turmoil, out-of-control conspiracy thinking, and suspicions between soldiers and civilians so strong that peace almost failed to bring true independence.

After the British surrender at Yorktown, the American Revolution blazed on—and grave problems surfaced. The government was broke. Political rivalry among the states paralyzed Congress. The army’s officers, encamped near Newburgh, New York, brooded over a civilian population indifferent to their sacrifices. The result was the so-called Newburgh Conspiracy, a mysterious event in which disgruntled Continental Army officers may have collaborated with politicians such as Alexander Hamilton to pressure Congress to approve new taxes and strengthen the central government.

The 1777 battles at Saratoga were a turning point in the American Revolution, and thus in world history. The British campaign led by John Burgoyne attempted to sever the New England states from the rest of the former British colonies by striking southward from Montreal to Albany and eventually New York City. The British force was defeated and captured at Saratoga by the American Northern Army under the command of Horatio Gates. The American victory helped secure a crucially important alliance with France.