American Revolution 100

The American Revolution 100 brings you to the charred battlefields and inside the maneuverings of the greatest leaders of the war that gave birth to America. In comprehensive fashion, it explains, analyzes, and ranks the war's most significant events, leaders, and battles according to their importance. Celebrated veteran and military expert Michael Lee Lanning introduces the war's various causes and primary players. The 100 ranked entries that follow include bloody battles, outspoken politicians, military heroes, causes of the conflict, and monumental events. The War of Independence pitted king against colonialist, monarchy against democracy, where men risked execution for treason to bring to life the model government that would inspire a world. The American Revolution 100 brings to life its battles, people, and events, including maps and illustrations. 100 of the great names and historic events of the war that gave birth to America, ranked by a decorated military veteran and author. Beginning with Lexington and ending with Yorktown, The American Revolution 100 brings to life the defining moments, battles, people, and leaders who gave birth to a great democratic nation. In comprehensive fashion, celebrated veteran and military expert Michael Lee Lanning ranks and analyzes the war's most significant events, showing how each influenced the outcome. Relive the memorable battles, when a country of citizen-farmers prepared themselves to take on the mightiest army in the world. Learn about the influential figures and forces of the time - from George Washington, the Continental Army, and Benjamin Franklin to William Howe, the Hessians, and George III. Included too are the parts played by America's nascent navy, Tom Paine's Common Sense, the participation of African and Native Americans, the British parliament and army, and much more. Among the entries are: ROBERT MORRIS Morris, the brain behind the Revolution's finances and the inventor of the dollar sign, died with barely a penny to his name. TRENTON, NEW JERSEY, DECEMBER 26, 1776 After a long series of defeats, support for the rebel army was drying up. Washington's victory at Trenton reignited the patriotic cause and saved the revolution. HENRY KNOX Henry Knox drove 55 cannons 300 miles to Boston, on poor roads and through heavy snows and miserable cold. When the cannons were finally positioned over the city, the British were forced to evacuate. AMERICAN ALLIES The French invented a fake firm named Hortalez & Cie, which supplied 90 percent of the gunpowder used by the rebels. COMMON SENSE AND THE CRISIS George Washington was so impressed by Thomas Payne's The Crisis that he had it read to all his soldiers before crossing the Delaware River. AMERICAN MILITIAS George Washington called militiamen "exceedingly dirty and nasty people" and a Continental Army officer recalled, "it was easier to raise the dead than a militia company." MONMOUTH, NEW JERSEY, JUNE 28, 1778 According to legend, Mary Hayes took her husband's place as a cannon crewmember after he was wounded. Her story inspired revolutionaries across the country. THOMAS SUMTER, AMERICAN GENERAL AND PARTISAN Sumter recruited his soldiers with promises that their pay would be "all that they could plunder from the Loyalists."