The First American Army

October 3, 2005
In this novelistic treatment of the Revolutionary War, Chadwick (George Washington's War, Brother Against Brother) uses the experiences of eight men to give the reader a "bottom up" look at the war. Drawing on their letters and diaries, he follows them through their years in and out of the war, from the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775 to the American victory at Yorktown in 1781. Although the horrors of battle are a main focus of their writings, everyday activities and concerns-romance, food, clothing, leisure and friendship-reveal much about these early Americans' lives. Readers will find little academic analysis of the subjects; except for a few expansive chapter introductions, Chadwick keeps standard history writing to a minimum. Instead, he focuses on these men's day-to-day and writes in lively prose, although some accounts push the limits of reconstruction and read like fiction. Readers unfamiliar with the history of the revolutionary war may find themselves lost in the rapid shuffling between campaigns, battles and locations, but the stories of individual soldiers, doctors and ministers are strong enough to carry casual readers as well as those accustomed to academic histories.

November 7, 2005
In this novelistic treatment of the Revolutionary War, Chadwick (George Washington's War, Brother Against Brother) uses the experiences of eight men to give the reader a "bottom up" look at the war. Drawing on their letters and diaries, he follows them through their years in and out of the war, from the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775 to the American victory at Yorktown in 1781. Although the horrors of battle are a main focus of their writings, everyday activities and concerns-romance, food, clothing, leisure and friendship-reveal much about these early Americans' lives. Readers will find little academic analysis of the subjects; except for a few expansive chapter introductions, Chadwick keeps standard history writing to a minimum. Instead, he focuses on these men's day-to-day and writes in lively prose, although some accounts push the limits of reconstruction and read like fiction. Readers unfamiliar with the history of the revolutionary war may find themselves lost in the rapid shuffling between campaigns, battles and locations, but the stories of individual soldiers, doctors and ministers are strong enough to carry casual readers as well as those accustomed to academic histories.

Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2005
What was it like to be an American soldier at the battles of Bunker Hill, Quebec, Saratoga, and Monmouth? Historian Chadwick's well-crafted narrative of the Continental Army tells the tale through several journals and memoirs. History readers wanting a break from reading generals' biographies will be interested in meeting Chadwick's enlisted men, beginning with fifer John Greenwood, a Johnny Tremain-like 15-year-old who was present at Bunker Hill, much to his mother's distress. Another teenager, Jeremiah Greenman, marched in the disastrous 1775-76 invasion of Canada led by then-hero Benedict Arnold. The smallpox-ravaged survivors of that campaign retreated to the Lake Champlain-Lake George area to have their souls saved by Reverend Ammi Robbins, and their bodies salved by Dr. Lewis Beebe. The latter two exemplify the author's emphasis on the civilian support that sustained the Continental Army, which was not a static organization but one that men were continually joining and leaving. Chadwick makes palpable the day-to-day hardships and intermittent distractions of army life during the Revolutionary War.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)