George Washington's Momentous Year: Twelve Months that Transformed the Revolution―Vol. 2: Valley Forge to Monmouth, January to July 1778

The second volume of George Washington’s Momentous Year picks up where Volume 1 concluded, in the wake of the Battle of Whitemarsh in early December 1777, with the British army returning to Philadelphia and French officials opening formal negotiations with American diplomats, primarily as a result of what they felt was a surprising and successful Philadelphia campaign by George Washington. Washington’s army now moved westward, across the Schuylkill River, to the most iconic encampment in American history: Valley Forge. Here the story is new and dynamic. Gary Ecelbarger’s original research revises the history of this crucial period, presenting for the first time Washington’s aggressive plan to attack Philadelphia soon after arriving at Valley Forge and the fact that the encamped army was much larger than previously understood. During this time, Washington confronted challenges to his military authority while deftly solving crises of supply and recruitment. With the aid of Baron von Steuben, he established and trained the first American professional army. Following the Valley Forge encampment, the author takes the reader with the reinvigorated Continental army as it marches across the Schuylkill and Delaware Rivers and into New Jersey to confront Sir Henry Clinton’s crown forces on their way from Philadelphia to New York City. Having ordered an advance corps of veterans to engage the British, they make contact at Monmouth Courthouse near Freehold, New Jersey. As Washington approaches the action, he confronts thousands of his troops retreating around him. In one of the most stirring events of the Revolution, Washington is able to rally his men, reclaim the battlefield and achieve a hard-fought victory. The battle gave notice to the British that the American army would be a formidable foe going forward.  This engrossing history of the most significant twelve months of the American Revolution enables the reader to understand and appreciate the astounding accomplishment of George Washington and his military aides: the simultaneous emergence of a new, capable army and a strategy that would win the War for Independence.     Read more