Jim Stempel

Review of "From Valley Forge to Monmouth: Six Transformative Months of the American Revolution" by James Holden-Rhodes

Review of From Valley to Forge to Monmouth: Six Transformative Months of the American Revolution

By:  James Holden-Rhodes

 

Great historians have the mental ability to conjure up a palette of rich colors with which to paint their story. The palette crafted by the best historians are a kaleidoscope that embrace a topic of great importance and interest, a superb sense of time and place, and, most importantly, the human element which always binds the other elements into a seamless whole.

Once again, Jim Stempel has painted a canvas that pulls the reader into an extremely important event in American History -- the Winter of 1777-1778. With superb research and supportive analysis, in From Valley Forge to Monmouth: Six Transformative Months of the American Revolution, Stempel has crafted another stellar work, often delving far deeper into events than previous historical accounts.

1777 had seen one disaster after another for the American cause, the only bright light being the British surrender at Saratoga. St. Clair had surrendered Fort Ticonderoga to the Redcoats, and British forces had landed at Head of Elk in Maryland, then proceeded to defeat the Continentals at the Battle of Brandywine. They then occupied Philadelphia, the American capital, and as the year waned, the British captured Fort Mifflin on the Delaware River.

The Battle of Bennington: There Are Your Enemies

During the afternoon hours of August 16, 1777, the skies finally cleared after two days of heavy rain over the small town of Hoosick, N.Y., just ten miles west of Bennington, Vermont. Eyeing one another across an interval of a few hundred yards, Hessian elements of the British Army under Lt. Colonel Friedrich Baum and a contingent of New Hampshire militia commanded by General John Stark checked their powder, loaded their muskets, and prepared for battle. Stark, addressing his troops while pointing directly at the Redcoats across the way, is reputed to have inspired his men by shouting, “They are ours, or this night Molly Stark sleeps a widow!” Within moments of Stark’s declaration, the Americans advanced, initiating one of the more violent and impactful engagements of the American Revolution.

The battle at Hoosick (forever after known as The Battle of Bennington) had its origin in the British high command’s decision to reevaluate their original strategic approach. The war – now two years old – was not going as the British had anticipated, thus a new strategy to subdue the colonies appeared in order. The decision was to sever New England from the other colonies by utilizing a three-pronged assault. One of the prongs would move up the Hudson River from New York City under General William Howe. A second prong would march east from Lake Ontario under the command of General Barry St. Leger. Finally, the third movement was to proceed south from Montreal under General John Burgoyne, ultimately to meet the other two forces on the Hudson River, somewhere near Albany, N. Y., effectively cutting-off New England from the other warring colonies.

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