Why the American Revolution was 'Almost a Miracle'
The American victory was achieved by the narrowest of margins, argues a historian.
from the July 3, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 3
The famous battles (Bunker Hill, Yorktown) and familiar names (Paul Revere, John Paul Jones) are all in "Almost a Miracle." (The book's title comes from Washington's own description of the war.) But Ferling brings something new – a sense of the intense struggles, the multiple turning points, and the vital roles played by overcaution (frequently disastrous) and audacity (frequently decisive).
In his richly detailed battle-by-battle account of the war, Ferling succeeds where other military histories fail by providing helpful background for those who don't know their flanks from their feints. He also brings the military leaders to life, exploring their backgrounds, their dispositions, their willingness to take risks.
Some are eccentric, like the top general who preferred the company of his entourage of dogs to people and claimed to speak the "language of dogissm."
Other officers are impetuous, including the French general Marquis de Lafayette. He was just 20 years old when he arrived to help Washington but soon won his way into the commander's heart through "verve, daring and sycophancy." (Some 125 years later, the general's name would be beautifully invoked – "Lafayette, we are here!" – by a military officer on French soil during World War I.)
The most important general of all, of course, is named Washington, and here – for once – he doesn't seem about as wooden as his legendary teeth.
In "Almost a Miracle," the picture is fuller: Washington comes across as cranky and misguided, prone to military blunders and indifferent to both the fate of slaves and the strict class structure that preserved a mammoth gulf between troops and their officers.
Yet Washington had a fine intelligence and a rare ability to inspire, lead and – crucially – escape blame for failures.
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