Summary Of Revolutionary Summer: The Birth Of American Independence By Joseph J. Ellis

Revolutionary Summer: The Birth of American Independence by Joseph J. Ellis covers the months leading up to the birth of the United States. Covering controversial moments, Ellis gives a slightly biased view of the American Revolution but remains true to the word of key military and political figures. In 1776, British forces landed on the shores of the colonies to break up the rebellion after a series of clashing events. Bunker Hill was a “bloodbath” with a loss of over 1000 British troops. Furious, the Empire retaliated with a stiff arm to American trading (Ellis, 2013, p. 3). Ellis depicts the anger of both forces with realism as the American troops formed the Continental Army. Though Ellis is blunt with criticism, Revolutionary Summer is …show more content…
Throughout Chapter 8, Ellis covers Howe’s plans to catch the Americans on their way to Manhattan from Long Island. After suffering losses on Long Island, and nearly being wiped out near Brooklyn, Washington retreated back to Manhattan in attempt to save his men. Using the cloak of thick fog and row boats, Washington led his men away from Howe’s attack force. Ellis writes about Howe’s motives and how “the final stragglers in the Continental Army reached the safety of the hills at White Plains on October 24th, at last out of the trap” (Ellis, 2013, p. 205). I thoroughly enjoyed how critical Ellis is of the British army near the end of the revolution. “True to form” he writes, “William Howe waited four more days to launch an attack on White Plains, enough time for Washington to prepare his defenses” (Ellis, 2013, pg. 205). This line essentially stated that procrastination was why British forces lost the battle. Calling attention to his men, Washington proclaimed that “the embodiment of ‘The Cause’ for eight long years” was basically an “essential ingredient in the ultimate American triumph” (Ellis, 2013, pg.