by Donald Barr Chidsey (Author)
A vividly exciting, on-the-scene account of the most crucial winter of the American Revolution.
You accompany the ragged, hungry American troops as they leave Philadelphia to spend the winter at Valley Forge. You struggle up the hill, help clear the underbrush, and fell the trees to build huts and fortifications. You endure the cold and the hunger, the sickness and the boredom, the lack of the most rudimentary conveniences, and you marvel at the spirit that keeps your fellow Americans from deserting.
In contrast, you see the relative luxury of the circumstances enjoyed by the British troops in Philadelphia.
Then you see the start of the moves that will ultimately result in victory: the near disruption of the British fleet at Philadelphia by the world's first submarine and floating mines; experienced foreign officers joining the American cause; the drilling of troops for effective combat, and the declaration of war by France. Finally, you share in the long awaited triumph when camp is disbanded and the American army chases the British across New Jersey.