Shots Heard Round the World: America, Britain, and Europe in the Revolutionary War

“Professor Ferling weaves the political, military, social, and economic aspects of the war seamlessly together into a highly readable narrative . . .”

This year begins America’s 250th anniversary celebration and a likely flood of new books on the Revolutionary era. Professor Ferling has written a fresh look at this conflict and the beginnings of America with this marvelous one-volume history that covers a surprising number of underserved topics.

The narrative moves at a brisk pace with the excellent research and insightful analysis Professor Ferling is known for in all his volumes. In particular, this history brings out a couple of themes not usually mentioned in Revolutionary histories. First, the colonists, like all insurgent movements throughout history, had little chance of success without outside assistance and ultimately military alliances. The role of France, Spain, and the Netherlands in providing arms, money, and other material assistance has been often overlooked in many histories. As the author notes, Washington’s army was essentially armed and clothed by overseas assistance during critical periods of the war and many of the colonists’ victories were won with French muskets and artillery in the hands of American troops.

The core of the book covers the military and political maneuvering by both sides to achieve their objectives. From the American side, they simply needed to hold on until the British decided to give up the fight, although this was much more complicated than many modern Americans realize. For the early part of the war, there was a strong reconciliationist movement that did not want to declare independence and that remained loyal to the crown. Even when independence was declared the colonists were not united in the need for a strong army and government to fight the war, giving George Washington constant challenges to man and equip his army.

The British faced equally daunting challenges. Looking at the war as a European conflict, Professor Ferling notes that Britain went to war with its colonies with no allies on the European continent and indeed faced severe challenges in Europe as France and Spain sought to use the colonial struggle for their own strategic and political ends.

Combined with an inefficient command structure and generals who seemed to be rivals more than comrades, the British missed two major opportunities to end the rebellion before foreign aid could tip the balance. First, in 1776, General William Howe scored a decisive victory against the Continental Army during the fighting around New York City and had them virtually trapped between his army and the Royal Navy on Long Island. But he did not drive home his attack, allowing Washington to evacuate his army and fight another day. 

In 1777, the British had another excellent strategic plan to move an army under General Burgoyne down the Hudson River Valley while moving General Howe’s army up the Valley from New York, cutting off New England and forcing Washington into a pitched battle that he very likely would have lost.

Both of these efforts failed, and the American victory at Saratoga finally brought the French squarely into the war, leaving the British to try a desperate “southern strategy” to salvage some victory as they came under pressure both in Europe and the Caribbean from French and eventually Spanish forces. This resulted in the decisive Battle of Yorktown, where the combination of American and French troops, combined with the timely arrival of the French Navy finally brought the victory needed to force England to negotiate America’s independence.

Two chapters also cover underserved topics, the life of the ordinary soldier and the war on the home front. The chapter on the soldiers and sailors of the war highlights the drudgery and hardship they faced even off the battlefield where disease and deprivation killed far more men than actual combat. The development of the Continental Army and the critical, but often mixed results of militia forces throughout the war contrasted with the professionalism of the British forces who were never quite numerous enough to truly extinguish the rebellion. 

The chapter on the home front showed both the brutality and economic hardship of what was essentially a civil war between Loyalists and Patriots that often ended in skirmishes and major battles between neighbors during the war. Professor Ferling also discusses the near collapse of the colonial economy due to the British blockade and the absence of so many men in the fighting. The inflation, shortages, and hardship almost caused the colonial cause to collapse right before the critical year of 1781, showing just how critical the eventual victory in Yorktown was to keep the American cause alive.

Professor Ferling weaves the political, military, social, and economic aspects of the war seamlessly together into a highly readable narrative that may become the standard one-volume history of the war.  A fine start to what will hopefully be a windfall of new histories of America’s struggle for nationhood.