Category: History Publisher: Heritage Books Inc.
ISBN-10: 078840962
Type: Non-Fiction
Pages: 305
Copyright: Aug 1 1998
The focus of this book is the revolutionary role of the two Chesapeake colonies, Virginia and Maryland, in the winning of America's independence.
By the time the American colonies announced their independence in 1776, Chesapeake Bay, "a colonial avenue of trade, had become an avenue of war," wrote Jean B. Lee. That avenue led to a new nation.
The communities along the Chesapeake and the many tributaries that crisscross Virginia and Maryland were under constant threat from the British during the Revolutionary War, beginning in 1775 with their assault on the small Virginia town of Hampton and devastating bombardment of Norfolk, through the naval conflicts and blockades, pillaging raids and burnings of shipyards, warehouses, homes and farms, the slaughter of families as well as livestock, from the banks of the James to Baltimore and Maryland's Eastern Shore, until the Battle of the Capes and the Yorktown victory that won America's nationhood. And still, even after the armistice in 1783, the fighting and the dying continued in the Battle of the Barges, said to be the bloodiest naval battle on the bay during the war.
This story begins in 1763, the year that Great Britain ended the French and Indian War and began the American Revolution, and ends with the signing of the final peace treaty in 1783.
Excerpt
The small Virginia port town lay exposed to the hostile warships patrolling the lower Chesapeake. The townspeople had sunk several small vessels in the channel of their shallow river to block an attack from the bay. On the morning of October 14, 1775, cannons signaled the approach of a heavily armed British schooner, a sloop, and three tenders carrying marines. Under orders from Lord Dunmore, Virginia's royal governor, the British commander threatened to burn the town. That threat was prologue to the first naval engagement of the Revolutionary War.
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Reviews for "Guns on the Chesapeake: The Winning of America's Independence"
I'm not playing into "your vanity" or anything: I really am an addict when it comes to this niche of history. IF, that's a big one, IF, it is written really well, almost dramatically. I think you may be that writer. But, why doesn't your publisher offer more excerpts to read? I just went there and the pages are minimal. Perhaps Amazon does, we'll see.
So which of your 2 best will I want someday, this one or "Sea & Skies"?
I'm not sure yet. Which one quotes Shakespeare a lot? I love that. I did that throughout the last half of "The Last Renaissance Man" - It is such a fine thing to those of us who read "the bard" and it fits the time period. I'd say this one has the superb telling of the many sea battles that shaped our 1st War but often go unaccounted in the more comprehensive major publisher histories, those see to concentrate on Washington's struggle. Great full period coverage here: 1763-1783. Sounds promising.
Any B&W illustrations enclosed?
I'm going to Amazon to see if there's a "Look Inside".
If you think you know Delaware, think again. Pirates? Quakers fighting with Pennsylvania? Towns so ugly no one would settle there? With stunning pictures and straightforward storytelling, Dave Tabler opens hidden passages and describes defining momen
Neil Armstrong played the Dissolution of America Card After His Return From Space-- the Military Dishonor Card. He had a very messy DIVORCE after a military Platoon Experience for his wife and family.
