History
by David McCullough
How did the army survive 1776?
In 1776 the American colonies declared independence, and their army came close to losing the war before it had properly begun. David McCullough tells the story of that year from the field, following George Washington and his soldiers from the siege of Boston to a desperate crossing on Christmas night.
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Washington's men were farmers, fishermen, craftsmen and boys, many with little training and no uniform. Most had signed up only until the end of the year. McCullough shows how hard it was to keep them supplied, and to stop them simply going home.
A huge British force landed at New York that summer. Washington was beaten on Long Island in August, lost Manhattan, and in November lost Fort Washington, with nearly 3,000 men captured. McCullough doesn't hide his mistakes, many of them caused by indecision.
On Christmas night Washington took his army back across the icy Delaware River in a storm. On 26 December they surprised the Hessian garrison at Trenton and captured most of it. A week later they beat the British at Princeton. The wins were small, but they kept the cause alive.
McCullough doesn't make Washington a military genius. He made serious mistakes. His strength was that he wouldn't give up, learned from what went wrong, and kept an army in the field. As long as the army survived, so did the revolution.
Boston
Henry Knox dragged heavy cannon from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston in winter, and the British left the city.
Brooklyn
Washington lost badly at Brooklyn, then got his whole army away across the river by night.
Mistakes
Washington made serious mistakes that year. He learned from them and never gave up.
Retreat
By December his army had shrunk to a few thousand ragged men, and many thought the war was lost.
Trenton
On Christmas night he crossed the icy Delaware and surprised the Hessians at Trenton the next morning.
A story from the book
Henry Knox was a 25-year-old Boston bookseller who had learned about artillery from books. In the winter of 1775 he hauled dozens of cannon from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston by sledge. In one night in March 1776 they were set up on Dorchester Heights, and the British soon sailed away.
Hot take · true or myth?
Washington won most of the battles he fought in 1776.
Myth. He lost on Long Island, lost New York City and lost Fort Washington. His wins came at the very end, at Trenton on 26 December and at Princeton a week later.
One thing to try
Thomas Paine had been with the army on its retreat across New Jersey. In December 1776 he published The American Crisis. This week, read its opening page. Then ask why soldiers close to quitting that winter might have needed it.
Knotd has the key ideas from 250+ non-fiction books, each in a few minutes, in plain words. 1776 comes with a Hot Take round and a Your Move story to make it stick.
Get the whole book on KnotdOpen in the appHow did the army survive 1776? In 1776 the American colonies declared independence, and their army came close to losing the war before it had properly begun. David McCullough tells the story of that year from the field, following George Washington and his soldiers from the siege of Boston to a desperate crossing on Christmas night.
An army of amateurs; Then it all went wrong; Ten days that saved the cause; Washington's real strength.
Thomas Paine had been with the army on its retreat across New Jersey. In December 1776 he published The American Crisis. This week, read its opening page. Then ask why soldiers close to quitting that winter might have needed it.
Yes. Knotd has the key ideas from 1776 in a few minutes, in plain words, plus a Hot Take round and a Your Move story to test them. It's one of 250+ non-fiction books in the app.
