The First Salute: A View of the American RevolutionBarbara W. Tuchman, the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of the classic The Guns of August, turns her sights homeward with this brilliant, insightful narrative of the Revolutionary War. In The First Salute, one of America’s consummate historians crafts a rigorously original view of the American Revolution. Barbara W. Tuchman places the Revolution in the context of the centuries-long conflicts between England and both France and Holland, demonstrating how the aid to the American colonies of both these nations made the triumph of independence possible. She sheds new light on the key role played by the contending navies, paints a magnificent portrait of George Washington, and recounts in riveting detail the decisive campaign of the war at Yorktown. By turns lyrical and gripping, The First Salute is an exhilarating account of the birth of a nation. Praise for The First Salute “Nothing in a novel could be more thrilling than the moment in this glorious history when French soldiers arrive [to] see a tall, familiar figure: George Washington. . . . It is only part of Tuchman’s genius that she can reconstitute such scenes with so much precision and passion.”—People “Tuchman writes narrative history in the great tradition. . . . A persuasive book, which brings us entertaining pictures, scenes and characters.”—Chicago Tribune “[A] tightly woven narrative, ingeniously structured.”—The Christian Science Monitor |
Contents
| 12 | |
Southern Theater of Operations | 230 |
New York Harbor and Environs | 290 |
The Siege of Yorktown | 313 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
action Admiral Admiralty Allied American American Revolution Amsterdam Andrew Doria arms army attack Barbados Barras battle Britain British campaign Captain capture Chesapeake Chesapeake Bay Clinton Closen coast Colonies command Congress convoy Cornwallis crew defense Dutch Dutch Republic enemy England English Europe Eustatius fight fire flag force France French French fleet frigates George Governor Graaff Grasse Grasse's Graves guns Holland Hood ibid island John Paul Jones Joseph Yorke King land Laurens Leeward Leeward Islands letter London Lord Lord Cornwallis Lord North Loyalists Mahan Martinique ment merchants military nation naval navy Netherlands North º º officers orders political port rebellion rebels Revolution river Rochambeau Rodney Rodney's Royal sail salute Sandwich Schulte September ships Spain Spanish Spinney squadron Stadtholder supply surrender tion Tornquist trade treaty troops victory Virginia warships Washington West Indies William wind Wraxall wrote York Yorktown