Revolution on the Hudson: New York City and the Hudson River Valley in the American War of Independence

I decided to write a quick review of this book and was surprised to see a one star review when I thought it was so good. Had to shake my head when I saw that the one star review was written by someone who had not read the book but only looked in the index...The book itself successfully straddles that fine line of providing all the historical detail you could want while still telling a story that keeps your adrenaline pumping. Daughan brings the Revolution alive and I doubt there will be any Revolution buff who fails to have an I never knew that! moment. Definitely worth your while whether your interest in the Revolution is casual or complex.

What a thought provoking book about the American Revolution. I agree that Daughans narrative was insightful and inspiring to being aware of the historical context of our success in bring about a peaceful resolution to the conflict. I hope Daughan writes more on the land battles in the state of New York during the War, especially at Saratoga

Many authors have demonstrated the seemingly infinite ways the story of America’s revolution may be told and re-told by concentrating, for instance, on pivotal battles (see, Richard Ketchum’s superb “Saratoga: Turning Point of America’s Revolutionary War”) or locales (see, Richard Berleth’s splendid “Bloody Mohawk: The French and Indian War and American Revolution on New York’s Frontier). From the title of this work, I assumed that Author Daughan’s approach was going to be similar to Berleth’s, that is, a concentration, both geographical and events-oriented, on the Hudson Valley. I was incorrect. But that’s not to say that I was necessarily disappointed. One doesn’t get far into the book to realize that Daughan’s account is going to be more far-ranging and comprehensive than the title suggests. In fact, what the reader is presented is a well-told story that (whether the author intended it or not) amounts to a strategic view of the war, particularly from the British standpoint. In discussing the give’s and take’s on both sides of the struggle, Daughan indulges in a good deal of supposition and inference, coming down hard, for instance, on Washington’s early misjudgments and especially on the British military leadership’s inability to work together (to say nothing of their relations with their London overseers), with eventually cataclysmic results. While the author’s frequent conclusory dispositions largely accord with my understanding of the actors’ strengths and weaknesses, I found Daughan’s unrelenting “rights” and “wrongs” adjudications slightly off-putting. Having said all that, the author does an excellent job of relating the ebb’s and flows of the war in a relatively short work. And the lessons never learned by King George III and his ministers are once again manifest; their hilariously optimistic take on the loyalists’ willingness to rally to the Jack, never mind their fighting dispositions; the tenacity of the “rebels,” and their inconsistent but always-improving ability to fight; and, lastly, the sheer size of America which absolutely precluded the investiture and maintenance of control of any significant part of the country. And if a reader is intrigued by the wrong-headedness of Britain’s ambitions and strategic shortcomings, I highly recommend Andrew O’Shaughnessy’s “The Men Who Lost America,” a simply delightful recounting of the roles of the principal King’s actors in the loss of the continent. So, while I was slightly disappointed by the author’s not sticking to his purported subject, I must say that I was impressed with his digressions, and suggest that this would be a fine introductory work for someone new to the history of the war which would undoubtedly whet the reader’s appetite for more specialized treatments.

I loved this book because it gave me a much deeper insight into the impact of the battles and strategies that took place in an area where I had not realized had such significant importance of the impact of what took place there..Mr Daughan once again kept me spellbound with his descriptions of characters and events that most of us never realized. I am always impressed with research and detail that goes into his books. Enjoy this wonderful adventure. J Couture

This is a good page turner for a history. Very complete, although with a misleading title. While the original English strategy was to control from New York City to Canada, the book covered the whole war. With all of the good research the author did, the book could have been so much better. There were no illustrations or diagrams of any of the engagements. Further, there was an overemphasis on the fact that much of the English fleet’s ships had copper plated hulls (as opposed to copper bottomed). The reason why the copper plating was done (to protect the hull from torredo worm attack. It also discouraged marine growth on the hull thus making the hull cleaner hence lower drag) was never explained. I didn’t need to be reminded that they had copper plated hulls nearly every time a naval engagement was discussed. Further, the author leads the reader to believe that the copper plating was the primary reason why the Royal Navy was usually the superior force. Being faster was not always an advantage. Better gunnery, tactics, and training are big factors as well. I understand that the leaders did not get along and in several instances either didn’t cooperate or were working counter to each other. Being told that ever time they were discussed was unnecessary. Finally, maybe an issue in only the digital edition, footnotes are all in one section at the end of the book. I found this very cumbersome and frankly unworkable. With some limitations I still recommend this book.

Incredible book that should be read by anyone interested in American history. Very revealing read, interesting and reads like a novel. I purchased this book for myself and then bought two more copies to give as gifts to my history buff friends.

I love reading books on the American Revolution and the early days in the formation of a government for this country.. Each author seems to bring a different look to the events, intentions and people involved. Daughan does so as well. His pace does drag. He does paint George Washington as an indecisive leader, who could not make decisions, general making poor ones as he did. From his view the American or British seldom engaged in battle. Always backing off for various reasons. it is a wonder we won the war if you accept his narrative. There is something to be learned from this book about American History. If more people had awareness of how deeply our founding fathers were committed to the birth of our nation perhaps more proper would be more respectful today.

This is a wonderful book when it comes to British ineptness and mismanagement of the Hudson River valley. The irreparable harm the whites did to the native Americans should go down in history equal to the genocide that has been going on since mankind set foot on this earth. The only problem being that we knew better, but out of greed and selfishness, we destroyed a way of life and blamed it on the savages. The Hudson was the main artery to bountiful land and riches untold. And the British Colonials fought to the bitter end to subdue the Indians, Dutch, French and anyone else who would dare stand in the way of colonial greed and British blundering. Well it all caught up with them but at such a great toll to the original inhabitants. The Crown got its moneys worth and in the end they got a snoot full. Could not have happened to a more deserving foe.

I regret to say I was quite disappointed by this book. I am doing research on the Revolution in New York and really looked forward to a detailed account of the campaigns around the Hudson. Unfortunately, despite the title, this is more of a grand strategic view of the Revolutionary War. We learn little of the political climate in New York before the Revolution, or the characters in the Loyalist and Patriot camps. Events like the burning of Kingston and Clermont are barely mentioned, the Battle of Stony Point dispatched in two pages. Daughn paints in broad brush strokes rather than fine detail. There is some tantalizing discussion of how well Connecticut Governor Trumbull rallied the resources of his state in contrast to that of New York, but we never really see inside the government of the State of New York, nor get an in depth examination of the Loyalist support. The focus remains squarely on Washington, his British opponents and the movements of their armies and navies. All of which could have been redeemed by fresh research or insights, but the book provides little of both. The book is a very competent history of the material it does cover and doubtless considerable effort went into the work, but the volume is neither a full narrative of the Revolutionary War nor an incisive examination of the struggle in New York itself. As a result, it satisfies neither need.

Good read. Like history woven through stort