TO TRY MEN'S SOULS

Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen leave the Civil War and World War II to write their first book about the Revolutionary War. The book traces the disastrous defeats and retreats from Long Island, Manhattan, New Brunswick, all the way to the Delaware River near Trenton.

The biggest debacle was the Continental Army's retreat at Fort Lee in the N.J.Palisades where they fled without firing a shot and left valuable supplies behind. The missing supplies would become very important, since they included blankets and boots so desperately needed in winter warfare. Maybe the Continental Army thought the war would be over during the summer, since enlistments were for only six months! Can you imagine the troops of today just walking away and going home after such a short enlistment? That was happening, along with countless desertions, when facing the professional British troops and the Hessian mercenaries.

Gen. George Washington, Col. Henry Knox (Chief of Artillery) and Thomas Paine proved to be the real heroes in this conflict. Without their military knowledge and Thomas Paine's pamphlet "The American Crisis" to spur on the troops morale, all would have been lost. The actual recrossing of the Delaware River from McKonkey's Ferry in Pennsylvania to Trenton is a matter of history. Some little known facts are that it happened during a nor'easter, the troops were mostly barefooted and had to march nine miles through rain, mud, sleet and snow. After the Continental Army defeated the Hessians, they had to march those same nine miles back to Pennsylvania, before British reinforcements arrived. This battle on Christmas of 1776 was the first victory of consequence for the Americans and set the tone for the rest of the war.

Although I enjoyed the book, it was written more like a history lesson. The main problem was that most of the characters are real historical figures with the exception of the Jonathan Van Dorn family and his friend, Peter. I liked these side characters, but not enough time was spent on them to feel any real empathy towards them. Perhaps if the book was a hundred pages longer, there would have been more time for character development and some subplots. I also didn't think the jumping back and forth in time and events worked very well.

I'm going to read the second book in this series, Valley Forge, to see if it is more of a historical novel or another history lesson. I'm not criticizing the history, I just want to see more subplots to make it more substantial. If you are a history buff, I highly recommend this book.

RATING: 3.5 stars out of 5

Comment: After the war, George Washinton became the only President ever to garner 100% of the electoral votes. He also set the precedent for Presidential terms by refusing a third term. It should also be noted that Thomas Paine's pro-revolutionary writings didn't stop after the war of Independence. He later went to France and helped in the early part of the French Revolution with the power of his pen.