Another account of how Washington's ragged little army, after
months of humiliating flight, suddenly revived the patriot cause
with a daring counterattack against the British regulars and their
Hessian allies - not as carefully or crisply told as in Richard M.
Ketchum's Winter Soldiers (1973), which covers virtually the same
ground, but more attentive to the nitty-gritty details of what
happened to people who were there. Dwyer, a New Jersey journalist,
has in fact pieced together the first-hand reports and
recollections of a remarkable variety of participants - some great
(Washington, Paine, Hamilton, Sir William Howe, Lord Charles
Cornwallis), some near-great (Charles Lee, Banastre Tarleton), and
a whole regiment of others whose testimony is known only to
specialists. (They include a Hessian aristocrat or two, a former
slave, some Princeton students, anonymous farmboys, newspaper
correspondents, a Dutch clergyman, panicky townsfolk, and weary
soldiers on both sides - lots of weary soldiers.) Despite the
subtitle's promise of an "inside view," this method (or non-method,
really) turns up no new insights or interpretations, and the
constant shifting of perspective, sometimes producing two or three
versions of the same event, will be disconcerting to anyone looking
for a straightforward narrative. Even so, Dwyer manages to say a
good deal. He effectively depicts the increasing desperation of the
American forces in the autumn and winter of 1776 as Howe pursued
them out of New York, across New Jersey, and into dismal winter
quarters on the far side of the Delaware, The indecisiveness of the
British command is nicely balanced against the spreading cynicism,
fatigue, and defeatism on the American side - a balance which then
makes for an admirably even-handed appreciation of Washington's
decision, on Christmas Day 1776, to recross the Delaware and attack
the outposts at Trenton and Princeton. The success of that decision
and its justly famous part in the winning of American independence
is likewise made more tangible by the many grim details of what
actually took place on the battlefield. An interesting
contribution, in its own particular way. (Kirkus Reviews)
The Day is Ours is a dramatic account of two battles that turned
the tide of the American Revolution. In this distinguished, highly
readable, and richly detailed narrative history, William M. Dwyer
reveals as vivid a picture as we are likely to see of a critical
period in the American Revolution. He lets the participants--from
American, British, and Hessian soldiers to myriad fearful and
ambivalent citizens--tell the story in their own words. "Telling
the story from the perspective, and often the words, of men in the
ranks, Dwyer has written a dramatic account of this turning point
in the American Revolution." --James M. McPherson, author of Battle
Cry of Freedom " Dwyer] has cast his net wide, taking advantage of
newly found or long-obscure accounts published during the
celebration of the Revolution's bicentennial. We learn exactly how
it was in that momentous time, from letters, diaries and
recollections of officers and men on both sides and civilians
caught in the middle." --New York Times Book Review "Dwyer has put
together a wonderful, lively account that reflects a reporter's
respect for quotes from eyewitnesses . . . He presents the facts
and lets history speak for itself. The result is enthralling."
--The Philadelphia Inquirer "The courage of the common soldier who
stayed and fought when the sunshine patriots had all gone home is a
story that deserves to be told--and Mr. Dwyer has told it well."
--The Wall Street Journal William M. Dwyer is an author, teacher,
and veteran journalist who has written for the Trenton Times, New
York Times, Commonweal, Christian Science Monitor, and New Jersey
Monthly.
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