September 22, 2019
The Continental Congress makes no real progress approving Articles of Confederation and has trouble supporting its own army. It sends a delegation to France to get an alliance with France. Congress sends Benjamin Franklin to join Arthur Lee and Silas Deane in France, with all three receiving official commissions. Before the commissions arrive, Deane has great difficulty getting any French aid to America. Lee's interference even raises doubts in the French government about whether Deane has any legitimate authority at all to negotiate on behalf of Congress.
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Book Recommendation of the Week: A Diplomatic History of the American Revolution, by Jonathan Dull
Online Recommendation of the Week: The Crossing and Ten Crucial Days - The Musical https://www.thecrossingmusical.com
September 15, 2019
A British and Hessian force led by Lord Cornwallis storms Fort Lee in New Jersey, forcing the Continental Army led by George Washington to flee further south. The two armies spend days moving through cold rain and muddy roads. The Continentals continue to retreat back toward Philadelphia as the British take Newark.
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Book Recommendation of the Week: The Day is Ours by William Dwyer
Online Recommendation of the Week: Revolutionary War New Jersey, https://RevolutionaryWarNewJersey
September 1, 2019
The British under General Howe continue to push back the Continentals under General Washington, slowly nudging them off Manhattan island, but refusing to surround them or force a major battle. Eventually the Continentals are forced to retreat to New Jersey.
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Book Recommendation of the Week: Narrative of a Revolutionary War Soldier, by Joseph Plumb Martin
Online Recommendation of the Week: PBS Liberty: https://www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty
August 25, 2019
Benedict Arnold avoids almost certain capture near Valcour Island with a daring night move. The British fleet catches up with him, but Arnold is able to ground most of his ships and escape overland back to Fort Ticonderoga. The British, after reaching Crown Point, decide it is too late to begin a siege of Ticonderoga. Instead, they return to Canada with plans to return in the spring.
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Book Recommendation of the Week: Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution, by Nathaniel Philbrick.
Online Recommendation of the Week: Based on a True Story Podcast https://www.basedonatruestorypodcast.com
August 11, 2019
After the Continental Army evacuates and the British occupy New York City, a night fire burns a quarter of the town. The British capture Captain Nathan Hale and hang him as a spy. The Americans court martial a deserter.
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Book Recommendation of the Week: The British Are Coming, by Rick Atkinson
Online Recommendation of the Week: https://jstor.org
July 28, 2019
The British land at Kip's Bay on Manhattan, scattering the patriot defenders. A few days later, British advance forces run into more effective resistance at Harlem Heights. While the British capture the island, they allow the Continental army to escape to the north.
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Book Recommendation of the Week: Revolution on the Hudson, by George C. Daughan
Online Recommendation of the Week: https://mountvernon.org
July 21, 2019
The British spend months putting together a fleet to crush the Americans on Lake Champlain and retake Fort Ticonderoga. Generals Carleton and Burgoyne do not get along and create a divided command. Those divisions, however, are nothing compared the divisions on the American site where Generals Schuyler and Gates fight to control the northern Continental Army. General Arnold also fights with a court martial, which tries to hold him in contempt.
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Book Recommendation of the Week: Benedict Arnold's Navy, by James Nelson.
Online Recommendation of the Week: Dispatches Podcast, with Brady Critzer
