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Good historical reads

Started by SamD, August 13, 2009, 11:32:56 PM

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SamD

These are downloadable books
All good reading for Appleseeders

Beneath Old Roof Trees    http://www.archive.org/details/beneatholdrooftr00browiala
Beside Old Hearth Stones http://www.archive.org/details/besideoldhearth00browgoog
Souvenir of Lexington       http://www.archive.org/details/souveniroflexing00portiala
Lexington and Birthplace of American Liberty    http://www.archive.org/details/lexingtonbirthpl01pipe
Lexington Town Meetings 1765-1775   http://www.archive.org/details/lexingtontownmee00huds
The Battle of Lexington Common, April 19, 1775   http://www.archive.org/details/battleoflexingto00cobu
Military heroes of the United States from Lexington to Santiago  http://www.archive.org/details/militaryheroesof00jameiala

Fiction and truth about the battle on Lexington common, April 19, 1775     http://www.archive.org/details/fictiontruthabou01cobu

Some have been linked before,now they are all in one place  ;D



Cowdog

I recently got interested in Timothy Pickering because of his authorship of an early tactical book for the NE militia. My searching led to this full book on Google books from 1925. Allen French, The Day of Lexington and Concord.

http://books.google.com/books?id=LdorAAAAIAAJ&dq=allen+french+the+day+of+lexington&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=jH_bB7fc5k&sig=fD5KL9qcx0EOd2NV16d3IKg7oZ8&hl=en&ei=xkaXStWZIqOg8QbJ4_yWDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#v=onepage&q=&f=false
My avatar is the Flag of John Proctor's Westmoreland County Provincials, from 1775

Big H

Arthur Bernon Tourtellot, William Diamond's Drum: The Beginning of the War of the American Revolution (1959) republished as Lexington and Concord:The Beginning of the War of the American Revolution (2000)
The full text of William Diamond's Drum is available online at the Universal Library
http://www.archive.org/details/williamdiamondsd012886mbp

Spanner


There are a number of Deep Background sources; these are my favorites:

Bernhard Knollenberg, ORIGIN OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION: 1759-1766.

Bernhard Knollenberg, GROWTH OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION: 1766-1775.

Bernard Bailyn, THE IDEOLOGICAL ORIGINS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.

There are also a lot of online (downloadable) books from Liberty Fund here, and their print catalog is here


" Decision-making is the supreme manifestation of human dignity. "  -Jouvenel


nyrasgt

Troops,
  Would also add to list, and recommend the following:

The Day the American Revolution Began:  19 April, 1775 by William H. Hallahan (not just Mass but other colonies, as well as aftermath of The Day...).


The Minute Men:  The First Fight - Myths and Realities of the American Revolution by John R. Galvin (rtd U.S. Army General - knows what he's talking about...

More to come - working my way through a novelization of the day, a la Michael Shaara's The Killer Angels...
Excelsior,
mad
nyrasgt
IIT1
"Aim for a high mark and you will hit it.  No, not the first time, nor the second, and maybe not the third. But keep on aiming and keep on shooting,
for only practice will make you perfect.
Finally, you will hit the bulls-eye of success."
-Annie Oakley Butler
A Rifleman Persists
"Nemo me impune lacessit."  Montresor, via E. A. Poe, 1846

nmmi9100


Sie

In the books I have been reading, I keep seeing references to depositions taken of individuals involved in the events surrounding Lexington and Concord, as well as earlier events.  Is anyone aware of a source for the original transcripts of the depositions taken of these individuals?  I would rather read the transcripts myself rather than excerpts taken from the transcripts that authors deem relevant to the stories they wish to tell.  I imagine some university has the transcripts in its historical archives.  Are they available electronically?
"Ramseur 2-10!"

AFTERMATH

Private Yankee Doodle, by Joseph Martin Plum

Providing a first-hand account of the plight of a Continental Soldier.
"We intend to produce men who are able to light a fire for Liberty in men's minds, and make them the finest rifle marksmanship Instructors on the planet." - Son of Martha

"Tyrants rise and fall, but tyranny lasts forever." -Me

[What kind of megalomaniac quotes himself?]

Spanner

" Decision-making is the supreme manifestation of human dignity. "  -Jouvenel

Sie

Quote from: Spanner on December 16, 2009, 06:32:01 PM


Sie:

Journals of the Continental Congress

Example page:
Journals Cont. Cong. II, p24



Thanks, Spanner.  I also found a thread with an excellent post by V that contained links to some affidavits: http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=6456.0  It appears that many years later, folks provided affidavits (for posterity?) concerning the events.  Many of affiants are simply recounting conversations they had with individuals who had personal knowledge of the events.  I am curious to see the depositions of individuals that were taken only a week or two after the events occurred, which is remarkable.  Looks like I got a lot of research and reading to do.
"Ramseur 2-10!"

V

The later depositions were in order to for families to get RWV pensions (hey a use of RWVA in context  :D ) when congress approved bills to appropriate money for such things.

Francis Marion

James Roberts was born in 1753.  He fought for the patriot cause, although he was a slave.  Roberts' narrative tells how our country repaid him for his sevice. 

The narrative does not discuss the Revolutionary war in depth, but by it we understand, from a Revolutionary War soldier's standpoint, the mindset, values and concept of Liberty, contrasted with the political reality of our new nation. 

Text link here:
http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/roberts/menu.html
   

TruTenacity

I just posted this over on the "Women of the Revolution?" link http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=13630.msg113388#msg113388 and thought I'd post the same message here.

I did a Google book search for Elizabeth Zane and came upon this chapter in the book entitled:

Short stories from American history By Albert Franklin Blaisdell, Francis Kingsley Ball
http://books.google.com/books?id=-2oAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA64&dq=elizabeth+Zane&lr=&ei=h7buS_2BKYvANuG59MEP&cd=13#v=onepage&q=elizabeth%20Zane&f=false

Here is another book I came across.  I haven't read it yet, but thought I'd post it anyway.

The Pioneer Mothers of America: a Record of the more Notable Women of the Early Days of the Country, and Particularly of the Colonial and Revolutionary Periods ... By Harry Clinton Green, Mary Wolcott Green
http://books.google.com/books?id=4TkEAAAAYAAJ&pg=PR4&dq=Millie+Barrett&lr=&ei=qrruS6GLH4v0Nb_umbwP&cd=19#v=onepage&q&f=false

The Women of the American revolution, Volume 1 By Elizabeth Fries Ellet is available as a free download
http://books.google.com/books?id=S9qjiOGxJJEC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Millie+Barrett&lr=&source=gbs_similarbooks_s&cad=1#v=onepage&q&f=false


The family's recent Amazon order:
A Narrative of a Revolutionary Soldier
Joseph Plumb Martin, Thomas Fleming

Lexington and Concord: The Beginning of the War of the American Revolution
Arthur Bernon Tourtellot

The Women of the American Revolution Volumes I and II and III
Elizabeth F. Ellet
(Didn't know Volume I was available on Google Books.  Oh well.  I prefer reading a book I'm holding in my hand anyway.)
"We are fighting for our country, for posterity perhaps.  On the success of this campaign the happiness or misery of millions may depend."  Henry Knox

"Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap if we faint not."  Galatians 6:9

TruTenacity

#14
I found another free read on Google Books.

Life and Times of Joseph Warren By Richard Frothingham



TruT
"We are fighting for our country, for posterity perhaps.  On the success of this campaign the happiness or misery of millions may depend."  Henry Knox

"Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap if we faint not."  Galatians 6:9

TruTenacity

#15
"We are fighting for our country, for posterity perhaps.  On the success of this campaign the happiness or misery of millions may depend."  Henry Knox

"Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap if we faint not."  Galatians 6:9

TruTenacity

Found a book in the junior history section of the library this week.  I've not read it yet, but from a quick look-through I've put it on my "to-read" list.

Countdown to Independence, A Revolution of Ideas in England and Her American Colonies: 1760-1776 by Natalie S. Bober.

Read the editorial reviews on the Amazon link below.
http://www.amazon.com/Countdown-Independence-Natalie-S-Bober/dp/1416963928/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1282407799&sr=1-1
"We are fighting for our country, for posterity perhaps.  On the success of this campaign the happiness or misery of millions may depend."  Henry Knox

"Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap if we faint not."  Galatians 6:9

TruTenacity

#17
I just finished reading The Minutemen and Their World.  The title is a bit deceiving as the book is more about the life and relationships of those living in Concord as well as some of the politics within the town.  Chapter 5 "The Regulars Are Coming Out!" was good.

I didn't know if anyone else had read this book until I did a search on this forum.  The book is included in SeanO's reading list here.

TruT
"We are fighting for our country, for posterity perhaps.  On the success of this campaign the happiness or misery of millions may depend."  Henry Knox

"Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap if we faint not."  Galatians 6:9

Castle Mountain




Thanks for the tip on this book. We just ordered it. Primary source document are valuable.

If you don't have these we highly recommend:

WASHINGTON'S CROSSING by David Hacket Fischer (pulitzer prize winner)

http://www.amazon.com/Washingtons-Crossing-Pivotal-Moments-American/dp/019518159X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1291006313&sr=1-1

and George Washington's Sacred Fire    by Peter A. Lillback
http://www.amazon.com/George-Washingtons-Sacred-Peter-Lillback/dp/0978605268/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1291006230&sr=1-1


Quote from: TruTenacity on August 16, 2010, 02:30:04 PM
A recommendation given at the IBC this weekend.

The Battle of Lexington, A Sermon and Eyewitness Narrative by Jonas Clark April 19, 1776

Cheers,

Castle Mountain

Aut viam inveniam aut faciam- will find a way or I will make one".
"The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles."  one who has not qualified himself with the M-16 may not be considered to be a responsible citizen."

—Jeff Cooper, The Art of the Rifle

"Terrorism is the best political weapon, for nothing drives people harder than a fear of sudden death."
-- Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) German Nazi Dictator
 

"Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in

SkyHawk

Has anyone had a chance to read Valley Forge: George Washington and the Crucible of Victory by Newt Gingrich

Just recv'd this book last week and found I can't put it down.  For purists looking for non-fiction this isn't.  However it is great historical fiction and gives what I can only imagine a fairly accurate account of what life was like that winter when things looks absolutely dismal for the cause of freedom.  It should motivate everyone to want to attend a Winterseed, certainly not to relive what our forefathers went through (as I for one will be wearing insulated boots, Carharts and have adequate nourishment) but to embed once more the sense of sacrifice others have made for us. 
"An elective despotism was not the government we fought for"  Thomas Jefferson

Crazy Tim


Site excerpt:

"This site examines the shooting on Lexington green at dawn on the 19th of April. Many other confrontations took place that day, as well as over the previous ten years. But if we covered all those topics, it would take you ten years to read the result! So we're focusing on what different documents say about what happened in Lexington."

http://www.18cnewenglandlife.org/18cnel/Lex_Green.htm

Another site of the Acton Minutemen

http://users.rcn.com/greenela/id32.htm

TruTenacity

With all the newfangled ebook techno whatchamacallit gizmos out there one should become familiar with Project Gutenburg.  http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page

All of G. A. Henty's books are available for free downloads.
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search.html/?default_prefix=author_id&sort_order=downloads&query=1032

I did an American Revolution search and didn't find anything for adults, but I did find a few historical fiction juvenile reads.  http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search.html/?default_prefix=subject_id&query=6404

I just downloaded Rodney, the Ranger by John V. Lane
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/29589

Even if you don't have one of those gizmos you can download and read the books from your computer using the Adobe Digital Editions http://www.adobe.com/products/digitaleditions/
"We are fighting for our country, for posterity perhaps.  On the success of this campaign the happiness or misery of millions may depend."  Henry Knox

"Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap if we faint not."  Galatians 6:9

Sly223

Still amazed at the effectivness of the alarm network and the sense of duty from those who did not have anything to gain for themselves, but threw caution to the wind,for the greater cause! I'm not sure if I could be as effective in a corvette.
"Smoakin'2" IBC11/12
"Plattka 3-12"(IBC)FL
What have you done for this program lately?
IBC-Tampa 8,'10
RBC-"Myakka12'10"RCR
C-1, Do-1, Teach many!
"Run all you want, you'll just die tired"!
There is U.S. & there is Dems!

smoakingun

While not revolutionary, The Law by Frederic Bastiat, is an incredible narriative into the minds of the founders, and their view of what liberty is
A strong body makes the mind strong. As to the species of exercises, I advise the gun. While this gives moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprise and independence to the mind. Games played with the ball, and others of that nature, are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun therefore be your constant companion of your walks.

Thomas Jefferson

Thaddeus


The Wall Street Journal published a book review this morning on "Band of Giant's" by Jack Kelly, which looks like an interesting read.


From the article, "The dust jacket of Jack Kelly's "Band of Giants: The Amateur Soldiers Who Won America's Independence" depicts a group of steely-eyed, square-jawed militiamen, dressed in homespun clothing and staring unflinchingly at an unseen foe. Their inexorable enemies will of course be minions of the tyrannical British Empire bent on crushing American liberties: redcoats advancing in solid ranks with robotic precision, presenting a menacing hedge of bayonet-tipped muskets.Thankfully, "Band of Giants" (the title comes from a remark made by the Marquis de Lafayette, who volunteered for the American cause) is far more balanced than such first impressions suggest. Its lively narrative of the Revolutionary War (1775-1783) realistically assesses the motley collection of men who led the military struggle against Britain, revealing both their strengths and weaknesses....As Mr. Kelly notes, the man who most closely matched Washington's own all-round combination of qualities, capable of both offering inspired battlefield leadership and tackling the grinding paperwork necessary to keep an army in the field, was the limping former Quaker Greene."

The Wolfhound

Here is a very good one that has been out just under 2 years: The Road to Concord by J. L. Bell
https://www.amazon.com/Road-Concord-Revolutionary-American-Revolution/dp/1594162492
This tells the story of 4 cannon belonging to the town of Boston Militia and the search for them once they disappeared from Redcoat control after the Cambridge Powder Raid.  Well written and has our story in great detail.  The author espouses a well developed  theory that these cannon being in Concord are the cause of the raid that started the Revolutionary War.   

Leadlined

#26
Two favorites of recent publishing, with excerpts:

The boldness of the Marylanders' charge initially unhinged Cornwallis's defenses as his gunners nearly abandoned their artillery, but intense fire from the house and fresh reinforcements compelled the Marylanders to retreat and then mount yet another charge. From a distant hill, General George Washington watched the gallant display through his spyglass. As the Marylanders began to fall, he cried out, "Good God! What brave fellows I must this day lose!"  Yet not all was lost. Scores of Marylanders, led by Major Gist, held off the British long enough to help save a corps of Washington's troops and arguably the bulk of the nascent American army from destruction. The Marylanders' forlorn assaults delayed a British attack on American fortifications at Brooklyn Heights and allowed hundreds of Americans to escape to the temporary safety of their entrenchments. The soldiers who participated in that unorthodox assault would become known as the Immortals or the Maryland 400. With their blood, these men bought, in the words of one American, "an hour, more precious to American liberty than any other in its history.  "Gist and several men in his group escaped to fight future battles that changed the fate of a nation.
From "Washington's Immortals: The Untold Story of an Elite Regiment Who Changed the Course of the Revolution" by Patrick K. O'Donnell. 
A great review of one unit's action throughout the war, with much original research. 


But to the British observer - who can hardly be unmoved by the sound of the fifes and drums playing ‘Men of Harlech' as the redcoats march on and off the scene - Patriots' Day at Lexington is perplexing. Why did this one-sided encounter not mark the abrupt end of an obscure New England rebellion? The answer is, first, that the colonists' resistance stiffened as the regulars advanced towards Concord; secondly, that the officer in charge of the regulars, the corpulent and indecisive Colonel Francis Smith, all but lost control of his men after himself being hit in the leg. As his force retreated towards Boston, they were decimated by sniper fire. The American War of Independence had begun. The war is at the very heart of Americans' conception of themselves: the idea of a struggle for liberty against an evil empire is the country's creation myth. But it is the great paradox of the American Revolution - and it strikes you forcefully when you see today's prosperous Lexingtonians trying to relive their forefathers' self-sacrifice - that the ones who revolted against British rule were the best-off of all Britain's colonial subjects. There is good reason to think that, by the 1770s, New Englanders were about the wealthiest people in the world. Per capita income was at least equal to that in the United Kingdom and was more evenly distributed. The New Englanders had bigger farms, bigger families and better education than the Old Englanders back home. And, crucially, they paid far less tax. In 1763 the average Briton paid 26 shillings a year in taxes. The equivalent figure for a Massachusetts taxpayer was just one shilling. To say that being British subjects had been good for these people would be an understatement. And yet it was they, not the indentured labourers of Virginia or the slaves of Jamaica, who first threw off the yoke of imperial authority.

From "Empire: How Britain Made the Modern World" by Niall Ferguson.
An interesting view from an English economic historian.
If I knew the world was ending today, I would still plant another Appleseedling. 
-Martin Luther

7/5/2014, First appleseed
9/20/2014, Rifleman
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10/15/2016, Red hat
9/11/2022, Shoot Boss
7/9/2023, Pistoleer™/Pistol Instructor
....and still working on it

GTEngineer

My current read is The Minute Men, The first fight: myths & realities of the American Revolution; by Gen John R. Galvin.  Interesting background on the founding of the minute men as a concept back in the mid 1600s, founding of the committee of safety, to the battles of April 19th 1775.
"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might;..."
Ecclesiastes 9:10

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Requal:
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NRA Rifle Instructor

didactic

All above are good suggestions.

Let me add another:

"A Few Bloody Noses", by Robert Harvey. 

https://smile.amazon.com/Few-Bloody-Noses-Mythologies-Revolution/dp/1585672734/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1524589835&sr=1-1&keywords=a+few+bloody+noses

The American RevWar from the British point of view.

"If not us, who?  If not now, when?"  Ronald W. Reagan

The Wolfhound

Just finished one of this year's crop: https://www.amazon.com/Single-Blow-Lexington-Revolution-Revolutionary/dp/1611213797
The book is written to facilitate a driving/walking tour but about 60% of it is simple a telling of the story.  It is well written and easy to enjoy.  Having walked the ground, I found many familiar items in the pictures and a couple of maps I need to locate for use in telling the first strike.