Partisans and Redcoats The Southern Conflict That Turned the Tide of the American Revolution

(Paperback)

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From one of the Souths foremost historians, this is the dramatic story of the conflict in South Carolina that was one of the most pivotal contributions to the American Revolution.

In 1779, Britain strategised a war to finally subdue the rebellious American colonies with a minimum of additional time, effort, and blood. Setting sail from New York harbour with 8,500 ground troops, a powerful British fleet swung south towards South Carolina. One year later, Charleston fell. And as King Georges forces pushed inland and upward, it appeared the six-year-old colonial rebellion was doomed to defeat. In a stunning work on forgotten history, acclaimed historian Walter Edgar takes the American Revolution far beyond Lexington and Concord to re-create the pivotal months in a nations savage struggle for freedom. It is a story of military brilliance and devastating human blunders - and the courage of an impossibly outnumbered force of demoralised patriots who suffered terribly at the hands of a merciless enemy, yet slowly gained confidence through a series of small triumphs that convinced them their war could be won. Alive with incident and colour.

Reviews

"Meticulously researched, a volume reminding us once again that the cost of freedom has always been very high." -- The State (Columbia, SC)

"A significant contribution to Revolutionary history...Walter Edgar gives us a sobering sense of liberty's price." -- Mobile Register

"A splendid chronicle...This one goes on my shelf of important works about the birth of our country." -- John Jakes, author of North and South

"Edgar's lucid, unflinching account shows the American Revolution in the south was truly the nation's first civil war." -- Publishers Weekly

"A solid addition to the Revolutionary War literature." -- Kirkus

"Edgar paints in stark and realistic tones a portrait of the life and society of the backcountry." -- Rock Hill Herald, South Carolina

"This is a superb book...a great read." -- Emory M. Thomas, author of Robert E. Lee: A Biography

"Musketry practically cracks on page after page." -- J. Tracy Power, author of Lee's Miserables

"A lively and accurate account of the vicious partisan fighting in the Carolinas during the Revolutionary War." -- John Buchanan, author of The Road to Guilford Courthouse: The American Revolution in the Carolinas

"A valuable addition to a too-small library on this chapter of the American Revolution." -- William Hallahan, author of The Day the American Revolution Began

Author Bio

Walter Edgar has authored or edited nine books on the American South, including South Carolina: A History. He is the George Washington Distinguished Professor of History at the University of South Carolina.