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Summary: Wow! What a great read!
Review: Many military-history books are written as if the battles happened in a vacuum, with no regard to circumstances happening around the battlefields. Buchanan gives us the whole picture, from strategies that led to the shift in theatres to the class struggles underlying motives for each battle, skirmish and troop movement. Buchanan paints an ugly picture of life in the South during the time of the campaigns as both sides committed grizzly atrocities against the other in the name of ideology. His description of the first American civil war that turned neighbor against neighbor, brother against brother and father against son is brought to life in extreme detail, giving the most vivid and complete account of life and war in the Carolinas from the early stages of the war through 1782. This book is a must-have for any student of the Revolution.
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Summary: A wealth of historical detail in a highly engaging style.
Review: Serendipity describes the happening. Browsing my local library for source information on my ancestor, a veteran of the Revolutionary War, I chanced upon _The Road to Guilford Courthouse_ by John Buchanan.This account of the Carolinas campaign of 1780-'81, mostly occurring in the "Back Country" of North and South Carolina, made those times and events come to life for me as they seldom have. Buchanan weaves an astounding amount of documented, historical fact with perceptive character studies of the players -- major and minor -- in a highly engaging and readable style, resulting in a narrative that is compelling and broad in scope. No higher praise could I give than to say I am ordering three copies, one for myself and one each for my father and brother. Revolutionary War scholar or casual reader looking for a gripping, true tale -- either will find this book irresistable.
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Summary: Excellent coverage of the American Revolution in the South
Review: The ability of the author to put the characters and events in a political, cultural, and historical context made this a fascinating book to read. The detailed look at the battlefields and the passions that motivated both sides is some of the best historical writing I've come across on the Revolutionary War. I wish the author would bring his discerning eye to the Philadelphia campaign and the battles of Germantown and Brandywine.
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Summary: Critical American History
Review: The author re-intoduces Americans to the gripping story of the Southern theatre of the War for Independence. The reader will appreciate the author's skill in weaving together an impressive grasp of the details of this phase of the War, its place in the War's broader context, and the utterly fascinating characters that shaped this struggle. I very much enjoyed the background information on various social and ethnic groups' loyaties and the impact on the War. Moreover, from this work, one can easily see seeds being sewn for the American Civil War of the 1860s -- which the book teaches is can be referred to as the 2nd American Civil War. If I have any complaints, its the lack of clear maps, which dilutes a bit the readers' ability to absorb the information the author has provided us in this fine study.
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Summary: A disappointment overall.
Review: The author uses few primary sources and rehashes the familair story of the British in the South. He misses many details, and provides only scant material asto why the Crown ever started the campaign. The biographies of the leaders are good, as is his treatment of the Whig vs. Tory struggle in NC and SC. Overall, however, the author breaks no new ground and failed to use some obvious (and readily available) primary sources. Why no American accounts of the Seige of Charleston? Why no description of the Hessians?
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Summary: A Must Read
Review: The book provides an excellent look into the political, cultural and military perspectives of the Revolutionary War campaign in the south. It also gives due credit to General Nathaniel Greene, one of the most overlooked and underappreciated commanding generals of the revolution. If you only read one book on the southern Campaign of the Revolutionary War it should be this one. It flows easily and interestingly. If it has a weakeness it is the lack of detail on the march of both armies and Greene's deception from the initial encampment near Guilford Courthouse to the return for the battle. But then, both Cornwallis'and Greene's armies crossed over my property en route back to Guilford Courthouse and I have intensely studied the details of their routes and actions. So, I probably tend to be a bit overly critical in this regard.
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Summary: A well done book on the American Revolution in the South
Review: The Road To Guilford Courthouse is a very good summary of the late war southern campaign in American Revolution. The book reads like a Ken Burn's PBS series with lots of original quotes from the period. The author is also very outspoken about the personalities of the participants and this will probably open him to some criticism. The campaign is well laid out, although the maps were poor, and it is easy to follow the plans of major figures. The bibliography is good and allows anyone doubting Mr. Buchanan's interpetations to check his facts. The books only real weak spot for me is that it just ends after the battle of Guilford Courthouse. I would have enjoyed reading more about the later campaign in Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia. Overall a well done book that reads easily yet is full of solid information
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Summary: Very Well Written Account of Revolution in the South
Review: This book is very well written and thoroughly researched. If the reader is looking to gain an understanding of a critical area of Revolutionary War operations in the Carolinas -- an area that has not received its due in history -- this book will more than satisfy.Although often beating General Washington in the middle colonies, the British had certainly not subdued the Revolution in Pennsylvania, New Jersey or New York. They looked to Charleston and the Carolinas as an area where British arms could provide succor to loyalists and take those states and Georgia out of the war. The British won many battles, including the taking of Charleston and the capture of 5,000 rebels. But they could not win hearts and minds nor subdue the countryside. Rebel militia, aided by some of the finest Continental units sent by Washington, were married with a master strategy and excellent generaliship to bloody, thwart and ultimately force a stragetic defeat on British arms. This was done by volunteers, milita, who though often broke when confronted by the bayonets of regular troops, were led by enough able colonels that their guerilla attacks significantly drew upon British strength. The hero of the story is Gen. Nathaniel Greene, who was an excellent strategist. He mastered geography, his troops and militia commanders and drew Cornwallis hundreds of miles away from his base withoug exposing his weaker force to major battle until he was ready to strike upon fields of his own choosing. Greene never won a battle which he personnaly commanded, but won the war. General Morgan, his able lieutenant, did fight and win the masterful Battle of Cowpens, which gave in his words the British a "devil of a whipping" and set the stage for Greene's brilliant strategic dance with Cornwallis. Buchannon, the author, does a masterful job with this wonderful saga. He uses many first person accounts from diaries and published recollections. This gives his book an immediacy and perspective from those who fought similar to that found in the best Civil War books by Sears, Priest and others. The author does an excellent job of revealing the major commanders to the reader. Greene, Morgan, Gates, Cornwallis, Clinton, Marion, Sumpter, Tarleton and about two dozen other significant charactors are introduced with brief biographical sketches at their point of entry to the campaign. This is very helpful as the experience and charactor of commanders often had a significant impact on strategy and tactics employed in the dangerous circumstances most faced. Also, this approach satisfies the curiosity of the reader. Buchannon tells us what the actors did before and what became of them after the war. The best part about this book is that it is so well written. The author has a style and ease with language that make this very engaging. He is not afraid to editorialize nor draw conclusions and offer criticisms. But he presents significant and multiple sources to buttress his observations and they add to the book. This campaign was at its heart a brutal civil war. Neighbor fought neighbor in actions where sometimes no quarter was given. The British under Banestre Tarleton (Bloody Ban)were particularly brutal, burning, raping and slashing their way through a back country they hoped to ally with their presence and draw support from. Their behavior forced many passive citizens to the rebel side and greatly complicated the efforts of Cornwallis to receive native support. Often the actions were all american affairs of Tories fighting militia. At one significant battle -- King's Mountain -- the only British soldier on the field was Major Ferguson, the British commander. It was a very different kind of war than that fought by Gen. Washington in the more famous battles. The brutality, stategy, tactics and personalities are all weaved together in a memorable book that belongs on the shelf of anyone interested in understanding how our freedom was won.
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Summary: Great Coverage
Review: This book was great. It read well and never was too slow. It was fair to both sides of the war and the leaders who fought the battles and planned the campaign. It was complete in that it discussed the men, tactics, weapons, and terrain in the southern campaign. Not only was this book a great souce for the southern war but it also gave good insight into the revolutionary war in general. If you're interested in this topic and want to increase you're knowledge of the southern war, get this book. It's informative as well as pleasing to read.
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Summary: The best account of the southern war I know of!
Review: This book was great. It read well and never was too slow. It was fair to both sides of the war and the leaders who fought the battles and planned the campaign. It was complete in that it discussed the men, tactics, weapons, and terrain in the southern campaign. Not only was this book a great souce for the southern war but it also gave good insight into the revolutionary war in general. If you're interested in this topic and want to increase you're knowledge of the southern war, get this book. It's informative as well as pleasing to read.
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