The Fate of the Day: book review

I recently finished the second volume of Rick Atkinson’s trilogy of the American Revolution. The full title is The Fate of the Day: The War for America, Fort Ticonderoga to Charleston, 1777-1780. Quite pleased, I look forward to the third volume. I liked the first volume; The British are Coming. My review of the first is here.

 

I like the second volume even better. Other books about the revolution I’ve read over the years are concerned with the events in and close by US territory. Once France (and later Spain and Holland) entered the war against Britain, it became a world war. Atkinson covers much more of this than I’m used to. One example is the naval battle of Ushant, when nature decided to smite both fleets after they had beaten each other up.

 

The abortive sieges of Newport, Fort George and Savannah are covered. Goodness, Pulaski was mighty brave and mighty foolhardy. I had thought he did his mad attack under stress, not that he led the Continental storm of a fortress with his cavalry.

 

The Royal Navy blockade strangling of the colonial economy is covered in detail. The runaway inflation makes our recent difficulties with that fade into insignificance. The Navy  also raided coastal towns, burning buildings, sacking and looting.

 

The mighty struggles in Parliament are covered, as pressure against continuing the expensive, bloody war mounted. In 1780, the Gordon riots erupted, something I was basically unaware of. Nominal anti-Catholic riots soon metastasized into a general uprising by the poor against the propertied classes. Cabinet members were dragged from their carriages and assaulted. Columns of smoke rose over London from burning buildings. The riots lasted a week. King George finally managed to concentrate 11,000 troops in London and they smashed the rioters, killing over 280 of them. This wasn’t easy, since so much of the army was either in America, Canada, the Caribbean, India or other outposts around the world, fighting Washington or the French. Some 800 to 1,000 lives were lost, including those shot by the soldiers. The damage to buildings in London wouldn’t be surpassed until the 1940 Blitz.

 

One result was that many of the propertied who had been on the verge of uproar against the war in the colonies chose backing North and the King over anarchy. The war would continue.

 

The war in 1780 resembled two bloody and exhausted barroom brawlers who wouldn’t quit, each hoping the other would collapse first. Of course, we know that the treasure being poured out by France would lead directly to their own revolution a few years after this one finally ended.

 

Atkinson has set himself a high bar for the third volume. I await it anxiously.