The historic fiction written by Jeff Shaara, The Glorious Cause is set in America when it was a new country and tracks the Revolutionary War. It uses the literary device of telling the story from the viewpoints of all the commanding generals of both sides. In this manner, one chapter might be titled “Washington“and tell the story from his prospective. The chapter entitled “Cornwallis” would give not just the facts about how he participated but also how he saw them. Because of this there is no traditional “main character” as the protagonist. Instead there is a steadily shifting almost bird’s eye view of the action in the Revolutionary War., That said, there are some persons, General George Washington for example, who appear so frequently that I is clear that they had a clear and lasting course of action throughout the ware and affected its outcome.
Some of the other characters involved include Nathanael Greene, Charles Cornwallis, and William Howe. By shifting prospective among all these people we get an understanding how others interpreted their words and actions.
The time frame covers the second half of the American Revolution. The Colonial Rebels suffered defeat in New York at the beginning of the war. The initial strategy of guerilla warfare the Colonists used to harasses the British Army were not successful in all out warfare. The American Army lacked the trained and experienced officer and battle hardened troops it needed. The English had gotten their experience from years of war on the battle grounds of Europe and were putting it to good use in America. No nation can field such an experienced army without creating enemies that profited by England’s distraction with the Rebellion on the North American Continent. When some of them made the discussion to turn some of their resources to solid assistance for the Rebels it gave the American Army the boost it needed to turn their defeats around and start winning.
When the Prussian General von Steuben helped the Americans by offering the Continental Army formal military training it changed their success ratio. The Americans learn European strategy and the American Soldiers learn fire massed volleys. The randomly shooting so effective in harassing the English forces as they trekked through the wilderness were no effective on an open battlefield. The American Generals likewise did not know the various strategies that had been so painfully learned in the long years of European warfare. General von Stuben brought that key information into play on the side of the American Revolutionaries and that was an important factor in the American Revolutionaries successful recovery after the string of defeats it suffered in New York.
The Marquis de Lafayette was another key European whose support was a deciding factor in the American’s ability to rally and go on to its eventual victory in Georgetown. He defied his king’s orders by going to America to volunteer his assistance to the nascent nation in its fight for independence. His staunch support of the rebelling Colonists led French king to see the rebellion in a new light. There is a long history of conflict between England and France. The French kingdom benefitted by having English troops overseas in America. That logic combined with Lafayette’s passionate conviction of the correctness of the American cause led the French King to agree to support the Revolutionaries.
The combination of General von Stuben strategy and with Lafayette leading the French army in the battle, gave the American Army the opportunity and means to rally after the defeats it suffered in New York. Washington’s decision to fight on Christmas is seen as the turning point of the war. After the fateful battle at Trenton there still were defeats and victories, but as they lost more and more often the English troops wearied fighting this hard war so far from home. The outcome of the war was that final fateful surrender at Yorktown.
The great value of this book is not that it another retelling of the history of the American Revolution. There are entire libraries devoted to that. Not many can capture the interest and provide the insights that this volume by Jeff Shaara can and does. He humanizes not just the solders and generals, but the other statesmen involved. Benjamin Franklin played an important role in gaining the support of the French Crown. His statesmanship was a vital counterbalance to Lafayette’s passion to create that shift in the French political stance.
The war at home also had its political aspects. As the war dragged on more and more American Revolutions wanted, and saw a grave need to attend to the needs of their families, homes and properties. Poorly fed and unpaid many of them were ready to quit when their enlistments ran out. No amount of foreign aid would help without the support of the American Soldiers. That was a war for the heart and soul of the American people and was not necessarily fought on a battleground. When that was won the ending was inevitable, never the less it took more than all the combined talents of Washington, Lafayette, Von Stuben and Franklin. It took people like Nathanial Green, and other lesser known Americans.
Works Cited
Shaara, Jeff. "Rise to Rebellion." 2013. Good Reads. http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/84518453.
