На четвърти юли 1776 г. във Филаделфия, Пенсилвания е подписана американската Декларация за независимост. Това се случва в условията на разрастваща се война с Англия, която ще завърши след почти 7 години чрез Паржикия мирен договор от 1783 г. След началните сражения край Конкорд, Лексингтън и Бункер Хил, английската армия се оказва обградена край Бостън от континенталната армия на Джордж Вашингтон. Но крал Джордж Трети със сигурност няма да се откаже лесно от проспериращата си колония и изпраща подкрепления, включително германски (хесиански) наемници. Англичаните успяват да избягат с корабите си от обсадения Бостън и само няколко месеца по-късно завладяват Ню Йорк и фортовете около него. Американската армия изглежда победена, войниците са гладни и уморени от постоянните изтегляния, а някои от тях решават да дезертират. Едрата шарка (вариола) и коремният тиф взимат повече жертви от реалните бойни действия. Обрат настъпва след неочакваната атака и превземане на Трентън и Принстън, Ню Джърси от континенталната армия. Описаните събития са запечатани в съзнанието на американците чрез серия от известни картини - портрети на водещите генерали Натаниел Грийн и Хенри Нокс от Чарлз Уилсън Пийл, както и още по-известната "Вашингтон прекосява Делауеър" на Емануел Лойце.

Войната през 18 век е била много по-различна от днешната. Мускетите, когато са били налични, са можели да произвеждат само няколко изстрела в минута. Често щиковете са влизали в употреба при бой лице в лице. Артилерията е била изключително примитивна и трудна за пренасяне на дълги разстояния. В битките са участвали само няколко хиляди войници, което би било достатъчно за крайна победа, ако нямаше постоянни стратегически изтегляния с цел избягване на тежко поражение.

Книгата "1776: Америка и Британия на война" на Дейвид Маккълоу е придобила легендарен статус в САЩ и има над двеста хиляди оценки в Goodreads.

A British ship’s surgeon who used the privileges of his profession to visit some of the rebel camps, described roads crowded with carts and wagons hauling mostly provisions, but also, he noted, inordinate quantities of rum — “for without New England rum, a New England army could not be kept together.” The rebels, he calculated, were consuming a bottle a day per man.

One late night foray led me to finish this book hours after beginning. It is no great shame, but it was the musical Hamilton which inclined me to approach the work. My days of matriculation were often obscured to such narrative histories. 25 years ago at university I was an aspiring Marxist and I saw the American Revolution as between two slave owning factions of the same burning house. I now regard that approach as painfully naïve.

1776 chronicles more or less of the famed year in American Independence when Washington's cobbled forces stumbled about. The vastly superior Royal forces didn't appear to appreciate the significance of the stakes. Few do in the moment.

Absolutely loved this book. McCullough’s narrative skills are very good and keeps you engaged. I also didn’t think a book of only a few hundred pages would have enough material for me to learn stuff that I don’t already know but I was quite wrong. He shows tons of diary scripts from both American and British soldiers to show you exactly how they felt and what happened. I always enjoy history straight from a historical figure’s hand. He was also very descriptive on battle scenes to give more enlightenment on how terrible war really is.

This book was fascinating and compelling, told in an informative style that makes the reader feel present at the events themselves (as is characteristic of McCullough). As a longtime Civil War enthusiast, I found I knew very little regarding the American Revolution, so this book proved to be a treasure trove of interesting facts. The realism with which Washington is described, in both strengths and weaknesses, is a welcome contrast to the near-reverence seen in other texts. "1776" allows us to see a man of much indecision, of undesired fame, and of questionable military ability. But we the readers are also struck by the image of this same man, riding his horse into battle alongside his half-naked, untrained, starving "soldiers", and singlehandedly inspiring them to fight and die for our freedom. And the events of that fateful year take on even more significance when one realizes that, as McCullough points out, Washington and his contemporaries were essentially committing high treason.

I do not know whether the fault lies in myself or in my education, but I often find myself astonishingly ignorant of American history (among other things). Here is yet another case. Even though I live near where many of the events in this book take place—in Tarrytown, near New York—I had scant idea of the war’s progress in this area. Indeed, I had only the haziest notion of the conflict, and had seldom paused to give it much thought.

This book is an excellent place to start a remedial education. McCullough writes what is basically a straightforward military history, focusing on strategy, leadership, and battles. McCullough is a born storyteller and a master of narrative history, pulling the reader seamlessly into the past. There is little discussion of sources, hardly any authorial presence, and no analysis whatsoever. McCullough quotes liberally from diaries and letters, creating a kind of literary tapestry woven together by his gentle narration. The result is a masterful illusion: the feeling of being a spectator observing the historical scene unfold.

Even so, the reader may be disappointed to find how much is left out of this book. With his eye firmly fixed on the military situation, McCullough hardly touches on the drafting and signing of the Declaration of Independence, to give the most prominent omission. This is understandable, however, since this volume is a sort of companion to McCullough’s John Adams, which deals with the political situation of the times. Still, the reader may be disappointed to find how exclusively the narrative is focused on military matters. On the other hand, I thought that McCullough did well to include so much about the British side, which helps to prevent the book from becoming a silly patriotic romp.

In short, this book is an admirable introduction to the Revolutionary War. It is basic information written in a strong hand. For any who find themselves as ignorant as I am, we must count ourselves lucky to have such a fine writer to help fill in the innumerable gaps in our education.

Great history of the American Revolution with tons of quotes and stories that really illuminate the human side of the war. I wish there had been more about Indians and black slaves and how they served in the Continental Army. I also wish the author had tied the geography more into the present day landscape so we could picture where things are in relation to present day NYC.

"If a good bleeding can bring those Bible-faced Yankees to their senses, the fever of independency will soon abate."

You can hardly overestimate the number of books written on this hallowed, almost holy subject. That the events of 1776 get shoved down the throat of every American child is hardly hyperbole. Honestly, you get kind of tired hearing about it. Hagiography is the salad dressing of the needy iceberg lettuce of America's curious bout of low self-esteem. It seems we have to chase every bit of minutiae to prove to someone else somewhere, somehow, that we are superior.
Whatever. Nationalism is more like year-old ranch dressing than a fine, primping vinaigrette.
Luckily, we have writers like McCullough to re-toss our salads for us. McC, who probably wrote this over a weekend away from other projects since he could literally write shit like this in his sleep, gives the reader a pared-down and streamlined look at the military goings-on of the titular year.
No politics, no Declarations, other players are mentioned only tangentially (I can recall only one mention of Jefferson, none of Madison, etc). There is nothing celebratory or wanking. This is almost purely a look at the "campaigns" of this year, which were in reality were little more than blunder after blunder of a constantly retreating and regrouping "army" (I use the term loosely) under ol' GW himself. It's a nice corrective to the usual masturbatory fawning since this famed year was one of defeat, doubt, and disaster for the raw Union.

Really good, entertaining as McCullough always is. An especially appropriate time of year to read as we are warm and cozy in our homes remembering Washington and his beleaguered men and arms crossing the frozen Delaware in a blizzard on Christmas day 1776. Probably all Americans should re-read every year as a reminder of America's perilous, remarkable, and brutally fought first steps toward Independence.

t' Especially for those who had been with Washington and who knew what a close call it was at the beginning- how often circumstances, storms, contrary winds, the oddities or strengths of individual characters had made the difference – the outcome seemed little short of a miracle'.

It is the year that some point to repeatedly to show off their patriotism but seem to forget that the nation almost died in the cradle mere months after the signing of the Declaration Independence. 1776 by David McCullough is a companion to his fantastic biography of John Adams but focusing on the military history of the start of the American Revolution.

McCullough covers the history of the American Revolution from the time Washington takes command of what would become the Continental Army around Boston through to the Battle of Princeton. Throughout McCullough analyzes decisions or indecisions in most cases of not only Washington, but Nathanael Greene, Henry Knox, and all the senior British commanders they faced; the missed opportunities of one side or the foolish decisions are not shied away from either side and show the bits of history that some would rather whitewash or ignore. For all the talk about the Declaration of Independence, the year 1776 is when the nation almost died, and McCullough brings that out at the end of the book as the hope survived with the Continental Army that stayed together not only with the leadership of Washington, Greene, and Knox but also the galvanizing effects of the Trenton-Princeton campaign on the men in the ranks who held together. For a general audience this is a very well written book, for those looking for more in-depth it’s fine.

1776 is a book of the early struggles for the newly birthed United States and the Continental Army for a general audience, the research and the prose of David McCullough effectively brings that to the reader.

For star book for history buffs. Not a narrative, not an exciting dramatic take on the history, but the FACTS! A little dry for me, but because it is such high quality facts and so well researched I can't help but give it 4 stars.

This is only my second book read by David McCullough, but it won't be the last. He tells the story of George Washington, General Howe, and their campaigns in the fateful year of 1776 that captures the strengths and weaknesses of both and the unlikeliness of American Victory for most of the year. I was captivated by the story and reminded of how unlike the history textbooks real history actually is. Well-worth the read.

I enjoyed this book and learned so much. I knew very little about this time period, I had learned a lot in the book John Adams, another must read. This covers the soldiers, the fighting, the blood and muck, starvation, bravery. Learning more about George Washington was a plus also. I have the hard copy which I plan to read. Kudos to David McCullough for the excellent narration of his Pulitzer Prize winning novel 1776. Highly recommend!