The Fate of the Day: The War for America, Ticonderoga to Charleston, 1777–1780

From chaotic bloodshed emerges a coherent struggle for freedom in this sweeping second volume of Pulitzer winner Atkinson’s Revolution Trilogy (after The British Are Coming). He recaps the war’s muddled middle years, focusing on three inept British campaigns: Gen. John Burgoyne’s 1777 expedition down the Hudson River from Canada, which ended with a humiliating surrender at Saratoga that emboldened the French to ally with America; Gen. William Howe’s 1778 defeat of George Washington’s Continental Army and occupation of Philadelphia, which the British then fecklessly abandoned; and British efforts to capture Savannah and Charleston in futile hopes of galvanizing Loyalist support. Atkinson also tracks international developments, following Benjamin Franklin’s sly diplomacy in Paris and escalating tension between Britain and France. Through vivid battle scenes (“Ghostly, muddy figures illuminated by British muzzle flashes... began climbing... their bayonets pricking the night”) and complex portraits of key figures (from Washington—a paragon of honor but also a consummate spin-doctor—to neurotic British commander-in-chief Henry Clinton, who repeatedly begged to be relieved of command), Atkinson distills a larger interpretation: though the British were winning more battles, they were losing the ideological war, partly due to the Patriots’ brutal suppression of Loyalists and America’s already robust tradition of self-governance, but also because the fight for liberty inspired passionate solidarity abroad. Epic in scale but rich in detail, this captures the drama and world-historical significance of the revolution. (Apr.)