ta! Navy, the disparate eleve n state-n avies, and the motley privateer fleet proved of little consequence at sea. By contras t, the British h ad the larges t and most formidable n avy in the world , a combat- tested military and officer corps, plus fierce H essian mercenary soldiers. While they came into the conflict with this distinct advantage, they had difficulty prevailing. The author presents his educated views about why this happened: evidence that th e hierarchy h ad little firsthand knowledge of the North American colonies; little understanding of the di fficu!ties a European-style army would h ave traversing the rugged, largely undeveloped ter rain; and poor appreciation of the sometimes extreme seasonal weather challenges in execu ting the Hudson Valley strategy. Daughan takes his readers on a journey through battles and political intrigues of the entire Revolutionary War, with a close examination of the crucial Hudson Valley engagements at Lake C hamplain, Bemis Heights, Saratoga, and the non-engagement at West Point, along with more detailed descriptions on the British evacuation of Boston, the battles of Long Island, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Trenton, and Philadelphia. 1h e latter were arguably necessary for staging a successful Hudson Valley assault, but Daughan also dwells upon the southern campaigns: Charleston, and fina lly the British defeat at Yorktown. Participants on both sides had multiple internecine conflicts, including brothers General W illiam and Admiral Richard Howe's conAicts with Lord George Germain, General Henry Clinton's dislike for Admiral Marriott Arbuthnot, Gen eral C harles Lee's calumny of General George Washington, Ad miral George Rodney's dislike of both Clinton and Arbuthnot; the enigmatic Benedict Arnold would become a conundrum for both sides. Some of the disputes directly affected the outcome of battles that mi ght have been turned with better cooperation, communi cations, and exploitation of hard-won gains. Daughan explains how much of the hardship on both sides could have been avoided with minor compromises, better treatment of the vanquished, and by showing basic humanity. The author's descriptions of the British and particularly the Hessians' brutality were
SEA HISTORY 157, WINTER 20 16- 17
especially poignant. Unfortunately, missing was a discussion about similar acts of cruelty committed by American forces, particularly in the odious prison within a Simsbury, Con necticut, copper-mine. The author's prose is fast paced, which is not always an advantage when discussing important events that were quite complex and condensed. Still, the autho r's intent was to focus on Britain's Hudson strategy as a central theme, not to write a definitive history of the Revolutionary War. In this capacity he is largely successful. The last two chapters in which he discusses the immediate events beyond Yorktown are rarely dealt with in other books on the confl ict. His comm entary is insightful; Daughan looks back on events and speculates abo ut what might have been if more perceptive heads had prevailed or if different decisions had been made at crucial times. Historian George Daughan's scholarly Revolution on the Hudson is a worthy sequel to his award-winning books, If by Sea and 1812: 1he Navy's War. I h ighly recommend this book to readers who are interested in the significant Hudson Valley events that surrounded the birth of our nation. Lours ARTHUR NORTON West Simsbury, Connecticut
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National University of Singapore Press
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