Read more
Zusatztext 82895222 Informationen zum Autor Nathaniel Philbrick is the author of In the Heart of the Sea , winner of the National Book Award; Mayflower , finalist for the Pulitzer Prize; Valiant Ambition , winner of the George Washington Prize; Bunker Hill , winner of the New England Book Award; Sea of Glory ; The Last Stand ; Why Read Moby Dick? ; Away Off Shore ; and Second Wind . Klappentext NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "Nathaniel Philbrick is a masterly storyteller. Here he seeks to elevate the naval battles between the French and British to a central place in the history of the American Revolution. He succeeds! marvelously."--The New York Times Book Review The thrilling story of the year that won the Revolutionary War from the New York Times bestselling author of In the Heart of the Sea and Mayflower. In the concluding volume of his acclaimed American Revolution series! Nathaniel Philbrick tells the thrilling story of the year that won the Revolutionary War. In the fall of 1780! after five frustrating years of war! George Washington had come to realize that the only way to defeat the British Empire was with the help of the French navy. But coordinating his army's movements with those of a fleet of warships based thousands of miles away was next to impossible. And then! on September 5! 1781! the impossible happened. Recognized today as one of the most important naval engagements in the history of the world! the Battle of the Chesapeake-fought without a single American ship-made the subsequent victory of the Americans at Yorktown a virtual inevitability. A riveting and wide-ranging story! full of dramatic! unexpected turns! In the Hurricane's Eye reveals that the fate of the American Revolution depended! in the end! on Washington and the sea. Preface The Land and the Sea For five years, two armies had clashed along the edge of a vast continent. One side, the Rebels, had the advantage of the land. Even when they lost a battle, which happened more often than not, they could retire into the countryside and wait for the next chance to attack. The other side, the Empire, had the advantage of the sea. With its fleet of powerful warships (just one of which mounted more cannons than the entire Rebel army possessed), it could attack the Rebels’ seaside cities at will. But no matter how many coastal towns the Empire might take, it did not have enough soldiers to occupy all of the Rebels’ territory. And without a significant navy of its own, the Rebels could never inflict the blow that would win them their independence. The war had devolved into a stalemate, with the Empire hoping the Rebels’ rickety government would soon collapse, and with the Rebels hoping for the miraculous intervention of a powerful ally. Two years before, one of the Empire’s perennial enemies, the Rival Nation, had joined the war on the Rebels’ behalf. Almost immediately the Rival had sent out its own fleet of warships. But then the sea had intervened. When France entered the American Revolutionary War in the spring of 1778, George Washington had dared to hope his new ally would put victory within reach. Finally, the British navy’s hold on the Atlantic seaboard was about to be broken. If the French succeeded in establishing what Washington called “naval superiority,” the enemy’s army would be left open to attack from not only the land but also the sea. But after two and a half years of trying, the French had been unable to contain the British navy. First, an inexplicably protracted Atlantic crossing had prevented French Admiral d’Estaing from trapping the enemy’s fleet in Philadelphia. Shortly after that, d’Estaing had turned his attention to British-occupied New York only to call off the attack for fear his ships would run aground at ...
