When young Josiah Penn Stockbridge accepts the position as aide-de-camp to George Washington at the beginning of the Revolutionary War, he thinks only of the glory and romance of battle. He is unprepared for the reality of America’s bloody fight for independence. The Continental Army is starving, underpaid, and dangerously close to mutiny, and Washington fights not just to defeat the British but to maintain order and morale among his own men.
As anonymous letters by officers calling for revolt circulate through camp in Newburgh, New York, Washington must make a choice: preserve the young republic by keeping civilian control of the military, or reshape the new government by standing in solidarity with his troops and assuming greater power for himself.
During one fateful week in American history, Josiah will watch a conflicted general become a legend and will discover for himself that the greatest struggles of war are those within the hearts and minds of fallible men.
Good Read I did not know the story that this book told. It is a very easy read. I had finished it before I realized it. Note, the actually book is only 12 of the book. The last half is pictures and copies of actual documents that the author used. If you enjoy reading history, this book is for you.
Some may find this book dull in its rehearsal of Washington’s virtues or in the … Readers learn as much about the narrator Josiah’s life (as he wishes his persona to be seen) as about Washington’s mind (insofar as his temptations and difficult choices are presented). As writing goes, Miller’s narrator provides credibility to this historical fiction, both by the facts he knows and by his self-effacing approach. Some may find this book dull in its rehearsal of Washington’s virtues or in the composite narrator, a criticism that says more about the critic than the writer. It…
History in a “Novel” Form Both Entertains and Enlightens This is not your run-of-the-mill historical novel. While the story is based upon the events of the Revolutionary War, much of the action is a retelling of history through the eyes of Washingtonâs aide, Josiah (who is a compilation of all the aides assigned to Washington during the war). Thus the book takes on more of the feel one might experience when reading Bruce Catton or Thomas Fleming. This is history in an entertaining form.