Book Review

                                                                          By Joseph G. Brosius

                                        1781 The Decisive Year of the Revolutionary War

               

                                                         By Robert L. Tonsetic 

                                                         Published by Casemate Publishers 2011

     When one considers the precarious military and financial straits America found itself in by 1781, then this is a year that begs for a single volume history. Robert Tonsetic PhD and retired US Army, gives us a fast paced narrative of the climactic year of America’s war for independence.

     Surprisingly for the 18^th century, 1781 was a very busy year in America. The tempo of the war moved quicker than it had for the preceding 3 years. The author effectively explains how Generals on both sides were able to change their tactics at a more rapid pace to meet this new tempo. His discussion on their command decision making is a constant throughout this book and is what I enjoyed the most.

     This book is not perfect however and while I will not recount each little hiccup, these smaller items should be easily picked up on by students of America’s war for independence. I will address the 2 major issues I have found with this work.

     The first item in the book I found troublesome was the author’s overuse of “Bloody Ban” when referring to British Lt. Colonel Banastre Tarelton. While this moniker did get some propaganda mileage for the Americans during the war, subsequent histories have shown that his American counterparts were just as bloody. Tarelton led from the front and pursued his foe aggressively. Tarelton stretched his offensive orders just as General George Patton did during WWII. To use the tacky “Bloody” when only referring to Tarelton seems jaundiced for a professional military officer. When one considers America’s war for independence was a civil war, an insurrection and a revolution all at the same time there were plenty of bloody officers on both sides.

      

     The other foible that perplexed this reviewer is the author’s repeating a 200 year old story that the most modern research has corrected. The old story is that British General Cornwallis ordered his artillery to fire into his own troops at Guilford Courthouse in order to break up a melee when they were held up by a stubborn Continental Line, in order to keep his momentum going. Recent research by Babits and Howard has shown that this is not exactly what occurred. This author however, has chosen to run with the 200 year old story and even dismisses the “conjecture of modern research” on this incident.

     Back to the positives in this work, of which there are plenty of, the author keeps the story of the year 1781 in America flowing nicely among multiple locations. He is absolutely correct when he says “The British winter campaign in the Carolinas ended as a strategic failure.” This book has some beautiful prints and photos of Yorktown, Va. The maps are clearly labeled and are relevant to the adjoining text.

        1781 is a compact, efficient account of the last year of combat in America’s war for independence.