Battles of the Revolutionary W essays

Battles of the Revolutionary W essays The book that I chose to review for Early U.S. History was Battles of the Revolutionary War: 1775 1781 by W. J. Wood. This book is an analysis of numerous important battles fought in America's war for independence. In theAuthor's Introduction? section of the book, Wood states his main objective in writing Battles of the Revolutionary War: 1775 1781. He explains that his purpose is to refute the common belief that battles in the American Revolutionary War areof questionable worth for military historians and their readers because they areall of a piece? too much alike.? (Wood xix) Wood disagrees with this view of the war and has attempted to give examples of battles that he has deemedunique? and that should be studied in military history. Wood does not limit his descriptions of the major battles to simple tactical analysis, however. In addition to tactical evaluation, he also seeks to paint a portrait of each battle and its respective conditions and participants. Some major points that Wood emphasizes in his writing are the effect of the rifle on Revolutionary War tactics, the hindrance that British soldiers faced due to their bulky uniforms, and the strengths and weaknesses of important military commanders such as George Washington and Benedict Arnold. In addition to painting a picture of each battle, W. J. Wood also adds a variety of visual aids to further assist the reader. The various maps and diagrams that are included within the text are enormously helpful in allowing the reader to understand the unique land features of each battle, the placement of troops, and also the overall regional theater through maps of the entire region. Wood has also added sixteen pages of artwork illustrating relevant battle scenes and portraits of various military commanders. The majority of the book Battles of the Revolutionary War: 1775 1781 is, of course, spent detailing the ten battles that Wood has chosen to describe. These ten battles...