In Their Own Words

Founding Fathers

Author Various
Praised as "a lively and engaging invitation to early American history" (Ian K. Steele, author of Warpaths) and "a valuable addition to the literature of the American Iliad" (James M. McPherson, bestselling author of Battle Cry of Freedom), the In Their Own Words series takes readers into the hearts and minds of those who lived history.

In this latest--and final--addition to the series, historian T.J. Stiles brings to life in vivid detail the dramatic events of the Revolutionary War, skillfully interweaving his fast-paced narrative with the words of those who fought for our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. From the first rumblings of rebellion to the full-throated call-to-arms, from the provocative debates to the battlefields, this impressive volume includes first-hand stories and commentaries from our Founding Fathers--John Adams, Samuel Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, and Thomas Paine--as well as American and British soldiers.

Preface
Sources
The Writers and Their Positions at the Time
Introduction: A Tale of Two Wars
A Note to the Reader
I: Tyranny
1. The Stamp Act
The Unhappy Controversy: Samuel Adams
This Year Brings Ruin or Salvation: John Adams

2. The Intolerable
The Boston Massacre: Samuel Adams
The Sense of the Town: Samuel Adams
After the Party: John Adams
Letter from the Town of Boston to the Colonies, May 13, 1774: Samuel Adams

3. The Arguments
In Congress: John Adams
Reflections on the Congress: John Adams
A Summary View of the Rights of British North America: Thomas Jefferson
A Full Vindication: Alexander Hamilton
II: Battle
4. To Arms
Minute Men: Samuel Adams
Mission to Concord: Jeremy Lister
Bottled Up in Boston: Thomas Gage
Ticonderoga: Ethan Allen

5. An Army, a Country
Congress Adopts an Army: John Adams
The Battle of Bunker Hill: Thomas Gage
The Conquest of Boston: George Washington
III: Crisis
6. Independence
Is Not America Already Independent?: Samuel Adams
Common Sense: Thomas Paine
A Declaration: Thomas Jefferson and the Continental Congress

7. To the Brink
The Defense of New York: George Washington
The Crisis: Thomas Paine
Trenton: George Washington
Princeton: George Washington

8. Philadelphia:
The Brandywine: Thomas Paine
Flight from Philadelphia: John Adams
Germantown: Thomas Paine

9. Saratoga
The Expedition from Canada: John Burgoyne
A Fortress and a Battle: Thomas Anburey
Wood Service: John Burgoyne
Down Wood Creek: Thomas Anburey
An Expedition to Bennington: John Burgoyne
Fort Stanwix: Barry St. Leger
Across the Hudson: John Burgoyne
With a Prisoner on the British Right: Thomas Anburey
On the Line in the Center: James Hadden
No Fruits: John Burgoyne
A Reconnaissance in Force: John Burgoyne
In the Redoubts: Thomas Anburey
Saratoga: John Burgoyne

10. Winter
Valley Forge: Albigence Waldo
Snatched from Destruction: Thomas Paine
IV: Victory
11. War Comes to the South
Invasion: Banastre Tarleton
Conquest: Banastre Tarleton

12. Greene's War
King's Mountain: Banastre Tarleton
Cowpens: Henry Lee
The Race to the Dan: Henry Lee
Guilford Court House: Henry Lee

13. Yorktown
March to Virginia: Charles Cornwallis
A Naval Station: Henry Clinton
A Secret Movement: James Duncan
Plans for a Siege: George Washington
The Fleet Arrives: François-Joseph Paul de Grasse
Naval Maneuvers: Henry Clinton
Siege and Assaults: James Duncan
The Want of a Covering Fleet: Henry Clinton
Defeat: Charles Cornwallis

14. Triumph
Negotiations for the New Nation: John Adams
Farewell Orders: George Washington

The improbable life story of Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904) included a peculiarly gothic childhood in Ireland during which he was successively abandoned by his mother, his father and his guardian; two decades in the United States, where he worked as a journalist and was sacked for marrying a former slave; and a long period in Japan, where he married a Japanese woman and wrote about Japanese society and aesthetics for a Western readership. His ghost stories, which were drawn from Japanese folklore and influenced by Buddhist beliefs, appeared in collections throughout the 1890s and 1900s. He is a much celebrated figure in Japan. View titles by Various

About

Praised as "a lively and engaging invitation to early American history" (Ian K. Steele, author of Warpaths) and "a valuable addition to the literature of the American Iliad" (James M. McPherson, bestselling author of Battle Cry of Freedom), the In Their Own Words series takes readers into the hearts and minds of those who lived history.

In this latest--and final--addition to the series, historian T.J. Stiles brings to life in vivid detail the dramatic events of the Revolutionary War, skillfully interweaving his fast-paced narrative with the words of those who fought for our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. From the first rumblings of rebellion to the full-throated call-to-arms, from the provocative debates to the battlefields, this impressive volume includes first-hand stories and commentaries from our Founding Fathers--John Adams, Samuel Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, and Thomas Paine--as well as American and British soldiers.

Table of Contents

Preface
Sources
The Writers and Their Positions at the Time
Introduction: A Tale of Two Wars
A Note to the Reader
I: Tyranny
1. The Stamp Act
The Unhappy Controversy: Samuel Adams
This Year Brings Ruin or Salvation: John Adams

2. The Intolerable
The Boston Massacre: Samuel Adams
The Sense of the Town: Samuel Adams
After the Party: John Adams
Letter from the Town of Boston to the Colonies, May 13, 1774: Samuel Adams

3. The Arguments
In Congress: John Adams
Reflections on the Congress: John Adams
A Summary View of the Rights of British North America: Thomas Jefferson
A Full Vindication: Alexander Hamilton
II: Battle
4. To Arms
Minute Men: Samuel Adams
Mission to Concord: Jeremy Lister
Bottled Up in Boston: Thomas Gage
Ticonderoga: Ethan Allen

5. An Army, a Country
Congress Adopts an Army: John Adams
The Battle of Bunker Hill: Thomas Gage
The Conquest of Boston: George Washington
III: Crisis
6. Independence
Is Not America Already Independent?: Samuel Adams
Common Sense: Thomas Paine
A Declaration: Thomas Jefferson and the Continental Congress

7. To the Brink
The Defense of New York: George Washington
The Crisis: Thomas Paine
Trenton: George Washington
Princeton: George Washington

8. Philadelphia:
The Brandywine: Thomas Paine
Flight from Philadelphia: John Adams
Germantown: Thomas Paine

9. Saratoga
The Expedition from Canada: John Burgoyne
A Fortress and a Battle: Thomas Anburey
Wood Service: John Burgoyne
Down Wood Creek: Thomas Anburey
An Expedition to Bennington: John Burgoyne
Fort Stanwix: Barry St. Leger
Across the Hudson: John Burgoyne
With a Prisoner on the British Right: Thomas Anburey
On the Line in the Center: James Hadden
No Fruits: John Burgoyne
A Reconnaissance in Force: John Burgoyne
In the Redoubts: Thomas Anburey
Saratoga: John Burgoyne

10. Winter
Valley Forge: Albigence Waldo
Snatched from Destruction: Thomas Paine
IV: Victory
11. War Comes to the South
Invasion: Banastre Tarleton
Conquest: Banastre Tarleton

12. Greene's War
King's Mountain: Banastre Tarleton
Cowpens: Henry Lee
The Race to the Dan: Henry Lee
Guilford Court House: Henry Lee

13. Yorktown
March to Virginia: Charles Cornwallis
A Naval Station: Henry Clinton
A Secret Movement: James Duncan
Plans for a Siege: George Washington
The Fleet Arrives: François-Joseph Paul de Grasse
Naval Maneuvers: Henry Clinton
Siege and Assaults: James Duncan
The Want of a Covering Fleet: Henry Clinton
Defeat: Charles Cornwallis

14. Triumph
Negotiations for the New Nation: John Adams
Farewell Orders: George Washington

Author

The improbable life story of Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904) included a peculiarly gothic childhood in Ireland during which he was successively abandoned by his mother, his father and his guardian; two decades in the United States, where he worked as a journalist and was sacked for marrying a former slave; and a long period in Japan, where he married a Japanese woman and wrote about Japanese society and aesthetics for a Western readership. His ghost stories, which were drawn from Japanese folklore and influenced by Buddhist beliefs, appeared in collections throughout the 1890s and 1900s. He is a much celebrated figure in Japan. View titles by Various