646. 1776 by D. McCullough- summary

646.  1776 by D. McCullough.  Another wonderful book by an author who has so much  feeling for the human condition.  Yet, this does not prevent him from seeing the flaws which people have.  Truth to tell he seems to understand that our flaws not only make us human but in the case of some people may be used to catapult them to great success.  For the most part the book revolves around the personality and abilities of George Washington.  McCullough suggests that this year, 1776, was the most difficult year in our entire existence.  Against overwhelming odds its leader and army, which in the beginning and at different times virtually no army at all, managed to out fight and to out wit a superior force.  The book begins with the siege of the British army at Boston.  Washington has just assumed command.  He has never commanded an army, he has never led troops into battle.  Yet, there he was, almost  the last good hope of our early years.  He did well at Boston but soon in  his defense of New York, made one mistake after the next.  He almost lost his whole army there.  One ability which helped Washington no end was his ability to identify talent.  So he saw talent in several people, most of which had also never commanded troops or lead them into battle.  Nathanael Greene and Henry Knox are two of these.  They turned out to be excellent generals who were loyal to Washington without reserve.  It is interesting that even though one may know the story, McCullough has the story unfold in such a way that one can not but help to cheer on Washington, Green and Knox.  After the near disaster at New York and the retreat which nearly turned into another disaster, Washington gets across the Delaware River to safety.  Then Washington conceives a bold plan- to cross the Delaware in the middle of winter and attack the Hessians employed by the British.  That was a success.  He retreats back across the river and then boldly on succeeding days crosses the river again and attacks British troops.  It was what Washington needed to gain the confidence of his fellow citizens and officers.  It was what his officers and soldiers needed in order to believe in themselves.  Even though his success was maybe small in scale, it was just the lift which was needed. Personal courage and determination held shreds of an army together.