The Perils of Peace: America's Struggle for Survival After Yorktown
Oct 2009 · Harper Collins
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About this ebook
The acclaimed historian presents a “captivating account of a surprisingly little-known period” at the close of the American Revolution (Kirkus, starred review).
On October 19, 1781, Great Britain’s best army surrendered to General George Washington at Yorktown. But the future of the thirteen former colonies was far from clear. 13,000 British troops still occupied New York City, and another 13,000 regulars and armed loyalists were scattered from Canada to Georgia. Meanwhile, the American army had not been paid for years and was on the brink of mutiny.
In Europe, America’s only ally, France, teetered on the verge of bankruptcy and was soon reeling from a disastrous naval defeat in the Caribbean. A stubborn George III dismissed Yorktown as a minor defeat and refused to yield an acre of “my dominions” in America. In Paris, Ambassador Benjamin Franklin confronted violent hostility toward France among his fellow members of the American peace delegation.
In The Perils of Peace, Thomas Fleming moves between the key players in this drama and shows that the outcome we take for granted was far from certain. With fresh research and masterful storytelling, Fleming breathes new life into this tumultuous but little known period in America’s history.
On October 19, 1781, Great Britain’s best army surrendered to General George Washington at Yorktown. But the future of the thirteen former colonies was far from clear. 13,000 British troops still occupied New York City, and another 13,000 regulars and armed loyalists were scattered from Canada to Georgia. Meanwhile, the American army had not been paid for years and was on the brink of mutiny.
In Europe, America’s only ally, France, teetered on the verge of bankruptcy and was soon reeling from a disastrous naval defeat in the Caribbean. A stubborn George III dismissed Yorktown as a minor defeat and refused to yield an acre of “my dominions” in America. In Paris, Ambassador Benjamin Franklin confronted violent hostility toward France among his fellow members of the American peace delegation.
In The Perils of Peace, Thomas Fleming moves between the key players in this drama and shows that the outcome we take for granted was far from certain. With fresh research and masterful storytelling, Fleming breathes new life into this tumultuous but little known period in America’s history.
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About the author
Thomas Fleming is the author of more than forty books of fiction and nonfiction, most recently, The Perils of Peace. He has been the president of the Society of American Historians and of PEN American Center. Mr. Fleming is a frequent guest on C-SPAN, PBS, A&E, and the History Channel. He lives in New York City.
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