Best Little Stories from the American Revolution

Best Little Stories From...

by C. Brian Kelly, Ingrid Smyer-Kelly

"Best Little Stories of the American Revolution" is a journalistic history of the birth of the United States in the form of more than 100 vignettes reflecting the period. Here is the history of the war as it affected soldiers and civilians, loyalists and patriots, leaders and common folk - people who courageously prevailed against an enemy with vastly superior resources.
Included are such stories as: Thomas Jefferson@s painful discomfort as the Continental Congress made changes in his vaunted Declaration of Independence. Two rogue warriors, loyalist and patriot, who thought nothing of murder, arson, and kidnapping as a means to victory during the conflict. Henry Knox@s gritty effort to drag a large number of cannons from Fort Ticonderoga in northeastern New York to Boston. George Washington@s embarrassment and fury in dealing with Benedict Arnold@s young wife - hysterical and scantily clad - on the day Arnold deserted the American cause. British soldiers who got General Charles Lee@s horse drunk after capturing Lee one morning in a surprise raid on his New Jersey "bed and breakfast." Teenager Andrew Jackson, later president, rescued from British captivity by his mother, to Britain@s chagrin. Burton Gwinnett of Georgia, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, who was fatally wounded in a senseless pistol duel by Lachlan McIntosh, a patriot leader. Also included are fascinating stories of several founding mothers, including Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, Betsy Ross, Molly Pitcher, Janet Livingston Montgomery, and many others.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American Revolution, American Revolutionary War, American History, Short Stories

464 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1999

About the author

C. BRIAN KELLY, a prize-winning journalist, is president and founder of Montpelier Publishing and a columnist and editor emeritus for Military History magazine. He also is a lecturer in newswriting at the University of Virginia. Kelly's articles have appeared in Reader's Digest, Friends, Yankee, Rod Serling's Twilight Zone, and other magazines, and he is the author of several books on American history.

Reviews

[Sarah]

I finally admitted to myself that I wasn't enjoying this. I don't do well with bite-size pieces of history. I didn't find many of the stories interesting enough that I felt compelled to keep reading.

[Teresa Brewen-White · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great collection of revolutionary stories/events, interesting tidbits, hard to read at times.

[Nikita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a lover of history, recently thanks to books like "John Adams", "Dearest Friend", and then "The Dreamer" the American Revolution has become a central love again. Really when taught in school revolution they spoke of the same battles, mainly the ones with General Washington and that was most it.

This particular book, though most of the information I have read before I still found an interesting read for the history lover. I learned a little more about some of the other generals, but also learned about other battles and skirmishes throughout the Revolutionary War.

I would have liked to learn more about Knowlton's Rangers (which thanks to Lora Innes I constantly look for things about Nathan Hale and Thomas Knowlton) and also I would have liked to learn more about the only Catholic signer of the Declaration (which they just mention by name and nothing else). Of course John Adams was mentioned, but alas never given as much credit as he is in his biography by David McCullough.

I would still recommend reading this book especially if you love learning about the American Revolutionary War, it gives some great insights, and it is not really bias, more to the point very factual in nature. For the average reader, it might bore you, because it is not in detail description of battles and the likes (which you cannot expect in every books you come across).

[Joel Trout · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel like the title of this book (as well as Kelly's Civil War book) doesn't do it justice. This is more than a random collection of little stories, it's more like a comprehensive storyline told in such approachable and riveting chunks that you don't even realize how much you're learning because you're so wrapped up in each tale. Even if you already have lots of books on the Revolution, this is a must-have!

[Craig Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a clasic for anyone who wants to know that little bit more on the Revolution. I is packed with facts and information and has a good array of stories, some known and some unknown. This holds a very high place in your ...uh, uhmm...other library. It is one of those that you can just flip open start read a chapter and not be lost.

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

The idea was good. But because each story was written to stand alone (perhaps as newspaper articles?), there was a lot of overlap of infomation from piece to piece. I had to wade through a lot of things I either already knew or I didn't care about to find the few gems. And the writing wasn't great. I finally put it down about half-way through.

[Ralph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some people have found it boring. However, there are a multitude of things in this book that bring a personal flavor to what otherwise have always seemed to be just a recitation of historical events. Well worth the read.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brief, interesting stories that make for a good bathroom reader. Best for picking out anecdotes. The writing was uneven. Many of the stories tried to build suspense by hiding the name or location of the event until halfway through, which made for a very confusing story.

[Claire · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poorly written and boring, I could bearly get through it.