With Musket & Tomahawk: The West Point-Hudson Valley Campaign in the Wilderness War of 1777

With Musket and Tomahawk #3

by Michael O. Logusz

In this third volume of Michael Logusz’s epic study of the Wilderness War of 1777, a sizable British military force, augmented with German and loyalist soldiers, attacks the Northern Army’s southern front in the fall of 1777 in hopes of assisting a much larger British Army that is threatened to the north of New York City in the wilderness region of Saratoga.

In previous works on the Wilderness War, Logusz deftly described General John Burgoyne’s efforts in the Saratoga campaign. He covered the exploits of British general Barry St. Leger and the convergence of British, German, Canadian mercenary, loyalist, and Indian forces toward Albany. In this third installment, Logusz presents how British general Sir William Howe was to advance northward from New York City with a force of almost twenty thousand regulars accompanied with a strong river naval force to link up with the two other commanders in Albany. Capturing Albany would not only deny the provincials a vital town on the edge of a wilderness, but also cut off the entire region of New England from the rest of the newly established nation. Instead, Howe decided to pursue Washington in Pennsylvania, leaving behind British general Sir Henry Clinton in New York City to deal with the city's lingering troubles and the events to the north.

The book vividly describes the hardships encountered by the patriots fighting for independence and their opponents, along with Clinton’s experiences in and around New York City, West Point, and the Hudson Valley region. Logusz illustrates in depth the terrain, tactics, and terror of the multifaceted Wilderness War of 1777.

Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Genres: History, American Revolution

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 5, 2016

About the author

MICHAEL O. LOGUSZ has served in both the Regular and Reserve branches of the U.S. Army, most recently during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2007–08. He holds a B.A. from Oswego State College and an M.A. in Russian Studies from Hunter College in New York. The author of numerous articles and a previous book on WWII, Lt. Colonel Logusz has personally examined the ground of each battle he describes. He currently lives in Florida.

Reviews

[Roger Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having toured the lower Hudson Valley three times in the last several years, I wish I had read this book first as it would have made a big difference in appreciating the importance of the area north of New York City to the American Revolution. The author describes in detail the attempts by Sir Henry Clinton, the British commander stationed in New York City to move north, destroy the patriots in the area known as the Highlands and ultimately link up with Burgoyne north of Albany. In doing so, we learn of the viciousness of the fighting with both sides burning the homes of either patriots or loyalists in the valley and the ultimate success of Patriot leaders like Governor Clinton, General James Clinton and others in holding off and then defeating the British, driving Clinton back to New York City ending the so called Wilderness Campaign of 1777. Logusz also includes 3 interesting chapters at the end of the book about African Americans under the British and Patriots, the role of women in the events of 1777 ( much more involved than one would ever expect ) and the success in holding the first ever election for Governor in New York State during this dark period.

[Liquidlasagna · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Wild Amazone

poor read and overtly biased account
one star

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The other two books in the series were very captivating and informative, bringing history to life in a dramatic way. But this one was a let down.

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Basically most people were so disillusioned with the first two volumes, i'm not sure many got to the third one!

All i learned from the guy is

a. the 14th Waffen-SS division didn't do any war crimes
b. chloroform was used in the time of the American Revolution

oh well, i'm off to watch Robot Monster
I'm seeking quality!

[Anthony Cleveland · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perhaps I would have enjoyed this work more had I previously read volumes I and II. However, I found the writing style somewhat difficult to work through which made it a bit of a chore to finish. I'm confident the historical facts are as accurate as possible however, I would not recommend this particular work unless you have a great deal of patience and are willing to "slog through" at a snail's pace. I kept asking myself ..."what's the point of this section?".

[Charles Knapp · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book needs a good proofing; it has numerous punctuation errors and some of the sentence structure is downright clumsy. It could use some maps, as could any number of military histories I have read. On the bright side, it is well-organized and concentrates on one theme rather than jumping all over the place. All in all I can positively recommend it.

[Joseph Ficklen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting coda to the Saratoga Campaign, the story of operations around New York City and up the Hudson River in 1777. A terrible strategic situation arose that year for the British, as General William Howe in New York devised a plan to capture Philadelphia. This he proceeded on during the summer, defeating Washington’s army at Brandywine, capturing Philadelphia, and successfully defending it against Washington’s counterattack at Germantown. A great victory for the British, ostensibly. HOWE-ever (ba-dum-tss), General Howe had also been expected to support Burgoyne’s advance south from Canada, and this he utterly failed to do. In fact, he utterly failed to communicate with his northern counterpart at all. It was only in October, after Burgoyne’s army had already gotten itself into serious trouble, that any effort was made to support him from the south. This task fell to the cantankerous Sir Henry Clinton. He sailed north up the Hudson, trouncing the Continental Forces of Governor George Clinton and General James Clinton (brothers but no relation to Sir Henry), and capturing Forts Montgomery and Clinton (the 4th and final Clinton in the story, I promise). His march was attended with a great deal of burning and looting, typical British stuff. It was only after beginning the march that Sir Henry realized just how bad Burgoyne’s situation really was, and in a last effort, he dispatched a small force to reach Albany by water up the Hudson with enough provisions for Burgoyne’s army. This force got to within 45 miles of Albany, twice that distance from Burgoyne himself, before learning that the northern British army had already surrender to General Gates at Saratoga. This story has the feel of Gordon of Khartoum, so close, yet so far. But ultimately too little, and far too late.