Menu
Our First Civil War: Patriots and Loyalists in the American Revolution
Maybe someday
28
/100
I Index Overall Rating
Readers
38/100Critics
17/100Scholars
Author:
H.W. Brands
Publisher:
Doubleday
Date:
November 9, 2021
A new narrative of the American Revolution that shows it to be more than a fight against the British, but also a violent battle among neighbors forced to choose sides, Loyalist versus Patriot.
What The Reviewers Say
... was the Revolution truly a 'civil war' at heart? And what was the role of the many tens of thousands of everyday Loyalists whose presence made it potentially so? Where were they, who were they, and did they actually fight? Readers looking for answers to such questions will have to look elsewhere. What Mr. Brands provides is a brisk, engaging narrative history of the Revolution itself. He highlights the Franklin drama, alongside more glancing accounts of other Loyalist cases, to ensure that an oft-overlooked part of the American Revolution receives its due..
Brands offers a fast-paced, often riveting account of the military and political events leading up to the Declaration of Independence and those that followed during the war.
The author ably documents the drift from petitioning to open rebellion, and cites anecdotes on the consequences experienced by Loyalists during the war. He quotes liberally from letters between Patriot leaders.
Much of the book is devoted to the evolution of Washington and Franklin from staunch Britons to unlikely leaders in the movement for independence. But Franklin’s sad family history is equally intriguing.
