Winning Independence: The Decisive Years 1778-1781

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It was 1778, and the recent American victory at Saratoga had netted the U.S a powerful ally in France. Many, including General George Washington, presumed France’s entrance into the war meant independence was just around the corner.

Meanwhile, having lost an entire army at Saratoga, Great Britain pivoted to a “southern strategy.” The army would henceforth seek to regain its southern colonies, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, a highly profitable segment of its pre-war American empire.

Deep into 1780 Britain’s new approach seemed headed for success as the U.S. economy collapsed and morale on the home front waned. By early 1781, Washington, and others, feared that France would drop out of the war if the Allies failed to score a decisive victory that year. Sir Henry Clinton, commander of Britain’s army, thought “the rebellion is near its end.” Washington, who had been so optimistic in 1778, despaired: “I have almost ceased to hope.”

The Fort Plain Museum has announced After Saratoga: The War that Britain Nearly Won, a virtual conversation with John Ferling set for May 3rd at 7 pm. This webinar will be based on Ferling’s book Winning Independence: The Decisive Years of the Revolutionary War, 1778-1781 (Bloomsbury, 2021).

In Winning Independence: The Decisive Years of the Revolutionary War, 1778-1781 Ferling tells the story of how and why Great Britain – so close to regaining several southern colonies and rendering the postwar United States a fatally weak nation ultimately failed to win the war. Ferling explores the choices and decisions made by Clinton and Washington, and others, that ultimately led the French and American allies to clinch the pivotal victory at Yorktown that at long last secured American independence.

John Ferling is Professor Emeritus of History at the University of West Georgia. A leading authority on American Revolutionary history, he has appeared in many documentaries and has written numerous books, including Almost a Miracle: The American Victory in the War for Independence, Adams vs. Jefferson: The Tumultuous Election of 1800, The First of Men: A Life of George Washington, Setting the World Ablaze: Washington, Adams, and Jefferson in the American Revolution, and the award-winning A Leap in the Dark: The Struggle to Create the American Republic.

This webinar is free and open to the public, and will be held via Zoom. Registration is required and can be completed online.

Book Purchases made through this Amazon link support the New York Almanack’s mission to report new publications relevant to New York State.