Charleston

Review: The Fate of the Day

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Cover image of "The Fate of the Day" by Rick Atkinson

The Fate of the Day

The Fate of the Day (The Revolution Trilogy), Rick Atkinson. Crown (ISBN: 9780593799185) 2025.

Summary: A history of the Revolutionary War covering the period between 1777 and 1780, from Ticonderoga to Charleston.

It is a season for for Revolutionary War history as the United States approaches its 250th birthday. Not only has Ken Burns just debuted a new series, Rick Atkinson has released the second volume of his Revolution Trilogy. A good Revolutionary War history has to accomplish a number of things well simultaneously. First of all, it has to chronicle the battles. Behind the conflicts, it needs to describe the command structures and the strategic challenges each faced. Then there is the politics. Washington’s efforts to get more support from Congress and each of the state governments. King George III and his cabinet ministers and Parliament. Louis XVI and French ambitions. Finally there is the diplomatic story, how the fledgling country enlisted France’s support and precipitated a world war.

What distinguishes this history is that Rick Atkinson offers us a chronological account of the events of 1777 to 1780 that incorporates all of these elements. For those who are fans of military history, Atkinson provides detailed battle accounts with battlefield maps. He traces the war in upstate New York from the fall of Ticonderoga to the decisive defeat of the over-extended British at Saratoga. Meanwhile, General Howe executes a counter-stroke in seizing Philadelphia after the defeat at Brandywine. Yet fears of being cut off lead the British to abandon both Philadelphia and Newport. The Continental Army has won few battles but the British really hold only territory around new York City.

Then General Clinton, Howe’s successor decides to exploit American weakness and the presence of sympathizers in the South. Atkinson traces the progress of Clinton’s second in command, Cornwallis from Savannah to the fall of Charleston. The southern part of the new country appears on the brink of falling as Atkinson’s account closes in 1780.

The losses in the South reflect Washington’s struggle to maintain the support of Congress and the States. Revolutionary fervor has cooled even as the British have refused to fold up. Meanwhile, Washington deals with tensions in his own command from Benedict Arnold who feels his contributions haven’t received their due and Charles Lee, who Washington must release. At the same time, two foreigners make signal contributions, Lafayette and Steuben.

But important elements of the conflict originated in Great Britain and France. Atkinson’s King George III comes off as a capable, cogent but stubborn leader. Privately, elements in his cabinet had doubts about the war. Lord North talked of retiring. Meanwhile, in France, Ben Franklin, along with the urgings of Lafayette succeeded in moving the French to increasing support, and ultimately, an alliance with Spain, and some inconclusive sea battles.

Atkinson offers a fascinating account weaving all these elements together, going into detail while maintaining the big picture. And that big picture? A Continental Army undersupplied and manned, avoiding defeat without the ability to decisively defeat the superior British forces in open battle. A British military wrestling with how to bring this conflict to an end. An entrenched King who allows a revolution to become the pretense to a world war with France and Spain.

While most of us know the rest of the story, Atkinson leaves us wondering how this impasse will resolve. I look forward to the concluding volume of this trilogy!

See my review of The British are Coming

Nine Dead in Charleston

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Emmanuel A.M.E. Church

Emmanuel A.M.E. Church

Nine people who gathered for Bible study and prayer on Wednesday night are in the more immediate presence of the Lord they loved. One was a pastor, who also served as a state senator. Another was a well-respected librarian. Yet even the sanctuary of the church was no sanctuary against hate. Now, even praying while black is dangerous (actually it has been dangerous for a long time–consider the bombing of churches during the Civil Rights Movement). A young, black friend of mine wrote on his Facebook page, “that could have been me.” Another wrote, “I’m tired. I’ll never stop fighting but I’m tired.” This from a friend working on his doctorate in an engineering field.

In my generation, the day troops fired on students at Kent State and four lay on the ground dying, it seemed our country took a collective breath as if we were saying, “has it come to this?” Students with their life before them including two who were just walking to class were suddenly taken from us. We listened to Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young plaintively sing, “Four dead in Ohio.” And it seemed for a time we backed away from violent demonstrations and responses, and found a way to end the war in Vietnam.

The Nine Who Died

The Nine Who Died

And I find myself wondering, will the deaths of nine black men and women in the midst of a prayer and Bible study service make us pause and take a breath and ask, “has it come to this?” I wonder what has become of the country I was raised in and love that we fear violence not only in our streets but in our movie theaters, schools, and even our churches during worship. And if this does not give us pause, then what will?

As I write, I have no answers but to lament and to pray, to cry to God, “how long?” We could talk causes and solutions until we are all blue in the face, and I’m sure that for every proposal, there will be at least five arguments about why this will not work. That, it seems to me is a good indicator of how far gone is our national discourse. Again I say, “has it come to this?” What will it take for those of us who are keepers of the common good–all of us really–to pause and consider whether it is time for us to turn away from these ways?

Nine dead in Charleston. Perhaps it would do us well to hear this plaintively chanted on the airwaves and Youtube videos this summer as we did “Ohio” in the summer of 1970. Who will write this song? And who will sing it? And will we pause, and listen, and ask, “has it come to this?” God help us if we do not.