Edith and Woodrow
The Day America Crashed
About the Author
TOM SHACHTMAN has written or coauthored more than thirty books, as well as award-winning documentaries seen on ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, and the BBC, and has taught at New York University and lectured at Harvard, Stanford, and Georgia Tech. He is a former chairman of the Writers Room in Manhattan and was a trustee of the Connecticut Humanities Council and a founding director of the Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area. Visit him online at www.tomshachtman.com, or sign up for email updates here.
Thank you for buying this
St. Martin’s Press ebook.
To receive special offers, bonus content,
and info on new releases and other great reads,
sign up for our newsletters.
Or visit us online at
us.macmillan.com/newslettersignup
For email updates on the author, click here.
Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Prologue: December 18–28, 1775
“Matters so delicate that I tremble as I walk.”
Part One: A Mutual Courtship, 1755–1776
1. “The true science of a sovereign.”
2. “Arrogance and insults against which my heart revolted.”
3. “The want of experience to move upon a larger scale.”
Part Two: Approaches and Retreats, 1776 –1777
4. “Dukes, marqueses, comtes and chevaliers without number.”
5. “The arrival of these great succours raised the spirit of the Rebels.”
6. “France has done too much, unless she intends to do more.”
7. “If ever destruction was complete, it was here.”
Part Three: Making the Connection, 1777–1778
8. “France and Spain should strike before England can secure the advantage.”
9. “When an Enemy think a design against them improbable they can always be Surprised.”
10. “To hinder the enemy from rendering himself master.”
Part Four: Together: First Steps, 1778 –1779
11. “Concerting my operations with a general of Your Excellency’s repute.”
12. “Take a bit of courage, have a bit of patience, and all will go well.”
13. “What a wonderful opportunity is slipping from our grasp.”
Part Five: Together: Struggling Through, 1780 –1781
14. “The country that will hazard the most will get the advantage in this war.”
15. “My command of the F–Tps at R Is-d stands upon a very limited state.”
16. “Siberia alone can furnish any idea of Lebanon, Connecticut.”
Part Six: A Triumph and a Fare-Thee-Well, 1781–1783
17. “Could not waste the most decisive opportunity of the whole war.”
18. “The measures which we are now pursuing are big with great events.”
19. “The English are purchasing the peace rather than making it.”
Epilogue: 1783–1844
“After my head falls off, send it to the British, they will pay a good deal for it.”
Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index
List of Illustrations
Also by Tom Shachtman
About the Author
Copyright
HOW THE FRENCH SAVED AMERICA. Copyright © 2017 by Tom Shachtman. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.stmartins.com
Cover design by Jonathan Bush
Cover photographs: George Washington © National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, USA / Bridgeman Images; Louis XVI © Chateau de Versailles, France / Bridgeman Images: Siege of Yorktown painting © Chateau de Versailles, France / Bridgeman Images
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-250-08087-5 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-250-14614-4 (ebook)
eISBN 9781250146144
Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact your local bookseller or the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at [email protected].
First Edition: September 2017
How the French Saved America Page 38
