MATERIAL FOR THIS BOOK has been gathered at more than twenty-five libraries, archives, special collections, and historic sites here in the United States, and in the United Kingdom, at the British Library and the National Archives. I am greatly indebted to the staffs of all of them and wish to thank the following in particular for their many courtesies and help:
William Fowler, Peter Drummey, Brenda Lawson, and Anne Bentley of the Massachusetts Historical Society; Philander Chase, Frank Grizzard, Jr., and Edward Lengel, editors of The Papers of George Washington at the University of Virginia; James C. Rees, Carol Borchert Cadou, Linda Ayres, and Barbara McMillan of Mount Vernon; Gerard Gawalt, Jeffrey Flannery, James Hutson, Edward Redmond, and Michael Klein of the Library of Congress; Richard Peuser of the National Archives; John C. Dann, Brian Leigh Dunnigan, Barbara DeWolfe, and Clayton Lewis of the William L. Clements Library, Ann Arbor, Michigan; Jack Bales, Roy Strohl, and Tim Newman of the Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington; Ellen McCallister Clark, Jack D. Warren, Sandra L. Powers, Lauren Gish, and Emily Schulz of the Society of the Cincinnati, Washington, D.C.; Andrea Ashby-Leraris of Independence National Historic Park, Philadelphia; Roy Goodman and Robert Cox of the American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia; David Fowler, Greg Johnson, and Kathy Ludwig of the David Library of the American Revolution, Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania; Michael Bertheaud of the Washington Crossing Historic Park; Cathy Hellier and John Hill of Colonial Williamsburg; James Shea and Anita Israel of the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow House, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Vincent Golden of the American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Massachusetts; Jan Hilley and Ted O’Reilly of the New-York Historical Society; Leslie Fields of the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York; Rick Statler of the Rhode Island Historical Society; Greg and Mary Mierka of the Nathanael Greene Homestead, Coventry, Rhode Island; Martin Clayton, the King’s Map Collection, Windsor Castle; Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Russell, Ballindalloch Castle, Banffshire, Scotland; Bryson Clevenger, Jr., of the Alderman Library, University of Virginia; Helen Cooper of the Yale University Art Gallery; and Eric P. Frazier of the Boston Public Library.
Peter Drummey, the incomparably knowledgeable Librarian of the Massachusetts Historical Society, and Major General Josiah Bunting III, soldier, scholar, author, and generous friend, were good enough to read the manuscript and offer valuable suggestions. And so, too, was Philander Chase, senior editor of The Papers of George Washington, whose insights into the life and character of Washington and close reading of and comments on the manuscript helped immeasurably.
Sean P. Hennessey and his associates at the National Park Service in Charlestown, Massachusetts, gave me a superb tour of Bunker Hill and Dorchester Heights; Martin Maher of the New York City Parks Department took me the length and breadth of Brooklyn on a memorable all-day survey of the events that took place there August 27, 1776; and on another expedition, John Mills, superintendent of the Princeton Battlefield State Park, guided me along the route of the famous night march to Trenton, beginning at the point where Washington and the army crossed the Delaware, then through the battles of both Trenton and Princeton. For their time, their illuminating commentary and infectious enthusiasm for their subjects, I thank them all.
For the privilege of visiting the birthplace of Nathanael Greene at East Greenwich, Rhode Island, I am ever grateful to its present owner, Thomas Casey Greene, who, as a direct descendant, knows much about the general not to be found in the usual texts.
Over the years I have benefited repeatedly from the friendship and the insights of historians Richard Ketchum, Thomas Fleming, Don Higginbotham, and David Hackett Fischer, each the author of landmark works on the Revolutionary War.
For their interest and a great variety of thoughtful suggestions and favors, I thank William Paul Deary, Philip A. Forbes, Wendell Garrett, Richard Gilder, J. Craig Huff, Jr., Father Michael Greene, Tim Greene, Daniel P. Jordan, Michael Kammen, Ravi Khanna, William Martin, Sally O’Brien, Doug Smith, Matthew Stackpole, Renny A. Stackpole, Clarence Wolf, and John Zentay.
Thomas J. McGuire has read so much about the realities of soldiering in the Revolution that it is almost as though he fought in it himself. He was a great help from the start of my efforts, supplying a wealth of material from his own wide-ranging research and abundant knowledge.
Gayle Mone helped with correspondence, typed the manuscript, and assisted superbly and tirelessly in the work of the Bibliography and Source Notes.
Mike Hill, my research assistant on this and previous books, has been a mainstay. His expertise and enterprise, his amazing stamina and unfailing good cheer, are beyond compare.
Again, I proudly acknowledge the parts played by my editor Michael Korda and my literary agent, Morton L. Janklow. I am ever grateful for their support and counsel, not to say the pleasure of their company. And again I thank my lucky stars for copy editors Gypsy da Silva and Fred Wiemer, for Amy Hill, who designed the book, and Wendell Minor, who designed the jacket. I think it is no exaggeration to say they are the best in the business.
As always, I thank my family, who know how much help and support they have given me and how much I appreciate all they have done.
To my wife Rosalee, to whom the book is dedicated, I owe the most by far. She is editor-in-chief. Her spirit never flags. She holds a steady course in all seasons.
David McCullough
West Tisbury, Massachusetts
November 29, 2004