‘The book demands attention and thought in equal measure to that clearly applied to its writing. Underpinned by superb mapping, genuinely useful appendices and a comprehensive “dramatis personae”, Bicheno’s volume is a genuine addition to the canon which successfully balances political and military analysis.’ The National Army Museum
The working title for the book and for the TV series presented by Richard Holmes that it accompanied was ‘Brothers at War’. Sadly both ended up with the same unimaginative title as previous accounts of the war. Both Richard and I were irritated by the gross misrepresentations in the film The Patriot (2000), starring Mel Gibson, and felt that a corrective dose of reality was long overdue. Historical events are seldom black and white, and it harms the present when they are depicted in simple good versus evil terms.
Americans are no more fond of the truth when it clashes with their national self-image than anyone else, but the sedulously fostered Foundation Myth has a good claim to being the most successful propaganda exercise in history. The truth is that the rebellion owed much to covert French encouragement and logistical support and only succeeded thanks to massive French military intervention. It was also a civil war, with the Loyalists playing an ever-larger role, particularly in the South. Both of these inconvenient facts have been air-brushed out of the canonical history. Some commentators said my book was ‘anti-American’, which simply means they did not read it. I merely pointed out that all wars come about because of the impatient ambition of some and the determination of others to thwart them. That the outcome of this one has had an enormously beneficial effect throughout my lifetime does not change the fact that the United States was very far from being immaculately conceived. |
