Kate’s 2¢: “The British are coming: the war for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777 by Rick Atkins

“The British are coming: the war for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777 by Rick Atkins

Kate’s 2¢: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as,     describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ merely shares my thoughts about what I read.  I’m just saying…

…Discussing the Complex Case of Benedict Arnold

Written by: Denise Doring VanBuren, President General, NSDAR

April 8, 2022 

His name is synonymous with “traitor.” He was reviled in his lifetime, and his legacy remains the ultimate example of betrayal to our American cause. But did you know that early in the American Revolution, he was hailed as a hero and one of the Continental Army’s most promising officers?

He, of course, is Benedict Arnold, and the early portion of his military career is the subject of a documentary now airing on streaming services such as Amazon, Roku, Prime Video and iTunes. Titled “Benedict Arnold – Hero Betrayed,” the two-hour film, which premiered last November,  stars Peter O’Meara as Arnold and is narrated by Martin Sheen. The documentary uses historian commentary, re-enacted events and compelling narration to illustrate Arnold’s first three years of military success by xploring accomplishments that are little known due to Arnold’s later, more infamous treachery.

   Dr. James Kirby Martin, the Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen University Professor of History at the University of Houston, Texas, served as the primary historian on the film. A nationally recognized scholar of U.S. history, he is well known for his writings on various aspects of American military history, specifically the American Revolution. Many other historians share their views on the complex character of Benedict Arnold, as judged by his initial acts of valor and leadership – behavior that early on won Arnold the respect of his men.

Recently, I had the chance to catch up with Dr. Kirby and the film’s director, Chris Stearns, to discuss Arnold and production of the documentary. You may view that conversation here.

   I liked the film. While most books and movies focus on the details of Arnold’s act of treachery, few explore the earlier years, when Arnold was hailed as a hero at places like Quebec, Saratoga and Valcour Island. The film introduces us to this “other” Arnold – the man who was effective in battle and who won the support and confidence of his Commander-in-Chief.

   I have lived my entire life in New York’s Hudson River Valley, not far from West Point – and so the story of Arnold has been ever present for me. For many years, I commuted past a historical marker aside a local roadway that reads: “Arnold’s Flight. At Beverley Dock, at the foot of this lane, Arnold, exposed as a traitor, fled by boat to the British Ship Vulture, off Croton Point.” Not far away is the site of the Beverly Robinson House, with its marker reading “Here stood the Robinson House, where Benedict Arnold, his treason disclosed, fled from his wife and baby to the British ship Vulture.”

   As a result of this local connection, Arnold the man has long intrigued me. I guess that I have also realized that understanding his betrayal holds up a mirror to our own unfailingly loyal ancestors, who continued on in the fight despite their own personal disappointments and extenuating circumstances. What made them stronger, braver, better than Arnold in staying the course of a long and very difficult war? They, too, had aspirations and expectations that went unmet – why did Arnold turn so tragically away from the fight for liberty when his were dashed – and why did they remain? It is, indeed, a complex and thought-provoking subject to ponder.

   Raising awareness of the men and women who achieved our American independence is the core mission of our National Society. Recognizing those who fought alongside Arnold in these early, strategically important events should be important to us. And learning more about Arnold himself should further increase our appreciation for the true valor and substance of our Patriot ancestors who remained loyal to the very end. 

Rick Atkinson – Wikipedia

Atkinson was born in Munich to Margaret (née Howe) and Larry Atkinson, who was a U.S. Army officer. Turning down an appointment to West Point,[2] he instead attended East Carolina University on a full scholarship, graduating with a bachelor of arts degree in English in 1974. He received a master of arts degree in English language and literature from the University of Chicago in 1975.[3]

While visiting his parents for Christmas at Fort Riley, Kansas, in 1975, Atkinson found a job as a newspaper reporter for The Morning Sun in Pittsburg, Kansas, covering crime, local government, and other topics in southeast Kansas, an area known as “the Little Balkans” for its ethnic diversity and fractious politics. In April 1977, he joined the staff of The Kansas City Times, working nights in suburban Johnson County, Kansas before moving to the city desk and eventually serving as a national reporter; in 1981, he joined the newspaper’s bureau in Washington, D.C. He won the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting in 1982[1] for a “body of work” that included a series about the West Point class of 1966, which lost more men in Vietnam than any other Military Academy class. He also contributed to the newspaper’s coverage of the Hyatt Regency walkway collapse in Kansas City, Missouri, for which the paper’s staff in 1982 was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for local spot news reporting.[4]

   In November 1983, Atkinson was hired as a reporter on the national staff of The Washington Post. He wrote about defense issues, the 1984 presidential election. He covered Rep. Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman vice-presidential candidate for a major party, and national topics. In 1985, he became deputy national editor, overseeing coverage of defense, diplomacy, and intelligence. In 1988, he returned to reporting as a member of the Post investigative staff, writing about public housing in the District of Columbia and the secret history of Project Senior C.J., which became the B-2 stealth bomber. In 1991, he was the newspaper’s lead writer during the Persian Gulf War. Two years later he joined the foreign staff as bureau chief in Berlin, covering Germany and NATO and spending time in Somalia and Bosnia. He returned from Europe in 1996 to become assistant managing editor for investigations; in that role, he headed a seven-member team that for more than a year scrutinized shootings by the District of Columbia police department, resulting in “Deadly Force,” a series for which the Post was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.[5]

Atkinson left the newspaper world in 1999 to write about World War II, an interest that began with his birth in Germany and was rekindled during his three-year tour in Berlin. He twice rejoined the Post, first in 2003 when for two months he accompanied General David Petraeus and the 101st Airborne Division during the invasion of Iraq, and again in 2007 when he made trips to Iraq and Afghanistan while writing “Left of Boom”, an investigative series about roadside bombs in modern warfare, which won the Gerald R. Ford Award for Distinguished Reporting on National Defense. He held the Omar N. Bradley Chair of Strategic Leadership at the United States Army War College and Dickinson College in 2004–2005,[6] and remains an adjunct faculty member at the war college.[7]

   Atkinson is a presidential counselor at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans,[8] a member of the Society of American Historians,[9] and an inductee in the Academy of Achievement, for which he also serves as a board member.[10] He serves on the governing commission of the National Portrait Gallery.[11] Atkinson is married to the former Jane Ann Chestnut of Lawrence, Kansas, a researcher and clinician at the National Institutes of Health. They have two grown children.

From NLS/BARD/LOC          :

The British are coming: the war for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777 DB95379

Atkinson, Rick. Reading time: 26 hours, 5 minutes.

Read by Rick Atkinson.

Bestsellers

U.S. History

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa (DB 54939) recounts the first twenty-one months of the American Revolution in this first volume of three. Describes principal battles, key figures, British perspective, and historical context for the conflict. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. Bestseller. 2019.

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