The Winter Soldiers: The Battles for Trenton and Princeton

Older (1973) but still interesting. Covers much the same ground as Atkinson’s The British Are Coming; lots of background, the titular battles of Trenton and Princeton don’t appear until 2/3 of the way into the book. The American disasters at Fort Washington and Fort Lee are covered well; it’s surprising that the Americans recovered from such a blow. Ketchum makes a lot of the same points as Atkinson; the British were overly optimistic about the number of Loyalists in the colonies, and then alienated many of the colonials by not keeping their troops under better discipline; the Battle of Trenton was not a “stunt” but as serious attack, the subsequent battle of Princeton solidified Washington’s reputation, and the British show more simply weren’t prepared to fight a war like this. Engagingly written; Ketchum notes he’s writing for a lay reader, not a historical scholar. Excellent maps – confirming my opinion that maps in books were better before the availability of computers – now everybody thinks they’re a cartographer. Ketchum provides endnotes but not explicit references to his sources, and “Suggestions for Further Reading” rather than a formal bibliography. show less

A great overview of the campaign of the winter of '76 and '77 ending at the Battle of Princeton. Doesn't focus on any particular person, instead it drifts into and out of the main players of the campaigns, giving enough insight and detail to help the reader form a picture of the people involved, their potential reasons and rational. Easy to read.

Everybody knows the famous painting of Washington crossing the Delaware. This is the story of the battle (Trenton) that he was going out to fight on that Christmas day. This book is that it delivers a lot of background on all of the countries and people involved in the conflict. The writer does an excellent job of putting the story in it's place and time so that you can understand the significance of what happened. Definitely worth a read if you want a close up study of a moment in the Revolutionary War, but it's certainly not for the casual history reader.

Liked the first had sources that were used. Gave a clear picture of all the forces at work and a feeling for the viewpoints of the loyalists, rebels, hessians, etc

Though surpassed by David Hackett Fischer's "Washington's Crossing" this is an excellent account of Trenton and Princeton. Ketcham is probably the best narrative voice of the Revolutionary War. I have never been disappointed by his work.

This is a fine narrative history of the New Jersy campaign of George Washington which culminated in the victories in Trenton. It was a very interesting and well-paced read.

Another book about the hardest time for the Continental Army in Revolutionary America. A good read.