The Day is Ours!: An Inside View of the Battles of Trenton and Princeton, November 1776-January 1777

by William M Dwyer

Overview

The Day is Ours! is a dramatic account of two battles that turned the tide of the American Revolution. In this distinguished, highly readable, and richly detailed narrative history, William M. Dwyer reveals as vivid a picture as we are likely to see of a critical period in the American Revolution. He lets the participants—from American, British, and Hessian soldiers to myriad fearful and ambivalent citizens—tell the story in their own words.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813526089
Publisher:	Rutgers University Press
Publication date:	09/01/1998
Edition description:	None ed.
Pages:	448
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

William M. Dwyer is an author, teacher, and veteran journalist who has written for the Trenton Times, New York Times, Commonweal, Christian Science Monitor, and New Jersey Monthly.

Table of Contents

Foreword
PART ONE: A GAME PRETTY NEAR UP
1. Ye Should Never Fight Against Your King 3
2. All Who Are My Grenadiers, Forward!
3. A Set of Rascals Skulked Out of the Way
4. Spare the King's Subjects
5. Whether They Will Obey Orders, God Only Knows
6. Their Army Is Broken All to Pieces
7. No Lads Show Greater Activity in Retreating
8. The Rebels Fly Before Us
9. They Perpetrate the Grossest Robberies
10. A Push for Philadelphia?
PART TWO: NOT ALL FIRE AND FURY    
11. As the Fire Came Closer, Many Drew Away
12. The Devil of Desertion
PART THREE: A HANDFUL DAILY DECREASING      
13. They Don't Want to Finish the War!
14. The Enemy's Approach Alarmed Our Fears
15. The Rebels Were Always Barely Ahead of Us
16. They Pillaged Friend and Foe
17. We Sustained an Orderly Retreat
18. Neither Boats Nor a Ferry
19. A Neighborhood of Very Disaffected People
20. Sad Work This Day
21. They Called Us Damned Rebels
22. Tell Them General Lee Submitted
23. Our Army Forms a Chain
24. Are Our People Fast Asleep?
25. Some Winter Quarters Indeed!
26. The Worthy Inhabitants Were Seized Upon
27. Our Worst Fears Were Soon Fulfilled
28. Philadelphia Made a Horrid Appearance
29. A Country Filled with Tories and Informers
30. What Was There to Fear from the Rebels?
PART FOUR: SOME LUCKY CHANCE MAY TURN UP      
31. Boats Were in Readiness
32. Take Care Now and Fire Low
33. Der Feind! Heraus!
34. We Should Have Gone On
35. All Our Hopes Were Blasted
36. Your Country Is at Stake
37. The Women Would Have Killed Us
38. The Colonel Was Detained by Love
39. Haussegger Said It Was Mutiny
40. All Was Now Hurry, Confusion, and Noise
41. They Were to Kill All the Rebels
42. This Was the Moment
43. This May Be the Last Letter
44. A Profound Silence to Be Enjoined
45. A Great Number of Rebels Fell
46. I Never Saw Men Looked So Furious
47. We Suffered Much
48. Not a Man Among Them But Showed Joy
49. They Arrived in a Most Infernal Sweat
50. O, That We Had 500 Fresh Men
Epilogue        
Notes      
Acknowledgments 
Select Bibliography     
Index      

Editorial Reviews

"It is a human story well worth telling, and Dwyer . . . recaptures it superbly."

Cleveland Plain Dealer

"A concise, yet highly informative account that makes for an engaging read."

Princeton Packet

"[Dwyer] has cast his net wide, taking advantage of newly found or long-obscure accounts published during the celebration of the Revolution's bicentennial. We learn exactly how it was in that momentous time, from letters, diaries and recollections of officers and men on both sides and civilians caught in the middle."

New York Times Book Review

"Recommended to today's American millions, who owe so much to the sturdy hundreds who saved our Revolution."

San Diego Magazine

"The courage of the common soldier who stayed and fought when the sunshine patriots had all gone home is a story that deserves to be told - and Mr. Dwyer has told it well."

Wall Street Journal

"Dwyer has put together a wonderful, lively account that reflects a reporter's respect for quotes from eyewitnesses . . . He presents the facts and lets history speak for itself. The result is enthralling."

Philadelphia Inquirer

"Telling this story from the perspective, and often in the words, of men in the ranks, Dwyer has written a dramatic account of this turning point in the American Revolution."

author of Battle Cry of Freedom - James M. McPherson James M. McPherson

"Telling this story from the perspective, and often in the words, of men in the ranks, Dwyer has written a dramatic account of this turning point in the American Revolution."

author of Battle Cry of Freedom - James M. McPherson

"The courage of the common soldier who stayed and fought when the sunshine patriots had all gone home is a story that deserves to be told - and Mr. Dwyer has told it well."

Wall Street Journal

"Recommended to today's American millions, who owe so much to the sturdy hundreds who saved our Revolution."

From the Publisher