I was once told by another Revolutionary War buff, after reading a good book on that period of our history, that the best book on that war was April Morning. Naturally I had to purchase it and read this "best book" and I do admit it is a great story of one day in a very important time of our nations history.
April 19, 1775 is the day that Howard Fast writes about. The day is told from afternoon to evening of the next day. You are taken from the home of fifteen-year old Adam Cooper, his younger brother, Levi, his mother, father, and grandmother, to war. The British Redcoats were coming. The committeemen, as the leaders of the citizens of that area were called, had gathered in various small villages around the Boston area to decide how they would handle the situation with these Brits. Some wanted to stay home and not interfere but the majority knew they had to defend their freedom and fight the British. This tore apart families with most of the fathers and the older sons marching off with the Committeemen groups from their area. They would meet up with other groups as they traveled.
The first battle was a disaster for the Committeemen's groups. Quite a few were killed and most without a shot being fired from their guns. They had very few good guns. These men were farmers, blacksmiths, forgers, and other work that did not require guns. They would regroup with more communities and return for more fighting using different strategies. Adam's father was one of the first ones killed. This hurt Adam terribly and turned him away from thoughts of battle for a while, feeling sad at what he would have to tell his family upon his return.
While April Morning covers only one day of this period, the descriptions used by Howard Fast are so impressive that you get the sensation that you were beside these soldiers and their families and felt some of that heart-breaking deep sorrow that many families endured. The emotions of those fighting, those wounded, and those of the families were terrifically told. The book is small in size but packed with history. I highly recommend it to any war buff.
Reader review by Cy Hilterman. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cy_Hilterman |
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