Strange and Obscure Stories of the Revolutionary War
Tim Rowland
- Astonishing
- Events
- from
- the
- American
- Revolution
- That
- They
- Don’t
- Teach
- in
- School!We
- all
- know
- about
- Washington’s
- crossing
- of
- the
- Delaware
- and
- Betsy
- Ross’s
- stitching
- together
- the
- Stars
- and
- Stripes,
- but
- how
- about
- a
- little-known,
- valid
- reason
- for
- the
- war
- itself
- and
- why
- General
- George
- was
- able
- to
- survive
- a
- plague
- that
- wiped
- out
- many
- of
- his
- fellow
- countrymen?History
- buff
- Tim
- Rowland
- provides
- an
- entertaining
- look
- at
- happenings
- during
- and
- surrounding
- the
- Revolutionary
- War
- that
- you
- won’t
- find
- in
- history
- books.
- He
- digs
- into
- the
- war’s
- major
- events
- and
- reveals
- the
- unknown,
- bizarre,
- and
- often
- wildly
- amusing
- things
- the
- participants
- were
- doing
- while
- breaking
- away
- from
- Great
- Britain.For
- example,
- conventional
- wisdom
- says
- that
-
- no
- taxation
- without
- representation”
- was
- an
- important
- reason
- for
- the
- revolution,
- but
- not
- in
- the
- way
- we’ve
- been
- told.
- Colonists
- paid
- the
- wages
- of
- common-court
- judges,
- who
- were
- reluctant
- to
- rule
- against
- the
- men
- who
- paid
- their
- salaries.
- Therefore,
- duties
- on
- molasses
- (the
- key
- ingredient
- in
- rum)
- were
- generally
- unenforced
- until
- the
- British
- cut
- the
- tariff
- in
- half.
- Strange
- but
- true,
- the
- spark
- that
- touched
- off
- the
- revolution
- was
- in
- fact
- a
- tax
- cut.During
- the
- French
- and
- Indian
- War
- and
- then
- again
- in
- the
- first
- year
- of
- the
- revolution,
- the
- British
- were
- accused
- of
- biological
- warfare,
- infecting
- blankets
- with
- smallpox
- and
- then
- concealing
- them
- in
- Indian
- camps.
- So
- feared
- was
- the
- disease
- that
- soldiers
- began
- to
- illegally
- inoculate
- themselves
- before
- widespread
- vaccination
- was
- finally
- ordered
- for
- the
- army.
- Washington
- himself
- was
- immune,
- thanks
- to
- a
- Caribbean
- trip
- taken
- as
- a
- young
- man
- when
- his
- brother
- Lawrence
- sought
- a
- cure
- for
- tuberculosis.
- Lawrence
- wasn’t
- cured,
- but
- George
- was
- infected
- with
- smallpox
- in
- Barbados.
- As
- a
- young
- man
- in
- a
- warm
- climate,
- he
- survived.
- As
- an
- older
- man
- in
- a
- northern
- winter,
- however,
- the
- story
- of
- the
- father
- of
- our
- country
- might
- have
- had
- a
- different
- ending.Skyhorse
- Publishing,
- as
- well
- as
- our
- Arcade
- imprint,
- are
- proud
- to
- publish
- a
- broad
- range
- of
- books
- for
- readers
- interested
- in
- history--books
- about
- World
- War
- II,
- the
- Third
- Reich,
- Hitler
- and
- his
- henchmen,
- the
- JFK
- assassination,
- conspiracies,
- the
- American
- Civil
- War,
- the
- American
- Revolution,
- gladiators,
- Vikings,
- ancient
- Rome,
- medieval
- times,
- the
- old
- West,
- and
- much
- more.
- While
- not
- every
- title
- we
- publish
- becomes
- a
- New
- York
- Times
- bestseller
- or
- a
- national
- bestseller,
- we
- are
- committed
- to
- books
- on
- subjects
- that
- are
- sometimes
- overlooked
- and
- to
- authors
- whose
- work
- might
- not
- otherwise
- find
- a home.
