i think i have probably time for two more questions. >> just a comment and then a question. adding to your vocabulary of pig in a poke on the straight party voting in the texas term yellow dog democrat, the idea that democrats would vote for yellow dog if they were on the ticket and perhaps we are raising some good yellow dog republicans. ..

>> >> so it could be. one more. >> how is the republican party doing in major cities?

>> if you look at houston real doing pretty well. the county judge in a believe there is a republican majority. headed is fort worth and arlington. and el paso. and we had a very good year

>> >>. thank you very much. i appreciate you being here. [applause] i'll be happy to sign books for anybody who would like one. >> let me present you with the exclusive young americans for freedom of design. take you so much for coming. [applause] hello everyone and i am the spokeswoman for the american foundation in. today you'll receive a free copy of the book right here

in there will be a book signing in the lobby. [inaudible] we will share eric christmas. -- we will wish you a merry christmas. [applause] [inaudible conversations]

[applause] thinks to all the people here at north shier books. just a few miles from the saratoga battlefield on october 7th with the most important and consequential battles in world history.

"band of giants" is a book about people and the man who fought the revolutionary war who defeated british military and made possible the establishment in north america with the government based upon the values of the indictment individual liberty and human rights. i will start by reading a short selection i begin to look back at the situation in america to play a major role in the war. chapter one page 120 years before the revolution began.

silence. on the arms of virginians groping through the night to find the camp of the indian allies and his braves. they could smell each other. there rancid odor - - over of the ed washed white man the told the leader that the raiding party was in a nearby hollow. to take them there and show them. one after another a summer day was creeping into the ohio country of a vast wilderness from western pennsylvania. in 1754 each man listen to

his own insurance heartbeat. the commander named george washington was to the edge of though low clef peering into the hollow with french soldiers in militiamen washington listened to the murmur to breathe the incidence of the fired the enemy had posted no santry. washington lacked formal military training. and surprises gave him a advantage so orders to enforce the sovereignty of his majesty king george ii washington relied on the and guidance and the yen in his

50s alerted him to do the danger who waited silently beside him. washington stood 8 inches taller than most men in his day. that they would see the strongest and most ungovernable passions in. and stewart speculated those make washington in the fiercest man of the savage tribes. but george didn't have the chance for a classical european education.

on behalf of the fairfax family pretty vigorous constitution with the social connections to the back country and an eye for the lay of the land now the young officer directed his men with hand signals the indians circled to the downhill side in washington's lt. shift half of the virginians into a position of high risk in washington led the others in he was about to plunge into the first battle. each soldier became acutely aware of the musket and the vulnerability of his own flesh and fear and

excitement crowded their minds. frenchman alert to the danger grab his musket and fired in washington rose to his full height. fire. the crash shattered the quiet summer fell and some lifted up to shoot back. no man could reload quickly enough. smoke filled the air with a taste of burned metal. washington stood expose of the right showed quarters to his men and an officer must post himself in the thickest of the fighting. throughout the military career he would never shirk from the danger of combat. three-quarters of an enterprise.

it is a flash from short range was murderous. the enemy running intent:escape the frenchman came sprinting back begging for mercy. combat lasted less than 15 minutes in the savor a victory. akin to hear the bullets was so and believe me there is something charming in the sound. what happened next was not a charming.

and washington would rights of it to no one. washington ordered his men in the day cringed. the 10 wounded men put the paint lit up the flesh. and washington's interpreter is the commander of the small battalion the british officer he insisted had made the mistake for they were not a war party but merely the escort. deal and voicecenter deliver a message it was all written here in the proclamation.

violating those that could sustain the nation's honor. managing six years of an ec peace and what evades begin to read in french of the claim of the ohio region based on the explorations. washington was chagrined by his own ignorance. in overseer of the interest of the iroquois federation knew the french well and understood the situation. between the british allies in the encouraging french is

what he wanted and why he brought virginia here. he approached them to say in french you are not yet dead my father. he jerked the tomahawk hi ian bought a down on his goal. another blow off of his cranium. and the return to the bloody weapon to his belt and plunged his hand into the pulp of his head and tore up a man's brain and mashed it between his palms. one minutes earlier to be concerned of diplomatic protocol now he faced a responsibility of the murder of oriole on for a. savageries terrine in the face. and then slip the scalps and

peeled the hair away in decapitated one of the soldiers. they danced and sang. lead is a startling color of green and brown. into the indians' the color red compared to lead between lawyers and great men. it is the nature of indians now it is the young commander struck by a show that gets the eyeful of the

bloody hugh. and then to hurled ever crossed the gap but the drawing room gentleman. in with the shame to let the butcher of one's own species. >> bed is the opening scene. i grew up bid wayne county near new york the went to a

school called way in the central. there is never a statue of anthony wayne or into the waiting day and we never learned why why he was mad. i now live in the hudson valley and we have counties here named for richard recovery and john sullivan and israel putnam. and nathaniel greene purple --. when who are the revolutionary war figures they don't know. referring to the fighters as the forgotten founders and founded the country on the basis of their deeds. but now the reputations of faded. and into real legend for the modern readers book look at

these revolutionary fighters today to give a perspective but the first of them is richard recovery. because he was firm ryan beck york from the hudson valley appointed you that i found useful to imagine with recovery was to keep in mind war has a profound impact on the participants a fact known in the time of over and that is relevant

today as veterans come back from iraq and afghanistan. the revolutionary war was not a costume drama. the battles were living in arrears and the conditions verge blondie horrific. is a day's march barefoot in the did more than once. with the post traumatic stress disorder it was just as prevalent back then. there was a lieutenant in the continental or rename john henry and october 7

that was the best victory. and then to surrender but after the battle john henry the son of patrick henry of give me liberty or give me death. only now looking into the faces and then to go to burleigh insane disappear for months and then never fought again. is no cost to drum up. montgomery was an officer before the revolution.

a very studious union with touche and the college and then listed in the british army and 18. and the with the french and indian war in george washington had inadvertently started. miguel resaw heavy action in north america from the vienna to be that a very hellish siege where thousands died of disease but instead sent out to the american wilderness. but then his career stalled.

and then said i just want to be a farmer. he met janet livingston who was the daughter of a patriot family in the hudson valley and married her they bought a farm she wanted to have children in he did not. for the happiness cannot last to describe melancholy that was the word in the 18th century for depression. whether his war experiences that we have seen or done but it is easy to see him to

carry this burden through his life in felt his duty to enlist again even though it's really been here terriers were in the revolutionary war broke out. he was made a brigadier general with the first offense is expedition the of the continental army in the he knew he would face the same our reach up to review years earlier than write actually face in battle some of their comrades because the opposing general was someone he has served with. to say i thought the world was mandaean to know when a witness.

-- it is. she was worried about him and he wrote back these winding letters i cannot take get. but the remains of the division's of family members , led a spouse cannot understand what they're going through and they become isolated. of the last day of 1775 mcgarry decided to form the walls of quebec city the attack failed and he was killed in and he became the greatest margin of the revolutionary war. is the perspective that i am talking about is not to

unicycle elias but to imagine him as someone who has suffered before devoted himself despite the burden he carried that is what many veterans carry through their lives. the next person and want to talk about is henry knox. one of the most brilliant and continental army generals. what made him even to meet the -- to me is while the war was going space with a heavy workload they were involved the role the events they knew they were changing

history. but as this was going:there were also living their lives. it is something we loose side of and as the war was going on so were there lives. the revolutionary war lasted eight years the longest war until vietnam. that is a big job of tying in anybody's life. and during that time there were falling in love and having children isn't worried about finances and a lot of the continental army officers had serious financial problems. there were getting older and time was passing. and knocks is a good example. started off as a bookseller in boston and a larger-than-life character very tall and muscular in

fact, and intelligent he loved big guns and is owned bookstore he read books about artillery in and made himself an expert and then joined a militia unit. one year before the war he married the daughter of the loyalist family in boston she was the love of his life he was very devoted to her. when the violence broke out in concord and the british army was trapped, henry in lucia escaped in henry joint the army and had the fortification of the units of the british army. when george washington arrived to take over the militia units he recognized

some genius and even though he was only 25 years old he was the head of the artillery in very soon knox became one of his principal of risers that he remained throughout the war. so if he needed a tool to provide the british army it was not its new with you ticonderoga going all the way across the state of massachusetts to give the patriots a first victory. when washington crossed the delaware it was really henry knox who got the troops in the heavy guns across the river to facilitate the

victory at trenton. when washington surrounded the army of cornwallis in virginia 1781 henry knox reinvest siege that forced cornwallis to surrender in and win the war. set to be busy with these accomplishments of the world stage at the same time living his life and starting a family in she was pregnant lucy was afraid her own family and she would never see them again when the british army left they went with them. she was right. she never saw them again. they had no permanent home for eight years and lucy was a snob and would stay with

friends or wherever she could find a place and complain about the low quality of people she had to associate with. at times she could join henry in the winter at camper at the headquarters in she was also very fact -- fat so there was the special bed made out of iron to hold the combined rate. [laughter] i guess the bed collapsed wall what is called maneuvers would be very saying. [laughter] she was very skilled at chess. they had a social life of dinners and dancers been to maintain a semblance of ordinary life.

during the course of the war she gave birth to six children. four of them died in infancy. and unfortunately she had six more children after the war and five of them died so only three of the child -- of the 12 children live to adulthood. that is a major event in people love their children just as much as they do today. henry knox was jovial in noted for his wit but he also came from a puritan background end this tragedy in the middle of the stress of running a war made him

wonder, it was happening in his life in addition to all contributions of the war? into a three-dimensional human being of a say in passing in regard to the scene knocks one of the things my research has brought home to me is a tremendously important role that women played in the revolutionary war. not just of the exceptions the women he dressed up like a woman or margaret corbin who took over her husband's cannon in continued and was badly wounded.

with the wives and mothers and sisters of those who went off to war and somebody had to stay hot -- whole then raise the kids. to think of a victory is important to keep in mind is a joint venture of men and women without the contributions of women. the final person to talk about is nathaniel greene. one of the greatest generals after george washington end of the continental army and the man supposedly that washington chose to be his successor to take over as commander in chief.

but yet for all his accomplishments nathaniel greene was always filled with self doubt and uncertainty about himself. born in rhode island in son of a quaker family nathaniel love to read books in thought only one book was worth reading which was the bible. it was really under his father's thumb until his late 20s the end is father died and he began to view the affairs of the day. and it was sullen highboy let that point they become very close friends but the

friendship lasted the rest of their lives. with the theory of war this was new because he was brought up as a quaker but he really made himself an expert such as the revolutionary war approached he decided to start a company in rhode island that when it came time to elect officers this man would not vote for him because he had lamp -- live. greed was very hurt by this than the typical reaction he said i quit and i am going home. his friends tried to talk him out of it and he was

indecisive and finally with a typical reaction in he said okay. i will soldier on as a private. by some miracle only a few months later appointed as one of the youngest generals of the continental army as to have an eye for talent with the first big crisis soon though for mall in the command of fort washington in 1776 then they lost the battle of brooklyn the british had taken over new york city and that was the last toehold they had on the island of manhattan. in the green thought hold

the fort and irritate the british months to capture. it took them hours it was the worst disaster up into that point olmos 3,000 men were captured. in den greed was devastated he knew he made a mistake. he said the pleading letter to henry knox and said i am going crazy i am six.

is into years later another crisis with the patriots are three to break down to be a very disastrous event in said i want you to be a quarter of astral -- quartermaster general. said washington and thought he was the man to fix the situation in the green said no. that would take me of hours. whoever heard of a quarter raster? it is typical way he said i don't know what to do.

then finally okay. he served for two years and was able to patch together a system to keep the continental army in the field to enslave the army. then in 1780 he had a chance to go lead the troops in the field but there was a catch he had to go south in the army of the lord cornwallis the patriots had said to horatio gates the hero of saratoga his army was obliterated at the battle of

camden in al washington turned to green. he knew there was no supplies or very few troops it would be entirely on his own nobody could come to his aid and he assumed his reputation would be ruined so he said no. i will the ago. he said send henry knox he has unlimited resources and can do anything. and washington replied you are right in that is why i need him here. so typically greed, 0k. i will go.

he led down south end achieved something remarkable and lost every battle but not been deferred cornwallis and frustrated all the british planes and cornwallis finally took him up to virginia where he was defeated in the war was over it experts with the campaign of this panel agreed in the south has the most brilliant and inspired campaign of the entire war in one of the most consequential for the final patriot victory. and is great as he was he had a quality of self doubt and uncertainty in it to

look at that treat in addition to his achievements in the war makes him more human. unfortunately she died of a stroke in 17863 years after the war. he was only 43 years old and that is one of the reasons he is never got the credit that he deserves. vitellus story is an "band of giants" about when lafayette came to america in 1924 almost 50 years after the beginning of though war. american was approaching the al jubilee of the declaration of independence he first came over when he

was is the team he volunteered in led troops brilliantly in the field and was the right union demand for george washington. into be very idealistic but now he was 68 this and in old man. americans suddenly woke up to the fact that mafia was the only revolutionary war major-general still alive in soon all of the boys would be on. there is patriotism and nostalgia the reserve monies

it tenders and toast in honor of lafayette also a whole generation passing away. he stayed more than a year he wanted his son to see the fruits of the tree of liberty that mafia had planted the wit to 24 states they visited everyone. is a lafayette decree did his is own comrades he visited the graves of his comrades who had died and the grave of george washington. he was orphaned at a young age and referred to washington as his adoptive

father. and when he came out of the crypt where they were buried his eyes were streaming with tears. in disaster lay the cornerstone of "the apprentice" and is a charitable venture in the sponsors as some of "the apprentice" boys to watch in be in the presence of this great man, the living legend of lafayette. so he helped to move some of them to a better vantage point. one of the children he lifted up legs a sexual been walt whitman.

and later he wrote in his poetry i understand the large parts of heroes. though referring to a specific event but that stuck in my mind and i began to think of all the diverse men who fought in the revolution little love weakness is and uncertainties and foibles and burdens and mistakes mistakes, they had one thing in common, large parts it is that quality to reach back in time to search out and get in touch with to convey with "the reader". thank-you. [applause]

so there is the prize for the first person to ask a question. >> what became of henry knox after the revolutionary war? >> he never went back to his bookstore. he was washington's first secretary of war. he did not distinguish himself as secretary of war the bureaucracy was not his thing but he retired up to maine where his wife had some property and they settled there trying to get back community going yet

many debts from the war he choked on a chicken bone in died also a fairly young age of 50. so for a lot of the officers the war was the peak of their life not a lot went on to great things afterwards. >>'' was the connection between the counties in municipalities? was very physical or passionate conviction. >> that is interesting because giving a similar

speech in massachusetts i thought i will look up the county's for the revolutionary war but there are not any. it was totally settled before the war began where as here this was the frontier at that time so you see the names from the hudson river west from montgomery alabama coming in and so many places is were organized as a country for that is how the name for the revolutionary war that at that time were well remembered and commonly

known. is only those past 70 would know who richard recovery was. and win lafayette came over it kicked off a renewed interest in the revolution as the men were dying off they were nostalgic so that contributed to a very big event in the 1820 is. >> who is the bay and the of -- "band of giants"? >> i took the title from a quotation from lafayette.

during the war getting pushed through and pretty badly in cast for reinforcement. they sent him a group in and they were mountain men is a very tough year and rough characters in to be a diminutive person so when they came to the camp and all these americans are wonderful reenforcing with "band of giants" so i took that to apply it to all the fighters in the revolution that were historical giants.

>> why did so many have financial problems? speesix some of it was. the fact they were not a whole following up their own business arnold was a rich man before the war in he spent his own money to pay his troops that were not paid by congress officers often were not paid in nathaniel greene was badly in debt after the war to get supplies for his men he guaranteed the contractors their debts in a failed he had to take over their dead in the rest of his life a great debt is a combination

of things to not make money at home the war went on for eight years in and it was unfortunate but there is an incident later in the war a conspiracy they also wanted a pension and that would be half pay for life than five years then in 1782 the war was winding down so they were stationed in new york

city to go to philadelphia to get what they deserved. it was a very serious situation in the famous scene because washington in sympathized community or any opposition to the civil authority. they called a meeting to decide to pass the resolutions and washington caving in one of the great actors of his age and to give a pleading speech to ruin your reputation to be a

mutiny against the country. he then had the backup plan be he said excuse me he started to v; r spectacles only a few weeks before nobody had ever seen him with spectacles. you'll have to excuse me gentleman i have gone graded your service and now find myself going blind. can these men had seen a lot of violence and hurl - - horrible things in many broke down in tears.

and then to propose we don't threaten congress but it was serious business but congress was so spooked they did give certificates the most could turn in for the five years' pay. there were not paid no pension and know nothing. >> with the battles of saratoga aren't there other battles or might even to his

defense that you rival or surpass saratoga? >> that is the very good question. i go along with those at the saratoga of battlefield nuclear mitt is the turning point of the war. partly because after saratoga the french came to declare war on england on the american side. but remember valley forge happened after saratoga. one of the lowest moments so how could it be a complete turning point? also on october 7th 3

years later while the army of lord cornwallis was advancing in south carolina with a large body of loyalist in ferguson is the one british officer. end concern to across the appellation in towns so he released a prisoner go into anything but we will come over him burn down your settlement. . .

he then made another serious mistake and tried to get the loyalists to come to his aid and he insulted them again and

called the mongrel dogs and the vermin of the earth and they are coming over and these mountain men surrounded him at kings mountain which was actually just a hill in south carolina and they were about even numbers. the mountain men surrounded the hill and just started coming up and yelling. they had to yell which eventually developed into a confederate battle cry and they started yelling and shooting and they totally decimated the british loyalist group. cornwallis then had to pull back and henry clinton who was the overall british commander later in his memoir said from that point a succession of events led to the final loss of america to britain so in some ways that was a turning point. the british were on a role in the south and this brought him up short and it's also a great

story of the militia and the people's army coming over and really giving the british what they deserved. any other questions? >> you gave three different generals and each was in a different setting and my question was were there any skills or abilities showing through especially across the street because they would have to know staff, war, mechanics geography as mechanics geography as well as the things you mentioned plus the dynamics of family versus their mission so what were the things that most implements their success and were the