preview

1776 David Mccullough Summary

Better Essays

1776: The Year That Led to Freedom In 1776, written by David McCullough, McCullough gives a fresh insight into the life of George Washington and the Continental Army. He speaks on the hardships and obstacles they faced during their battles with the British. Although the Continental Army dealt with losses of battles and painful waiting to attack or be attacked, I found the day to day issues the army faced to be intriguing and very interesting. Not only did the soldiers deal with the daily knowledge they could be killed at any moment and the physical wear on their bodies, but they also had to endure harsh living conditions and disease. Without the consistent endurance and strength from Washington and his army, America might not have achieved …show more content…

Unfortunately, one major problem Washington and his army faced early on in the war, was the absence of money. With low revenue coming in for the soldiers, food, clothes, training, and living conditions faced a sad decline. To keep soldiers performing at their best, food was a necessity, and maintaining the food supply was starting to decline. This soon led to starvation leading to the death of men who were without food for too long. Since money was attributed to necessities only, wants such as uniforms were denied and looked at as unneeded. Without uniforms, “field officers were all but indistinguishable from the troops they led”, which contributed to unprofessionalism and confusion causing Washington to distribute certain color ribbons to officials in order to distinguish between the ranks (32). Sadly, there were even men who had to live without shoes, because there wasn’t any money to spare. With money being an issue, it also affected the amount of soldiers the army had. Men didn’t feel a strong need to return since they weren’t being paid. Washington wanted to pay men in advance so they would have another reason, other than for the love of their country, to stay and fight, but there was not enough money to give out (63). Sadly, only 2,540 of Washington’s army had reenlisted, out of a total around 10,000 (63-64). With more money, like the British contained, the Continental Army could have been healthier, fuller, and even better trained. I believe this could have helped the army by providing an easier way to reach freedom for America. With this not being the case, I have a higher respect for Washington and his army for continuing to persevere and move forward when they had little hope at times. Although there was many negatives about being in the Continental Army at this time, McCullough kept stating how Washington

Get Access