Synopses & Reviews
In November 1774, a pamphlet to the “People of America” was published in Philadelphia and London. It forcefully articulated American rights and liberties and argued that the Americans needed to declare their independence from Britain. The author of this pamphlet was Charles Lee, a former British army officer turned revolutionary, who was one of the earliest advocates for American independence. Lee fought on and off the battlefield for expanded democracy, freedom of conscience, individual liberties, human rights, and for the formal education of women.
Renegade Revolutionary: The Life of General Charles Lee is a vivid new portrait of one of the most complex and controversial of the American revolutionaries. Lees erratic behavior and comportment, his capture and more than one year imprisonment by the British, and his court martial after the battle of Monmouth in 1778 have dominated his place in the historiography of the American Revolution. This book retells the story of a man who had been dismissed by contemporaries and by history. Few American revolutionaries shared his radical political outlook, his cross-cultural experiences, his cosmopolitanism, and his confidence that the American Revolution could be won primarily by the militia (or irregulars) rather than a centralized regular army. By studying Lees life, his political and military ideas, and his style of leadership, we gain new insights into the way the American revolutionaries fought and won their independence from Britain.
Review
"In this beautifully written biography of General Charles Lee, Papas has rescued a fascinating and important figure from the sidelines of American Revolutionary history and given him the centrality he deserves. Papas draws a compelling portrait of a complex and contradictory 18th century man: an aristocrat more democratic than most native born revolutionaries; a humanist more comfortable with his dogs than with people; and a feminist in a patriarchal world. Charles Lee emerges from these pages as one of the few men bold enough to challenge George Washington's judgment and one of the most articulate visionaries of the future that was possible for America."-Carol Berkin,Presidential Professor of History, Emerita, Baruch College and The Graduate Center, CUNY
Review
"Did General Charles Lee or General George Washington have the right strategy to win the Revolutionary War? Readers may end up debating the question with the passion that divided the Americans of 1776. But this much is certain. With deft touches and shrewd insights, Phillip Papas has restored to vivid life a major figure in Americas past."-Thomas Fleming,author of Liberty! The American Revolution
Review
"Renegade Revolutionary is a revisionist book which corrects historical misimpressions of Charles Lee as bizarre, opinionated, abrupt, and morose to the neglect of his erudition, intellectual courage, social radicalism, and capacity for military professionalism. But it is revisionism with a light touch. Almost every paragraph exhibits the author's determination to understand and explore Lee's character—including his bipolar mood swings—and to respect the readers' curiosity and capacity for balanced judgment. Alternately calling his subject 'Charles' when presenting instances of his complex humanity and 'Lee' when reporting objective fact, Phillip Papas strikes the kind of balance that Charles Lee unsuccessfully sought to exhibit to his contemporaries—especially the American people whose Revolution mattered more to him that personal vindication that he knew he could do little to garner." -Robert M. Calhoon,author of Political Moderation in America's First Two Centuries
Review
"Papas has written a marvelous book about the bristling, impetuous eccentric that was General Charles Lee, whose pageant of a life included soldiering against Iroquois Indians, Spanish expansionists, Ottoman Turks, and Polish insurgents - all this before he made himself a historical figure in the American Revolution. Papas not only covers the controversies surrounding Lees capture by the British and his comportment at the Battle of Monmouth, but he also explains the nuts and bolts of 18th-century military life, be it battlefield formations or officer commissions in the British army. Papass subject evokes the sprawling novels of Henry Fielding and Daniel Defoe, full of adventures, pathos, and ambition."-Judith Van Buskirk,author of Generous Enemies: Patriots and Loyalists in Revolutionary New York
Synopsis
Honorable Mention for the 2015 Book Award from the American Revolution Round Table of Richmond
Honorable Mention for the 2015 Fraunces Tavern Museum Book Award In November 1774, a pamphlet to the People of America was published in Philadelphia and London. It forcefully articulated American rights and liberties and argued that the Americans needed to declare their independence from Britain. The author of this pamphlet was Charles Lee, a former British army officer turned revolutionary, who was one of the earliest advocates for American independence. Lee fought on and off the battlefield for expanded democracy, freedom of conscience, individual liberties, human rights, and for the formal education of women.
Renegade Revolutionary: The Life of General Charles Lee is a vivid new portrait of one of the most complex and controversial of the American revolutionaries. Lee s erratic behavior and comportment, his capture and more than one year imprisonment by the British, and his court martial after the battle of Monmouth in 1778 have dominated his place in the historiography of the American Revolution. This book retells the story of a man who had been dismissed by contemporaries and by history. Few American revolutionaries shared his radical political outlook, his cross-cultural experiences, his cosmopolitanism, and his confidence that the American Revolution could be won primarily by the militia (or irregulars) rather than a centralized regular army. By studying Lee s life, his political and military ideas, and his style of leadership, we gain new insights into the way the American revolutionaries fought and won their independence from Britain.
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Synopsis
Honorable Mention for the 2015 Book Award from the American Revolution Round Table of Richmond
Honorable Mention for the 2015 Fraunces Tavern Museum Book Award
In
November 1774, a pamphlet to the "People of America" was published in
Philadelphia and London. It forcefully articulated American rights and
liberties and argued that the Americans needed to declare their independence
from Britain. The author of this pamphlet was Charles Lee, a former British
army officer turned revolutionary, who was one of the earliest advocates for
American independence. Lee fought on and off the battlefield for expanded
democracy, freedom of conscience, individual liberties, human rights, and for
the formal education of women.
Renegade Revolutionary: The Life of
General Charles Lee is a vivid new portrait of one of the most complex and controversial of the
American revolutionaries. Lee's erratic behavior and comportment, his capture
and more than one year imprisonment by the British, and his court martial after
the battle of Monmouth in 1778 have dominated his place in the historiography
of the American Revolution. This book retells the story of a man who had been
dismissed by contemporaries and by history. Few American revolutionaries shared
his radical political outlook, his cross-cultural experiences, his
cosmopolitanism, and his confidence that the American Revolution could be won
primarily by the militia (or irregulars) rather than a centralized regular
army. By studying Lee's life, his political and military ideas, and his style
of leadership, we gain new insights into the way the American revolutionaries
fought and won their independence from Britain.
About the Author
Phillip Papas is Associate Professor of History and Chairperson of the Economics, Government, and History Department at Union County College in Cranford, New Jersey.