Book Review – The Fate of the Day: The War for America, Fort Ticonderoga to Charleston, 1777-1780 by Rick Atkinson

I’ve been reading Rick Atkinson’s military history books for years and years, partially because it has taken him years and years to get them out!

The World War II Liberation trilogy was simply sensational, and took 11 years to actually get finished.

Now, Atkinson is taking on the American Revolution.

The first book, The British Are Coming, came out in 2019 and covered the first 3 years of the war, from 1775 to 1777.

Now, the second book is out.

The Fate of the Day covers 1777 to 1780 and goes through the uncertain future of the Revolution as the American Colonials faced defeat after defeat, super-cold winters (including one that could be said to have almost ended the rebellion at Valley Forge in 1777-78), and an ineffective Congress.

In these middle years of the war, only a fateful victory at Saratoga, and the ill-fated occupation (and then withdrawal from) Philadelphia by the British, lifted American hopes that the British could actually be defeated.

Otherwise, money shortages, shortages of ammunition and supplies, and deserting troops made American defeat very possible.

Atkinson is a great popular military historian and his books are always well-researched (which kind of explains how long they take to get published).

His books are filled with historical footnotes, images, and the like. I read books mostly on an e-reader, and I can say that the main text of this book only takes up the first 43% of the book or so.

The tons of endnotes are just staggering, showcasing just how deeply researched this book is.

Atkinson’s narrative brings you into what was happening, whether it’s the brutal winter at Valley Forge or the battlefield around a British-held mansion that the Colonials assaulted again and again.

Atkinson’s chapter on the sea duel between Captain John Paul Jones and his ship Bon Homme Richard against the H.M.S Serapis just highlights that.

His battle scenes are incredible. It’s almost unbelievable how much carnage Atkinson describes and then the casualty figures are presented and literally only a few hundred men were killed.

When you’re used to reading about “modern” warfare, especially World War II, the casualty differentials are substantial.

Atkinson’s prose puts you into the action, but he also talks a lot about the behind the scenes political movements.

There are a few chapters about Benjamin Franklin in Paris trying to persuade the French to intercede in the war, and especially how much he enjoyed being in France (where the royal parties were very nice and he made a name for himself).

Even there, though, there was a lot of infighting and intrigue.

When France finally does enter the war, there are a few chapters detailing the French and British (and a little bit of the Spanish as well) sea battles off the coasts of the two countries or down in the Caribbean.

That’s the brilliant thing about this book (and series): Atkinson details not just the military aspects but the social aspects as well.

What did the British populace think of all this, fighting against rebelling colonials thousands of miles away?

Was the war popular? How much civil unrest was caused by this?

You’ll find it in this book, as Atkinson covers everything.

The book ends in 1780 with the rebels once again on the brink of defeat. The British were trying a southern strategy to break off some of the southern states from the north and had just successfully taken Charleston, South Carolina.

What really makes The Fate of the Day interesting, though, is how Atkinson handles the personalities involved.

There are no whitewashes, and George Washington is presented as a troubled and flawed figure who wasn’t always the best general but who was doing as much as he could to bring the army together when he didn’t get much support from Congress.

The most interesting figure, though, is General Charles Lee, the general who a furious Washington removed from command after the disaster at Monmouth (perhaps undeservedly?). While Atkinson never comes down on a side, he does present Lee’s point of view as well as others’, giving a complete picture of what is probably a much more complicated situation than many history books let on.

Other figures, both American and British, are given fresh looks. Nobody is a complete angel or devil. Instead, these figures are three-dimensional people with their own sides being presented as well as how others viewed them.

Atkinson also doesn’t shy away from the darker areas of American history. Slavery and how slaves took part on both the American and British side, are well-represented in a clear fashion.

Indigenous Americans are also discussed and how they mostly joined the British side. Atkinson shows both their brutality (literally scalping numerous American soldiers) as well as the brutality against them, both in action and in language. Americans were not above taking out their revenge feelings on the tribe members who they interacted with and their desire to take over native lands.

Even though there are tons of notes denoting Atkinson’s research, this is definitely a popular history book, not a history textbook.

Atkinson’s prose is very readable and draws you into the narrative.

I’m greatly looking forward to the third book.

In a few years.