GEORGE WASHINGTON'S GENERALS

Our Revolutionary troops suffered from severe shortages of many vital commodities, but there was one thing always in abundance, and that was major generals. There were 29 who served in the course of the war, most of them amateurs, and most of them terrible; but the ones who stood out were really outstanding. Eleven of these are described and assessed here, by as many different scholars. They have been chosen with an eye for variety as well as for historical importance, and the choice is on the whole excellent, especially in the case of such an undeservedly lesser known figure as Henry Knox, one of the first great modern artillerists. Benedict Arnold, Lafayette, and Horatio Gates are here too, of course, and so are those fascinating hotheads, Charles Lee and Anthony Wayne, and that guerrilla genius, Daniel Morgan. The quality of the writing, as reading for the non-specialist, fluctuates almost as much as does that of the personalities represented, but the scholarship is steadily solid. In all, this is a welcome addition to the appropriate shelf.