The Road to Charleston: Nathanael Greene and the American Revolution

Buchanan's third book on the American Revolution (The Road to Valley Forge; The Road to Guilford Courthouse) completes his detailed account of the conflict in the southeast. Using primary sources along with historian analysis, Buchanan presents a lively chronicle of the arduous fight of the Americans to reclaim Georgia and the Carolinas. Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene, the fourth general assigned to the southeast, regained ground lost by his predecessors. Despite often battling the British and their Tory allies to a draw, Greene pushed his foe eastward, forcing British Army General Charles Cornwallis north toward Virginia. By the time Cornwallis lost Yorktown, Greene had the British penned up in coastal cities, and both sides were worn down to an exhausted stalemate. With a colorful cast of characters, Buchanan details the diplomatic, military, and geographical challenges Greene faced. Despite scarce supplies and time-delayed correspondence, Greene surmounted daunting physical and administrative obstacles to make a critical contribution to American Independence.