You think America has problems in 2018? Try living as a Patriot during the winter of 1776. Washington’s army had lost one battle after another. The economy had tanked. And the paper money the United States printed seemed worthless. Americans were abandoning the cause in droves.
During the Fall of 1776, the British issued an amnesty proclamation that offered pardon and protection to rebels who signed an oath of loyalty to the king within sixty days. Thousands of Americans, including several members of Congress, clamored to sign the oath. One disgusted American Patriot recalled, “To the disgrace of the country and human nature, great numbers flocked to confess their political sins to the representative of Majesty, and to obtain pardon. It was observed, that these consisted of the very rich and the very poor, while the middling class held their constancy.” Making matters worse, the enlistments for the Continental Army expired in December and January 1, 1777. Washington knew he needed to make a bold attack or the United States might fail.
I told the story of this desperate time in American history in my best-selling book Washington’s Immortals: The Untold Story of an Elite Regiment Who Changed the Course of the Revolution. It chronicles the efforts of the elite troops of Maryland.
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