Redcoats And Rebels: The American Revolution

Redcoats and Rebels: The American Revolution through British Eyes by Christopher Hibbert is a novel told from the point of view of the British. It breaks the normal tradition of telling the American Revolution from the point of view of the Americans. Instead, the Redcoats and the British are portrayed as the protagonists. However, the storytelling was neutral and didn’t tell anything apart from fact. The history went in chronological order in order to better tell the story.
The book was organized by a prologue, three parts, and an epilogue. The prologue discussed the reaction of the people to George Grenville being appointed by King George III to be the chief minister. Hibbert claims that “It seemed to many an unfortunate choice”. Apparently, he was an “insufferable bore”, as claimed by King George III.(Hibbert xiv) It was his brilliant idea that a “direct tax should be imposed upon the colonies within a year …show more content…
Rather than the leadership of the war being focused on our own George Washington, I learned about the officers in the British army. There were numerous intelligent, determined, and skilled officers, namely Clinton and Carleton. The book detailed their brilliant defensiveness in their guarding of Canada. Both men were professional and were very respected by their peers.
I also learned that really, the United States never should have won. Most of the success of the American generals was based on pure luck. Hibbert included vivid descriptions of both the war and the politics behind the conflict, which added depth and a clear, concise understanding of the material. Hibbert also provided detailed outlines of the British’s war plans, which surprised me when I read them. Due to the British’s superior navy, they should have won against all odds. In contrast to all of the history books I’ve been exposed to, most don’t include that vital