Long, Obstinate, and Bloody by Lawrence E. Babits

At times the two sides were so close that when they fired, their “muzzle flashes overlapped in a wide sheet of flame.” Where they met, bayonets and swords became the weapons of choice. The authors exhaustively note where various regiments and even companies fought and present a thorough list of officers and men who received often-horrendous wounds, described in gruesome detail.

The next 67 pages are an incredibly vivid account of brave men risking imminent death or disablement for a victory that might decide the outcome of the war. These flaws do not, and should not, minimize the superb battle narrative the authors launch on P.

Babits and Howard lack Buchanan’s ability to sum up important insights in a memorable sentence, such as, “The British strategy had in common with other well-laid plans a cold, clear logic unencumbered by evidence.” Here, actually, Long, Obstinate and Bloody does finish a poor second to John Buchanan’s 1997 book, The Road to Guilford Courthouse, with a repetitious and often confusing buildup narrative. The first hundred pages relate the background of how Guilford Courthouse came to be fought. The result is an account of the battle second to none in details. Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee and gigantic militia dragoon Peter Francisco on the American side. Banastre Tarleton and Sergeant Roger Lamb on the British side to cavalryman Lt. They have also delved into published recollections of numerous participants, from cavalryman Lt. Howard, research historian at the North Carolina Office of Archives and History, have examined no fewer than 980 pension applications by Revolutionary War veterans who participated in the battle. Babits, George Washington Professor of History at East Carolina University, and Joshua B. Nathanael Greene and the British army led by General Lord Charles Cornwallis along the North Carolina Piedmont on March 15, 1781. Those who like their combat served raw will enjoy this deeply researched book on the clash between the Continental Army led by Maj.

Howard, University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 2009, $30 Long, Obstinate and Bloody: The Battle of Guilford Courthouseīy Lawrence E. Military History Book Review: Long, Obstinate and Bloody Close

Long, Obstinate, and Bloody by Lawrence E. Babits