By Paul Carrier
Over the last quarter century, Nathaniel Philbrick has devoted much of his professional life to writing about a markedly disparate range of historical subjects, including whaling, the Mayflower, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn, among other topics.
More recently, though, Philbrick has authored three books that focus on one topic in particular: the American Revolution. First came Bunker Hill (2013), followed by Valiant Ambition (2016). His latest is In the Hurricane’s Eye: The Genius of George Washington and the Victory at Yorktown.
The October 1781 siege of Yorktown, Va., in which American and French forces defeated the British army led by Lt. Gen. Charles Cornwallis, did not end the Revolutionary War. But in hindsight, it proved to be the climactic confrontation of the war, which finally drew to a close in 1783. The Americans emerged victorious at Yorktown with the all-important assistance of land and naval forces from France, which threw its support behind the rebels in 1778.
Its subtitle notwithstanding, In the Hurricane’s Eye places Yorktown in a larger context, by chronicling events that occurred before and after Britain's catastrophic loss. A recurring theme is the often-tense relationship between George Washington, ostensibly the commander in chief of the allied forces, and assorted French commanders. The latter included the Comte de Rochambeau, who led the 5,500-man French Expeditionary Force that landed in Newport, R.I., in 1780 to assist the rebel cause. Despite a superficial cordiality, Washington and Rochambeau often seemed to be working at cross purposes, a problem exacerbated by the independence of French naval officers.
Washington and Rochambeau “were not the selfless military partners of American legend,” Philbrick writes. Each of them “had his own jealously guarded agenda, and it was only after Washington reluctantly—and angrily—acquiesced to French demands that they began to work in concert.”
Equally important to Philbrick, an experienced sailor, is the often-minimized but pivotal role the French navy played in the outcome at Yorktown. When a newly arrived French fleet under Admiral François Joseph Paul de Grasse decisively defeated an array of English warships that tried to come to the aid of Cornwallis, the British army in Yorktown was trapped between the combined American and French armies on the one hand and de Grasse's victorious squadron on the other. Evacuating the British troops by sea became impossible.
The decisive Battle of the Chesapeake, as the naval showdown is known, “plays only a minor part in most popular accounts of the war, largely because no Americans participated in it,” Philbrick notes. This French victory is often portrayed as “a mere prelude to the main event,” but it properly belongs “at the center of the story.” It may well have been “the most important naval engagement in the history of the world.”
Philbrick describes the battles of 1781 on land and sea with vigor, clarity and precision, but he is especially impressive in recounting the intricacies of naval actions involving the maneuvers of massive ships of the line and smaller, more nimble frigates.
In the Hurricane’s Eye makes it quite clear that the outcome at Yorktown was no sure thing, for a variety of complex and evolving reasons. For example, key logistical and financial difficulties had to be resolved before the French fleet could even sail from its Caribbean base to the Chesapeake. Those problems would not have been solved without the intervention of an unheralded Spanish diplomat named Francisco Saavedra, who arranged Spanish loans and naval help for Spain’s French ally.
The stakes could not have been higher. A British naval victory in Chesapeake Bay that October might have triggered the collapse of the revolution itself. “The bitter truth was that by the summer of 1781 the American Revolution had failed,” Philbrick writes, because thousands of Americans had refused to enlist, the 13 states had refused to adequately fund the rebel army, and the Continental Congress was helpless to set things right. The very existence of the United States rested “with the soldiers and sailors of another nation.”
In fact, it could be argued that de Grasse and Saavedra are the two great unsung heroes of the Yorktown campaign. The Spaniard’s machinations allowed de Grasse to sail to Yorktown with his entire Caribbean fleet rather than just a portion of it, all while carrying enough borrowed money aboard his ships to replenish Rochambeau’s empty coffers. The subsequent arrival of a smaller French squadron that sailed down from Rhode Island was icing on the revolutionary cake.
More recently, though, Philbrick has authored three books that focus on one topic in particular: the American Revolution. First came Bunker Hill (2013), followed by Valiant Ambition (2016). His latest is In the Hurricane’s Eye: The Genius of George Washington and the Victory at Yorktown.
The October 1781 siege of Yorktown, Va., in which American and French forces defeated the British army led by Lt. Gen. Charles Cornwallis, did not end the Revolutionary War. But in hindsight, it proved to be the climactic confrontation of the war, which finally drew to a close in 1783. The Americans emerged victorious at Yorktown with the all-important assistance of land and naval forces from France, which threw its support behind the rebels in 1778.
Its subtitle notwithstanding, In the Hurricane’s Eye places Yorktown in a larger context, by chronicling events that occurred before and after Britain's catastrophic loss. A recurring theme is the often-tense relationship between George Washington, ostensibly the commander in chief of the allied forces, and assorted French commanders. The latter included the Comte de Rochambeau, who led the 5,500-man French Expeditionary Force that landed in Newport, R.I., in 1780 to assist the rebel cause. Despite a superficial cordiality, Washington and Rochambeau often seemed to be working at cross purposes, a problem exacerbated by the independence of French naval officers.
Washington and Rochambeau “were not the selfless military partners of American legend,” Philbrick writes. Each of them “had his own jealously guarded agenda, and it was only after Washington reluctantly—and angrily—acquiesced to French demands that they began to work in concert.”
Equally important to Philbrick, an experienced sailor, is the often-minimized but pivotal role the French navy played in the outcome at Yorktown. When a newly arrived French fleet under Admiral François Joseph Paul de Grasse decisively defeated an array of English warships that tried to come to the aid of Cornwallis, the British army in Yorktown was trapped between the combined American and French armies on the one hand and de Grasse's victorious squadron on the other. Evacuating the British troops by sea became impossible.
The decisive Battle of the Chesapeake, as the naval showdown is known, “plays only a minor part in most popular accounts of the war, largely because no Americans participated in it,” Philbrick notes. This French victory is often portrayed as “a mere prelude to the main event,” but it properly belongs “at the center of the story.” It may well have been “the most important naval engagement in the history of the world.”
Philbrick describes the battles of 1781 on land and sea with vigor, clarity and precision, but he is especially impressive in recounting the intricacies of naval actions involving the maneuvers of massive ships of the line and smaller, more nimble frigates.
In the Hurricane’s Eye makes it quite clear that the outcome at Yorktown was no sure thing, for a variety of complex and evolving reasons. For example, key logistical and financial difficulties had to be resolved before the French fleet could even sail from its Caribbean base to the Chesapeake. Those problems would not have been solved without the intervention of an unheralded Spanish diplomat named Francisco Saavedra, who arranged Spanish loans and naval help for Spain’s French ally.
The stakes could not have been higher. A British naval victory in Chesapeake Bay that October might have triggered the collapse of the revolution itself. “The bitter truth was that by the summer of 1781 the American Revolution had failed,” Philbrick writes, because thousands of Americans had refused to enlist, the 13 states had refused to adequately fund the rebel army, and the Continental Congress was helpless to set things right. The very existence of the United States rested “with the soldiers and sailors of another nation.”
In fact, it could be argued that de Grasse and Saavedra are the two great unsung heroes of the Yorktown campaign. The Spaniard’s machinations allowed de Grasse to sail to Yorktown with his entire Caribbean fleet rather than just a portion of it, all while carrying enough borrowed money aboard his ships to replenish Rochambeau’s empty coffers. The subsequent arrival of a smaller French squadron that sailed down from Rhode Island was icing on the revolutionary cake.
In the Hurricane's Eye is a suspenseful tale full of heartbreaking setbacks, nail-biting uncertainty, troublesome rivalries between allies, conflicting American and French priorities, and a healthy dose of serendipity. Ultimately, it is a lively, eminently readable account of a glorious triumph that never would have happened if the stars—American and French—had not aligned in just the right way at just the right time in just the right place.
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