November 2023 MBR The American History Shelf

The American History Shelf

All That Can Be Expected
Robert Orrison, author
Mark Wilcox, author
Savas Beatie LLC
www.savasbeatie.com
9781611216868, $16.95, PB, 192pp

https://www.amazon.com/All-That-Can-Expected-Revolutionary/dp/1611216869

Synopsis: "They have done all that can be expected of them, we are outnumbered and outflanked," explained Lt. Col. Benjamin Ford in regards to the desperate situation his Marylanders faced on the disastrous day of August 16, 1780.

Many historians consider the battle of Camden as the high tide of Great Britain's prospects for victory in the American South. In the spring of 1780, British leadership focused their attention on conquering the Southern Colonies. Charleston capitulated, along with the bulk of the American army defending it, in May of 1780. After its fall, the British set up outposts across South Carolina's backcountry in an effort to secure that colony before moving into North Carolina.

In response, the Continental Congress sent Gen. Horatio Gates, the "hero of Saratoga", to take over the Southern Department. Gates reorganized the forces there and named his field command "Grand Army", whose core was a small contingent of experienced Continentals from Maryland and Delaware. The majority, however, was comprised of untested soldiers and newly recruited militia from Virginia and North Carolina.

Soon after his arrival, Gates led his army south to confront the British near Camden, South Carolina. The mostly inexperienced American force found itself facing some of the best units of the British army under the command of one of its best generals, Charles Cornwallis.

The result was an unmitigated disaster for the Americans with far-reaching consequences. With the publication of "All That Can Be Expected: The Battle of Camden and the British High Tide in the South, August 16, 1780", co-authors and historians Rob Orrison and Mark Wilcox set forth the events surrounding one of the worst American military defeats in United States history. Readers will also follow in the footsteps of American and British soldiers through the South Carolina backcountry on a narrative tour to help better understand this fascinating campaign of August 1780.

Critique: An impressive work of collaborative historical research by historians Robert Orrison and Mark Wilcox, "All That Can Be Expected: The Battle of Camden and the British High Tide in the South, August 16, 1780" is the newest title in the simply outstanding 'Emerging Revolutionary War' series from Savas Beatie and a welcome, unreservedly recommended pick for personal, professional, community, and college/university library 18th Century American History collections in general, and supplemental American Revolution curriculum studies lists in particular.

Editorial Note #1: Robert Orrison is co-founder of Emerging Revolutionary War and has worked in the public history field for more than 25 years. He serves as the Division Manager for the Prince William County (VA) Office of Historic Preservation. His works include A Single Blow: The Battles of Lexington and Concord and the Beginning of the American Revolution, A Want of Vigilance: The Bristoe Station Campaign, The Last Road North: A Guide to the Gettysburg Campaign, 1863, and To Hazard All: A Guide to the Maryland Campaign, 1862.

Editorial Note #2: Historian Mark Wilcox works as a ranger at Richmond National Battlefield Park and the Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site, leads battlefield tours around Richmond, and presents on the city's Revolutionary War, Civil War, and Civil Rights history. Mark is also a living historian of the Colonial era and provides educational programs for public history sites in Virginia. He is also a member of the Richmond Chapter of the Revolutionary War Roundtable and blogs for Emerging Revolutionary War.

Nature's People
Tom Schaefer
Canoe Tree Press/DartFrog Books
https://dartfrogbooks.com
9781959096535, $18.99 Paper/$8.99 ebook

https://www.amazon.com/Natures-People-Island-Loomis-Audubon/dp/1959096532

Nature's People: The Hog Island Story from Mabel Loomis Todd to Audubon chronicles the long and special history of Hog Island, the gateway to Muscongus Bay's bird islands and its early role in the Audubon Society, serving as the Audubon Nature Camp for Adult Leaders in 1936 and establishing a role and presence in the Society for decades to come. Socialite Mabel Loomis Todd saved Hog Island from lumbering at the turn of the century, setting the stage for not only its preservation, but for the events which would place it centerfold in conservation circles. The history of Hog Island and the evolution of its use and preservation is, in effect, a concurrent history of conservation in America and the Audubon Society's role in using the island as a focal point of nature study.

Tom Schaefer crafts a lively account that embraces this movement from the early 1900s, linking Hog Island's development and the challenges involved in its preservation to how the Audubon camp was created, controlled, managed, and evolved over the decades. Extensive chapter notes and references supplemented by vintage black and white photos provide added value with documentation and insights that follow the social, political, and environmental challenges Hog Island posed to the Audubon Society and represented to the general public outside of conservation circles.

The result is a captivating, uncommon history that deserves profile in any library strong in conservation history in America, offering the depth and lively touches that will make Nature's People informative, engrossing and captivating beyond its intended audience of nature and history buffs. This translates to an engaging account that will find a home not only in libraries dedicated to conservation stories, but in general-interest collections where Hog Island and the Audubon Society need not be prior knowledge in order to prove equally attractive.

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