Edward G. Lengel

America's founder in myth and memory

Inventing George Washington

It was one of the most heroic events in American military history. Here is the larger-than-life story of World War I's "Lost Battalion" and the men who survived the ordeal, triumphed in battle, and fought the demons that lingered. In the first week of October, 1918, six hundred men attacked into Europe's forbidding Argonne Forest. Against all odds, they surged through enemy lines--alone. They were soon surrounded and besieged. As they ran out of ammunition, water, and food, the doughboys withstood constant bombardment and relentless enemy assaults. Seven days later, only 194 soldiers from the original unit walked out of the forest. The stand of the US Army's "Lost Battalion" remains an unprecedented display of heroism under fire. Never in Finer Company tells the stories of four men whose lives were forever changed by the ordeal: Major Charles Whittlesey, a lawyer dedicated to serving his men at any cost; Captain George McMurtry, a New York stockbroker who becomes a tower of strength under fire; Corporal Alvin York, a country farmer whose famous exploits help rescue his beleaguered comrades; and Damon Runyon, an intrepid newspaper man who interviews the survivors and weaves their experiences into the American epic. Emerging from the patriotic frenzy that sent young men "over there," each of these four men trod a unique path to the October days that engulfed them--and continued to haunt them as they struggled to find peace. Uplifting and compelling, Never in Finer Company is a deeply moving and dramatic story on an epic scale.

The Men of the Great War's Lost Battalion

Never in Finer Company

The first comprehensive military history of American forces in World War I. It explains how the Doughboys of the American Expeditionary Forces confronted and adapted to twentieth century warfare.

Americans in the Crucible of Combat, 1917-1918

Thunder and Flames

Utilizing new primary source material from the Papers of George Washington, a documentary editing project dedicated to the transcription and publication of original documents, A Companion to George Washington features a collection of original readings from scholars and popular historians that shed new light on all aspects of the life of George Washington. Provides readers with new insights into previously neglected aspects of Washington's life Features original essays from top scholars and popular historians Based on new research from thousands of previously unpublished letters to and from Washington

A Companion to George Washington

Many American know bits and pieces of the War for Independence…Lexington, Bunker Hill, Saratoga, Yorktown, Washington, Hamilton, Benedict Arnold. All familiar names, but how did it all fit together. How did merchants, lawyers, farmers and cobblers all come together and defeat the combined forces of the British Empire, its powerful Navy, and their Hessian auxiliaries. For that matter, who were the Hessians, and what is an auxiliary? Eminent historian, Ed Lengel has brought together ten of the most highly respected Revolutionary War experts to present the stirring narratives of history altering military campaigns that formed a new nation. Accessibly written, the lay reader will take a tour through British America from Quebec City's frozen fortress, to the Concord's Old North Bridge, Cross the Delaware with Washington and through South Carolina with the "Swamp Fox" Frances Marion. After reading these ten riveting essays, every American will sound like an expert on our nation's fight for freedom. Includes: Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill by Glenn Williams Quebec and the Champlain Valley by Mark Anderson Brooklyn to Fort Lee by Todd Braisted The Crossing and The Ten Crucial Days by William L. Kidder Ticonderoga To Saratoga by James Kirby Martin Brandywine to Valley Forge by Michael C. Harris The Monmouth Campaign by Mark Lender Charlestown to Kings Mountain by John Buchanan From Cowpens to Guilford Courthouse by John Maass The Allied March to Yorktown by Robert Selig

The 10 Key Campaigns of the American Revolution

Utilizing new primary source material from the Papers of GeorgeWashington, a documentary editing project dedicated to thetranscription and publication of original documents, A Companionto George Washington features a collection of original readingsfrom scholars and popular historians that shed new light on allaspects of the life of George Washington. Provides readers with new insights into previously neglectedaspects of Washington's life Features original essays from top scholars and popularhistorians Based on new research from thousands of previously unpublishedletters to and from Washington

An authoritative chronicle of the 1918 battle of the Meuse-Argonne region of France details the bloodiest battle in American history and offers an in-depth account of the campaign and its long-term legacy for the Great War and the American military.

The Meuse-Argonne, 1918 The Epic Battle That Ended the First World War

To Conquer Hell

Describes the change in British perceptions of relations with Ireland as a result of the potato famine from a gendered rhetoric of marriage to one of master and servant.

Perceptions of Ireland in the Famine Era

The Irish Through British Eyes

Much has been written in the past two centuries about George Washington the statesman and “father of his country.” Less often discussed is Washington’s military career, including his exploits as a young officer and his performance as the Revolutionary War commander in chief. Now, in a revealing work of historical biography, Edward Lengel has written the definitive account of George Washington the soldier. Based largely on Washington’s personal papers, this engrossing book paints a vivid, factual portrait of a man to whom lore and legend so tenaciously cling. To Lengel, Washington was the imperfect commander. Washington possessed no great tactical ingenuity, and his acknowledged “brilliance in retreat” only demonstrates the role luck plays in the fortunes of all great men. He was not an enlisted man’s leader; he made a point of never mingling with his troops. He was not an especially creative military thinker; he fought largely by the book. He was not a professional, but a citizen soldier, who, at a time when warfare demanded that armies maneuver efficiently in precise formation, had little practical training handling men in combat. Yet despite his flaws, Washington was a remarkable figure, a true man of the moment, a leader who possessed a clear strategic, national, and continental vision, and who inspired complete loyalty from his fellow revolutionaries, officers, and enlisted men. America could never have won freedom without him. A trained surveyor, Washington mastered topography and used his superior knowledge of battlegrounds to maximum effect. He appreciated the importance of good allies in times of crisis, and understood well the benefits of coordination of ground and naval forces. Like the American nation itself, he was a whole that was greater than the sum of its parts–a remarkable everyman whose acts determined the course of history. Lengel argues that Washington’s excellence was in his completeness, in how he united the military, political, and personal skills necessary to lead a nation in war and peace. At once informative and engaging, and filled with some eye-opening revelations about Washington, the war for American independence, and the very nature of military command, General George Washington is a book that reintroduces readers to a figure many think they already know.

A Military Life

General George Washington

“Lengel’s Washington is the archetypal American soldier—an amateur citizen in arms who struggles to learn an unfamiliar and demanding craft on the job....Outstanding.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) on The Glorious Struggle Editor-in-Chief of the Washington Papers Project Edward G. Lengel delivers an entertaining and erudite history of America's Founding Father. In Inventing George Washington, a captivating counterpart to Lengel’s General George Washington: A Military Life, the historian looks at Washington’s life and writings, at the creation of his mythos, and at what his legacy means for our nation and ourselves.

Edward G. Lengel

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