Profusely illustrated with period material on the American Revolution accompanied with an insightful historical narrative. Weaving together diary entries, journals, letters and battle reports, the account portrays the American Revolution as a dramatic contemporary event. The clash of ideals and the emotional controversy, as well as the excitement of the battles themselves, are fully conveyed by authentic documents of the period, including the partisan broadsheets and scurrilous cartoons that inflamed the passions of the day. Here is the Revolution through the eyes of the actual participants - patriot and Tory, American and British, French and German. Supplementing these original and unusual documents is Rankin's stimulating narrative that provides a colourful background for this watershed period in American history. The many maps, diagrams, paintings, and photographs were compiled by W.P. Cumming, the leading aruthority on 18th century American cartography. Some of these items are published here for the first time. Includes bibliography, chronological table, notes and index...