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Richard Borkow

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George Washington's Westchester Gamble: The Encampment on the Hudson & the Trapping of Cornwallis Kindle Edition

by Richard Borkow (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.4 20 ratings

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A look at Westchester County’s place in the American Revolution and Washington’s plan to trick Cornwallis and march to Yorktown.

During the summer of 1781, the armies of Generals Washington and Rochambeau were encamped in lower Westchester County at Dobbs Ferry, Ardsley, Hartsdale, Edgemont, and White Plains. It was a time of military deadlock and grim prospects for the allied Americans and French. Washington recognized that a decisive victory was needed, or America would never achieve independence. In August, he marched these soldiers to Virginia to face General Cornwallis and his redcoats. Washington risked all on this march. Its success required secrecy, and he prepared an elaborate deception to convince the British that Manhattan, not Virginia, was the target of the allied armies. Local historian Richard Borkow presents this exciting story of the Westchester encampment and Washington’s great gamble that saved the United States.

Praise for George Washington’s Westchester Gamble

“Borkow has done a first-rate job of telling the story of the American Revolution in Westchester County and putting dramatic events there in the context of the larger war--especially the decision to march to Yorktown.” —Thomas Fleming, author of The Perils of Peace

“Just when it seemed that the subject of the American Revolution had been thoroughly explored, Richard Borkow has given us a fresh look at the war's culminating event—the 1781 march of French and American troops to Virginia.” —Joseph Wheelan, author of Jefferson’s War and Mr. Adams’s Last Crusade

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Richard Borkow is the village historian of Dobbs Ferry, New York, a trustee of the Dobbs Ferry Historical Society and editor of the website www.VillageHistorian.org. In 2009 and 2010, he was project director for Noted Historians Reveal Dobbs Ferry's Historic River Connections, a series of video interviews on YouTube with distinguished historians, including Pulitzer Prize recipient, David Hackett Fischer. In the interview entitled, American Revolution: The Decision Which Won the War, Dr. Fischer speaks about the dramatic "moment of choice" in Westchester County which led, two months later, to the decisive Franco-American victory over Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxX0Kzfyeyk.
That same "moment of choice," and the great risks that were associated with it, are explored in detail in George Washington's Westchester Gamble.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00XRG2QG0
Publisher ‏ : ‎ The History Press (May 31, 2011)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 31, 2011
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 3159 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 241 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #589,975 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #375 in Military Strategy History (Kindle Store)
- #433 in US Revolution & Founding History (Kindle Store)
- #527 in History of Mid-Atlantic U.S.

Customer Reviews:
4.4 20 ratings

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Westchester Magazine feature article, July 2013:

Westchester County's Role in the Revolutionary War:

http://www.westchestermagazine.com/Westchester-Magazine/July-2013/Westchester-County-New-Yorks-Role-in-the-Revolutionary-War/

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James D. Vantassel

great read

Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2022

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I am REALLY enjoying this chosen by my book review group for the RW250 celebration. It was a well chosen interesting by someone who knew.
Well written. Short chapters like James Patterson books. NOT a boring history book.
I live in Westchester and it makes Westchester history more interesting to me and my family. This would be a good read for any class for students.

Westchester county, George Washington, revolutionary war all made interesting. I am going to look for other books written for Borkaw.

One person found this helpful

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Jim Morris

Engaging telling of Westchester County's role in the American Revolution

Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2013

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George Washington's Westchester Gamble is a riveting and descriptive telling of the story of the American Revolution and Westchester County's role in the Revolutionary War. This book is extremely engaging. I have only a passing, casual interest in history, but I found this book very hard to put down. For the first time I heard of how Bushnell's American Turtle, the world's first submarine, was built to take on the mighty British Navy (and how it met it's ironic demise!). I learned of American John Odell's "Skirmish on the Ice" while horse backing on the frozen Hudson River and of the attack on the Youngs house in central Westchester County. Stories of men and individuals traveling long distances in cold, unbearable weather with little or no provisions before any mechanized transportation. They were really a hearty bunch back then. I really got a sense of what happened in the war and have a greater appreciation of what the people who started this country went through. It's amazing how many Westchester County residents are living, working and traveling past such important places in our country's history every day. This book points out lots of them. Kudos to the author for his detailed research. A really enjoyable read!

2 people found this helpful

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Charles Walbridge

A Well Written Period Overview

Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2013

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Not only does this book describe the events leading up to the Battle of Yorktown, but it gives a good overview of both side's strategies during the entire Revolutionary War. It's well written and very readable.

2 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

This meticulously researched and well written book illuminates the central ...

Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2017

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This meticulously researched and well written book illuminates the central role that Westchester County played in the American Revolution and the making of the American nation. Richard Borkow brings to life the precarious situation that Washington and the Continental faced in 1781 and how his decision to leave Westchester and go onto Yorktown possibly changed the course not only of American but also World History.

2 people found this helpful

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M. L.

The book looks used

Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2023

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The packaging looked fine but the book looks like it has been read 100 times or left out in the rain. Not worth the hassle of returning but very disappointed by the condition.

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Amie Ziner

Lots of stuff about Dobbs Ferry in here :D

Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2013

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Wonderfully well researched and written, this book describes historical events, the context of the decisions, and the locations where it all happened. I love reading about my childhood home town and its history. I'll be getting copies for my family that all have moved away from Dobbs, but still feel great affection for the area.

One person found this helpful

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prezhistorian

Compelling story of Washington's march to Yorktown

Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2011

All of us have been taught in school about how General George Washington received the final surrender of General Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia in October of 1781. After 6 1/2 long years of fighting, the United States had finally won their independence from Great Britain.

But, how did General Washington get to Yorktown? Dr. Richard Borkow takes us on a, heretofore, little known, but fascinating tale of the calculated risks that Washington and his army took. In the Summer of 1781, the Continental Army, led by Washington, had been encamped in and around Dobbs Ferry, in Westchester County, New York. New York City, some 20-odd miles south, was occupied by British forces.

From a military standpoint, the very idea of an untrained army of men, from all walks of life, could outlast one of the finest and well-trained military forces of the Western hemisphere was preposterous. Their financial resources were limited, at best, and delegations were sent to France and elsewhere, in an effort to bankroll the patriots' cause. Over the course of the war, the American patriots had tasted the bitter pill of defeat, time and time again.

But, fate has an interesting way of turning things around. Just a few miles north of Dobbs Ferry, British Major John Andre, had been captured, along with his concealed plans to capture West Point with the assistance of American General
Benedict Arnold.

General Washington and his army made the arduous and dangerous journey to Virginia, knowing full well that defeat by the British forces could spell the end of the Americans' dream of independence.

Dr. Borkow ably relates the journey that General Washington and his men took during those months of August through October of 1781. His detailed account of the army's march will leave the reader spellbound and in awe of General Washington's brilliant military strategy.

'Washington's Westchester Gamble' is must reading not for only those who diligently follow history, but for everyone, because this book tells the story of how a rag-tailed, untrained army of dedicated farmers, blacksmiths and others marched to forge a new nation.

Dr. Borkow should be commended for bringing this excellent account of General Washington's victorious march to Yorktown, Virginia for all of us to savor and enjoy. Rarely have I seen a book so thoroughly researched and detailed. I highly recommend it.

6 people found this helpful

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MARILYN G. DERIGHT

Nice supplement to Washington's strategies

Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2016

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Purchased for a writer about the era who was pleased to have it.

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