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Through a Howling Wilderness: Benedict Arnold's March to Quebec, 1775 Paperback – Illustrated, November 13, 2007

by Thomas A. Desjardin (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 74 ratings
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A great military history about the early days of the American Revolution, Thomas A. Desjardin's Through a Howling Wilderness is also a timeless adventure narrative that tells of heroic acts, men pitted against nature's fury, and a fledgling nation's fight against a tyrannical oppressor.

Before Benedict Arnold was branded a traitor, he was one of the colonies' most valuable leaders. In September 1775, eleven hundred soldiers boarded ships in Massachusetts, bound for the Maine wilderness. They had volunteered for a secret mission, under Arnold's command to march and paddle nearly two hundred miles and seize British Quebec. Before they reached the Canadian border, hundreds died, a hurricane destroyed canoes and equipment and many deserted. In the midst of a howling blizzard, the remaining troops attacked Quebec and almost took Canada from the British simultaneously weakening the British hand against Washington.

With the enigmatic Benedict Arnold at its center, Desjardin has written one of the great American adventure stories.

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Previous page
  1. Print length
    256 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    November 13, 2007
  4. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.58 x 8.5 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    0312339054
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0312339050
  7. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Desjardin is able to portray fascinating, vivid characters, more human and more credible than the leaders who organized the expedition.” ―Associated Press

“[A] stirring account...Desjardin has salted his account with great bits of regional history.” ―The Boston Globe

“In an age of bloated, overstuffed history books...Desjardin has pulled off this feat in just 240 pages of terse, well-hewn prose.” ―The Bangor Daily News

“Thoroughly researched and well written, this is likely to be the standard history of the campaign for some time to come.” ―Booklist

“Desjardin recounts the march in descriptive, detailed prose studded with visceral imagery . . . A vivid narrative of a vital American event.'” ―Kirkus Reviews

“[A] highly readable book.” ―The Journal Star

“One of the great adventure sagas in American history . . . This is a story that helped shape the American Revolution, dramatically told in this highly readable new book.” ―James Kirby Martin, author of the award-winning Benedict Arnold, Revolutionary Hero: An American Warrior Reconsidered

“A model of accessible, vigorous narrative history, Through a Howling Wilderness re-creates an important but largely forgotten episode in early American history and tells a fascinating story in the bargain.” ―Jackson Lears, Board of Governors Professor of History, Rutgers University

About the Author

THOMAS DESJARDIN is the Historic Site Specialist for the State of Maine. He is the author of Stand Firm, Ye Boys from Maine: The 20th Maine and the Gettysburg Campaign and These Honored Dead: How the Story of Gettysburg Shaped American Memory.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ St. Martin's Griffin; First Edition (November 13, 2007)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0312339054
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0312339050
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.58 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 74 ratings

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Thomas A. Desjardin

Thomas A. Desjardin

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
74 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Arnold's Expedition Narrative an Engrossing Read
Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2013
Verified Purchase
Well written, flows well, and carefully researched. The author has a wry sense of humor as well and it shows up when relating many of the ironies ALL histories have thanks to hindsight. Arnold's expedition through Maine to Quebec had more than it's share and ultimately, one can see that it was a number of minor mistakes that prevented Arnold from taking Quebec entirely. Well worth the read.

Having just been through Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire along part of the route the army took, I'm amazed that they even attempted it. It was probably the most daring expedition that could have been conceived..
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Kim Burdick
4.0 out of 5 stars Through a Howling Wilderness
Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2012
Verified Purchase
.
The more I read about Benedict Arnold's trek to Quebec, the more interesting it becomes. Desjardin is one of the few authors that bothers to explain why the invasion of Canada was important and what its long-term impact on the American Revolution may have been.

I especially liked Desjardin's comparison of this trek to that of Hannibal's ancient march. The sufferings and the stoicism of Arnold's men were both terrible and fascinating and should be better known.

This is a very readable book. Although it is aimed at the general market and quite similar to Kenneth Robert's classic novel, "Arundel," it is well worth reading. It would be a good book to give as a gift to a young adult reader.

"Through a Howling Wilderness" has an extensive section of notes at the end, making it useful to scholars and historians. This is both good history and a great adventure story.

This would be an excellent choice for a high school or History 101 book report.

Kim Burdick
Stanton, Delaware
3 people found this helpful
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Arkansaw Traveler
5.0 out of 5 stars Composite Tale From Sometimes Questionable Sources
Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2008
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Arnold's march to Quebec is a subject that an historian can research almost completely with little effort. Kenneth Roberts did us all a favor with his 1938 "March To Quebec" while writing Arundel, a fictional account of the campaign, which included almost all of the known and important journals by members of Arnold's expedition. Desjardin could almost have written his book from this single source, and in fact his end notes reference Roberts extensively. The journals contained in Roberts and an additional two dozen references cover 99+ percent of the known information concerning the march and the battle for Quebec with Roberts accounting for probably 80%.

In short, this book is a weaving of those journals into a narrative, complete with the inaccuracies and exaggerations in those journals. Most of the references listed are peripheral to the journals, even the primary sources, and the chapter on "America'a Hannibal" is superfluous in that it deals with Arnold in other campaigns. The reader is cautioned that this light read lacks the depth of analysis and discussion normally expected in a historical work. One could read the journals contained in Roberts's book and perhaps come away with a better appreciation of the travails and experiences of this campaign.

The march itself was probably best handled in an unreferenced work of 1903 by Justin Smith, "Arnold's March From Cambridge To Quebec." John Codman's 1901 work, "Arnold's Expedition to Quebec" also covers the ground well, although it contains information that has been impossible to verify from other sources or critical analysis. The battle is covered relatively poorly in primary sources, with the usual contradictory accounts, especially with respect to Arnold's attack on the lower town. Morgan's actions at the barricades fall more properly into the realm of myth-making, although clearly the riflemen fought as well as they could. The saga of the captured Americans, (of which my Great-great-great-grandfather James Dougherty of Smith's Lancaster Riflemen and who then violated his parole and fought in Washington's army until 1783 was one), is covered at any length only in Henry's journal, a page of two in others including several British sources, and a few letters and other documents such as those by James Dougherty. That Quebec would never have become the 14th colony to rebel and the capture of Quebec would have cost the patriots more than they would gain is also a fairly common opinion among historians.

In short, I recommend other works concerning Arnold's expedition for the casual historian of the Revolutionary period such as Roberts for the journals, Smith for a critical analysis of the march, and Arthur Lefkowitz's "Benedict Arnold's Army" for the overall invasion. But Desjardin's book is what it is, a composite of the stories as recorded by the participants.
20 people found this helpful
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Mimi Coffey
5.0 out of 5 stars American Fortitude Defined
Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2016
Verified Purchase
This unbelievable trek through the wilderness of Canada and Maine has reached almost mythical dimensions. There were times in the book where I had to put it down because I was so upset and disappointed at the near misses which could have turned the tide of the Battle of Quebec. What if they had just launched the attack once they reached Quebec without delay ? What if Enos had not retreated with 100 men ? What if it had been a dry night and their muskets had all fired ? The end of the book gives some solace as to how (even though a defeat) this trek can be calculated into the overall equation of contributing to the American Revolution victory. Men eating shoe leather, dying from frostbite, wading through icy waters carrying hundreds of pounds above their shoulders (their bateauxs), wasting time and precious energy on unproductive trails,.... This book is a triumph of the human spirit. It really makes you proud of our men who really gave it their all in the name of American Independence.
8 people found this helpful
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David Palmer
1.0 out of 5 stars KINDLE BOOK. BEWARE! DRM
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 28, 2019
Verified Purchase
This is not really a review of the book as I'd only read the first couple of chapters. But as I was having trouble seeing the maps (I have an old Kindle reader) I decided I'd read the book and get to see tha maps much easier using Calibre on my computer. DRM! YOU DON'T OWN THE BOOK That's right folks, when the book is covered by Digital Rights Management you don't own it, you can only use it where you downloaded it. My advice? check before you buy that the Kindle book you'd like isn't covered by DRM. I got my money back and will hopefully buy another free from the dreaded DRM!
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