{"product_id":"war-without-mercy-liberty-or-death-in-the-american-revolution-9781472872678","title":"War Without Mercy: Liberty or Death in the American Revolution","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eDrawing on vivid contemporary accounts, this is a fascinating exploration of how and why the Revolutionary War descended into a brutal existential struggle.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis engrossing history of the Revolutionary War conclusively shows that those caught up in it believed they had nothing to lose by fighting without regard for the rules of so-called \"civilized warfare.\" The clarion call to arms \"Liberty or Death\" was far more than just rhetoric. At its grimmest level, it was a conflict in which military restraint was more the exception than the rule, a struggle in which combatants believed their very existence was in question. This led to an acceptance of violence against persons and property as preferable to a defeat equated with political, cultural, and even physical extinction. It was war with an expectation and acceptance of ferocity and brutality - \u003ci\u003eanything\u003c\/i\u003e to avoid defeat. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA number of historians have previously concluded that United States' founding struggle reached a level of ferocity few Americans now associate with the movement for independence. However, these studies have described \u003ci\u003ewhat\u003c\/i\u003e happened, without looking in detail at \u003ci\u003ewhy\u003c\/i\u003e the conflict took such a violent a turn. Written by two esteemed Revolutionary War historians, \u003ci\u003eWar Without Mercy \u003c\/i\u003edoes exactly that. Based on years of research and enlivened by little known primary sources, this is an intriguing and fresh look at a period of history we thought we knew.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMark Edward Lender\u003c\/b\u003e is Professor Emeritus of History at Kean University. He is co-author with James Kirby Martin of \u003ci\u003eA Respectable Army: The Military Origins of the Republic, 1763-1783\u003c\/i\u003e, which for several years was required reading at West Point. He lives in Richmond. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eJames Kirby Martin\u003c\/b\u003e is Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Houston. Martin is author and editor of a number of books. He is a historian advisor to the Oneida Indian Nation of New York. He lives in Houston.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Osprey Publishing (UK)","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51635458933010,"sku":"9781472872678","price":23.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_1a850029-9f8e-4715-83b3-d4437d509ac2.jpg?v=1759237262","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/war-without-mercy-liberty-or-death-in-the-american-revolution-9781472872678","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}