Ohio History Journal

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BOOK REVIEWS

BOOK REVIEWS

 

Secret History of the American Revolution. By Carl Van Doren.

(New York, Viking, 1941. 534p. Illus. $3.75.)

This book of seventeen chapters gives an account of the con-

spiracies of Benedict Arnold and numerous others drawn from

the secret service papers of the British Headquarters in North

America. which were taken to England at the close of the Revo-

lutionary War. They were unavailable and unknown to the

public for more than a century when they were purchased by the

late William L. Clements of Michigan and were added to the

valuable manuscript collection of the Clements library at the

University of Michigan. The possibilities of this material were

suggested to Mr. Van Doren and he proceeded to work through

the Clements collection as well as other rare materials in other

great libraries in the eastern part of the United States.

The author has deciphered messages and discovered missing

links which he has gradually unfolded into a story not known

before. He uncovers much treachery and intrigue on the part of

the British in their efforts to win over the mighty leaders of the

American cause. The book appears at a very appropriate time

since it shows that in a time of stress and storm, most of the

citizens of the New America were sincere and devoted to the

cause of independence in spite of temptation and bribe.

There is an appendix of 56 pages giving the Arnold-Andre

correspondence and Clements' narrative. A general bibliography,

chapter references and an index, bring the book to a close. The

book contains portraits, facsimile reproductions of unpublished

manuscripts, and a map of the Arnold-Andre country.

H. L.

 

 

 

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