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Through the Perilous Fight
Steve Vogel
Six Weeks That Saved the Nation
Random House
June 2014
On Sale: May 27, 2014
ISBN: 0812981391
EAN: 9780812981391
Kindle: B00A5MRG9Q
Paperback / e-Book (reprint)
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Non-Fiction History
In a rousing account of one of the critical turning points
in American history, Through the Perilous Fight tells
the gripping story of the burning of Washington and the
improbable last stand at Baltimore that helped save the
nation and inspired its National Anthem.
In
the summer of 1814, the United States of America teetered on
the brink of disaster. The war it had declared against Great
Britain two years earlier appeared headed toward inglorious
American defeat. The young nation’s most implacable nemesis,
the ruthless British Admiral George Cockburn, launched an
invasion of Washington in a daring attempt to decapitate the
government and crush the American spirit. The British
succeeded spectacularly, burning down most of the city’s
landmarks—including the White House and the Capitol—and
driving President James Madison from the area. As looters
ransacked federal buildings and panic gripped the citizens
of Washington, beleaguered American forces were forced to
regroup for a last-ditch defense of Baltimore. The outcome
of that “perilous fight” would help change the outcome of
the war—and with it, the fate of the fledgling American
republic.
In a fast-paced, character-driven
narrative, Steve Vogel tells the story of this titanic
struggle from the perspective of both sides. Like an epic
novel, Through the Perilous Fight abounds with
heroes, villains, and astounding feats of derring-do. The
vindictive Cockburn emerges from these pages as a pioneer in
the art of total warfare, ordering his men to “knock down,
burn, and destroy” everything in their path. While President
Madison dithers on how to protect the capital, Secretary of
State James Monroe personally organizes the American
defenses, with disastrous results. Meanwhile, a prominent
Washington lawyer named Francis Scott Key embarks on a
mission of mercy to negotiate the release of an American
prisoner. His journey will place him with the British fleet
during the climactic Battle for Baltimore, and culminate in
the creation of one of the most enduring compositions in the
annals of patriotic song: “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Like Pearl Harbor or 9/11, the burning of
Washington was a devastating national tragedy that
ultimately united America and renewed its sense of purpose.
Through the Perilous Fight combines bravura
storytelling with brilliantly rendered character sketches to
recreate the thrilling six-week period when Americans
rallied from the ashes to overcome their oldest
adversary—and win themselves a new birth of freedom.
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