Under Alien Skies - by Vaughn Scribner (Paperback)

About the Book

"The Revolutionary War is often celebrated as marking the birth of American republicanism, liberty, and representative democracy. Yet for the tens of thousands of British and Hessian troops sent 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean to wage war under alien skies, such a progressive picture, as Vaughn Scribner reveals, could not have been further from the truth. In Under Alien Skies, Scribner illustrates how foreign soldiers' negative perceptions of the American environment merged with harsh wartime realities to elicit considerable physical, mental, and emotional anguish. Whether trudging through alligator-infested swamps, nursing a comrade back to health in a rain-sodden tent, or digging trenches in a burned-out port city, most who fought in America under the British army's flag ultimately deemed themselves strangers fighting in a strange land. For them, Revolutionary America looked nothing like the 'happy land . . . blessed with every climate' that Revolutionary republicans so successfully promoted. Instead, the War of Independence descended into a quagmire of anxiety, destruction, and distress at the hands of the American environment-a 'diabolical country, ' as one British soldier opined, 'which no Earthly compensation can put me in charity with.'"--

Book Synopsis

The Revolutionary War is often celebrated as marking the birth of American republicanism, liberty, and representative democracy. Yet for the tens of thousands of British and Hessian troops sent 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean to wage war under alien skies, such a progressive picture, as Vaughn Scribner reveals, could not have been further from the truth. In Under Alien Skies, Scribner illustrates how foreign soldiers' negative perceptions of the American environment merged with harsh wartime realities to elicit considerable physical, mental, and emotional anguish.

Whether trudging through alligator-infested swamps, nursing a comrade back to health in a rain-sodden tent, or digging trenches in a burned-out port city, most who fought in America under the British army's flag ultimately deemed themselves strangers fighting in a strange land. For them, Revolutionary America looked nothing like the "happy land . . . blessed with every climate" that Revolutionary republicans so successfully promoted. Instead, the War of Independence descended into a quagmire of anxiety, destruction, and distress at the hands of the American environment--a "Diabolical Country," as one British soldier opined, "which no Earthly Compensation can put me in Charity with."

Review Quotes

"Under Alien Skies expands the map and chronology of the American War for Independence in meaningful ways. . . . Scribner's valuable work ensures the environmental history of the American Revolution will continue to grow."--Journal of Military History

"Under Alien Skies is an effective and efficient look at both the role that the natural world played in the American Revolution and the psychological state of British and German soldiers who fought in the war. . . . Scrib[n]er's book makes a vital contribution to our understanding of the war that created the United States."--Journal of the American Revolution

"A transatlantic history of emotions. . . . Scribner's delicate handling marks Under Alien Skies' most innovative contribution to Revolutionary scholarship."--Orange Blossom Ordinary

"Despite nearly 250 years of historical study of the American War of Independence, scholars continue to find new lines of inquiry into the conflict. Vaughn Scribner's Under Alien Skies. . . provides an example of how historians can examine a seemingly well-worn topic and offer fresh insights with new methodologies."--American Historical Review