Cate, Alan C. Founding Fighters: The Battlefield Leaders Who Made American Independence. Westport, CT: Praeger Security International, 2006. 264pp. ISBN: 0-275-98707-8 $49.95
Founding Fighters is an interesting new book from former infantry officer and history professor Alan C. Cate, and is published by Praeger Security International. Cate explores an often-overlooked area of study on the American Revolution, the generals who made the core of commanders of the Continental army and their influence on the war’s prosecution and outcome. Cate seeks to indict academic history that he notes often overlooks the major players of the revolution (dead white men) in favor of minorities and other overlooked stories. While he does not state that the stories of minorities are not important, Cate offers his book as a more traditional history that will delight readers.
Cate explores several high-ranking officers in the Continental army through his work. Each officer is profiled via a detailed biography that chronicles their careers prior to the war, their exploits during the war, and, in most cases, their post-war careers. The book is well organized and the introduction provides the reader a brief, but detailed account of the Revolutionary War. This allows readers unfamiliar with the period to read and understand this book, which is beneficial to all readers.
After the helpful introduction to the war, Cate presents detailed biographies of several notable Continental officers and their contributions to the American victory. Some of the officers he chose to examine are a well-known group: Richard Montgomery, Henry Knox, Nathaniel Greene, Benedict Arnold (Arnold’s treason not withstanding), John Paul Jones, Francis Marion, Ethan Allen, Daniel Morgan, and George Rogers Clark. These men and the others Cate examined played significant roles during the Revolution and make this work quite refreshing.
There are many positives to this book. The organization of the book into topical chapters groups each officer chosen along common features, from former service in the British army, to self-education, to frontier legends. In addition to learning about the men and their qualities, the reader learns more about the Revolution, as Cate chose a diverse group that represented the many different campaigns and important battles of the war. Cate draws upon many wonderful sources in this work, both primary and secondary that illustrates thorough research into the subject. The brevity of the work is a plus, as the reader enjoys details about our war for independence without being bogged down in a lengthy tome.
There are a couple of drawbacks to the book, but they do not detract from the worth of this work. The book would benefit from a couple of maps to aid readers unfamiliar with the war as to where the battles mentioned are located. In addition, while Cate seeks to add to the historiography on the American Revolution, given his criticism of academic history, he does not state what other scholars have said on the subject he covers with his work. A little background on the previous historical writing around the officers covered and what he adds would enhance the reputation of the work among professional historians. Again, these problems are minor, but addressing them would help make this book even better than it is already.
Overall, Cate has provided readers with a wonderful book that will educate them on the men who were instrumental in America gaining independence. While most are familiar with Washington, reading Founding Fighters will familiarize them with the other major players of the war. General readers and scholars should add this book to their list. Perhaps Alan Cate will someday write a work on the major leaders of the British army during the Revolution.