{"product_id":"9781472872678-war-without-mercy-liberty-or-death-in-the-american-revolution","title":"War Without Mercy","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLiberty or Death in the American Revolution\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eDrawing on vivid contemporary accounts, this\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eis a fascinating exploration of how and why the Revolutionary War descended into a brutal existential struggle.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\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\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarewaves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55147279679862,"sku":"9781472872678","price":21.73,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/files\/orig_36048344.jpg?v=1759787519","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/9781472872678-war-without-mercy-liberty-or-death-in-the-american-revolution","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}