""The fact is that their army is broken all to pieces, and the spirits of their leaders and their abettors is also broken...one may venture to pronounce that it is well nigh over with them." - Lord Rawdon." "In the late fall of 1776, few people on either side would have disagreed with this young British officer's assessment of the Continental Army - least of all, the commander of that army, George Washington." "After four months of disastrous defeats, narrow escapes, and punishing marches, Washington knew only too well that his rag-tag assemblage of inexperienced officers, poorly trained regulars, and hastily gathered militiamen was no match for a professional army of more than thirty thousand seasoned, well-equipped British and Hessian troops. Yet General William Howe had missed three golden opportunities to crush Washington's army and thus end the rebellion. With each reprieve, Washington became a wiser, craftier, more prudent commander, one capable of turning an undisciplined rabble into a capable fighting force." "The Road to Valley Forge traces the painful education of Washington and his army through the most critical period of the American Revolution, from August 1776 through the winter of 1777-1778. Citing communications from Washington and dozens of other civilian and military leaders, as well as many rank-and-file soldiers, it debunks myths about how the early stages of the war were fought, challenges the assertions of previous authors, and provides a you-are-there view of some of the war's most dramatic events."--BOOK JACKET.