Review: Scars of Independence: America's Violent Birth by Holger Hoock

Synopsis: The American Revolution is often portrayed as an orderly, restrained rebellion, with brave patriots defending their noble ideals against an oppressive empire. It’s a stirring narrative, and one the founders did their best to encourage after the war. But as historian Holger Hoock shows in this deeply researched and elegantly written account of America’s founding, the Revolution was not only a high-minded battle over principles, but also a profoundly violent civil war—one that shaped the nation, and the British Empire, in ways we have only begun to understand. In Scars of Independence, Hoock writes the violence back into the story of the Revolution. American Patriots persecuted and tortured Loyalists. British troops massacred enemy soldiers and raped colonial women. Prisoners were starved on disease-ridden ships and in subterranean cells. African-Americans fighting for or against independence suffered disproportionately, and Washington’s army waged a genocidal campaign against the Iroquois. In vivid, authoritative prose, Hoock’s new reckoning also examines the moral dilemmas posed by this all-pervasive violence, as the British found themselves torn between unlimited war and restraint toward fellow subjects, while the Patriots documented war crimes in an ingenious effort to unify the fledgling nation. For two centuries we have whitewashed this history of the Revolution. Scars of Independence forces a more honest appraisal, revealing the inherent tensions between moral purpose and violent tendencies in America’s past. In so doing, it offers a new origins story that is both relevant and necessary—an important reminder that forging a nation is rarely bloodless. (from the online description)

Review:  This is a unique perspective on the Revolutionary War. Hoock's writing highlights how this was a dirty, dangerous, vindictive civil war between neighbors and families. Hoock shows how both sides used whatever tactics they could while struggling to maintain a face of honor. Violence, often done in the name of Vindication or Justice for wrongs done by the other side. In particular, in the South, the violence was wide-spread and bloody.

Hoock also includes information about the violence against First Nations (done by the Colonial Armies) and the African-Americans, both free and slave, (done by both Colonial and British Armies). The atrocities committed by both sides extend well beyond anything we attribute to our revolution. As Hoock points out, Americans like to think our armies as noble, fighting with honor and valor, always on the side of right. But Hoock demonstrates with direct prose that both sides used brutality to achieve their ends.

Although academic, Hoock prose reads easily and quickly. He uses original source material, current scholarship, and rational deduction. This book is an excellent addition to anyone’s collection of books on the Revolution. It provides a unique perspective on the history of the war. 

Note: I received this book free via LibraryThing's Early Review Program in exchange for my fair and honest opinion

Bookmarks: 3.5 of 5

Awards: None

ISBN: 978-0-8041-3728-7
Year Published: 2017
Date Finished: 11-18-2017
Pages: 558