"The primary purpose of this book is to present the American Revolutionary struggle as it appeared to and was recorded by the participants, patriot and loyalist, American and British, French and German, and observers on both sides of the Atlantic. Much of the record is taken from the diaries, journals, letters, and reports written during the conflict and from the maps, drawings, portraits, and paintings made 'on the spot' by those who were witnesses or whose memory was still vivid. The contemporary selections in the text are tied together by running narrative, and the illustrations are accompanied by explanatory captions."--Preface.

Includes index.

Preface -- Chronological Table -- Bibliography -- The Road to Lexington -- Rebellion -- Thrust to the North -- Charleston, 1776 -- New York -- The Jersey Campaign -- Thrust from the North -- The Fall of Philadelphia -- Valley Forge: The Making of an Army -- Treason! -- War in the West -- The South: Phase One -- The South: Phase Two -- Yorktown -- Rebellion becomes Revolution -- Notes -- Index.