David A. Ranzan - Böcker

In August 1777, Peter Gansevoort, Jr., defended Fort Schuyler (also known as Fort Stanwix) during a three-week siege by 1,700 British soldiers, Tories and Indians commanded by Colonel Barry St. Leger. Gansevoort won the distinction of successfully resisting a British siege in a period when every other continental post in New York was either evacuated or surrendered. His valiant effort led to the American victory at the Battle of Saratoga, a crucial point of the war.Born to an affluent Dutch family in Albany County, New York, Gansevoort was active in several theaters of Revolutionary War operations, including General Montgomery's Canadian campaign (1775), the Champlain-Hudson-Mohawk Valley defense against Burgoyne's northern invasion (1776-1777), the Sullivan-Clinton campaign (1779) and the New York-Vermont insurrection (1781). After the war, he was active in both military and civic arenas, rising to the position of brigadier general of the U.S. Army in 1809. Before his death, he presided over General James Wilkinson's court-martial in 1811.This documentary edition provides 279 pieces of correspondence to and from Gansevoort (and a few others) from 1775 to 1812.

A personal account of Commodore Perry's landmark expedition to Japan and life in the antebellum navy.  George B. Gideon Jr. served as second assistant engineer aboard the USS Powhatan from 1852 to 1856. From his position on the steam frigate, Gideon traveled to Singapore, Labuan, Borneo, Hong Kong, and many other Asian lands. During his time at sea, Gideon penned dozens of letters to his wife, Lide, back home in Philadelphia. Recently discovered in the attic of his great-great-grandniece, were fifty-one letters penned by Gideon providing thorough and insightful commentary throughout the voyage.  Through these correspondences, Gideon laboriously documents the details of his daily life on board, from the food they ate to the technical aspects of his work, as well as observations concerning the historical events unfolding around him, such as Chinese piracy, the Taiping Rebellion, the Crimean War, and the devastation of Shimoda. To My Dearest Wife, Lide: Letters from George B. Gideon Jr. during Commodore Perry's Expedition to Japan, 1853–1855 is a rare first-person account of the landmark American naval expedition to Japan to establish commercial relations between the two countries. Gideon's letters have been meticulously transcribed and annotated by the editors and are an invaluable primary historical source.  Gideon's letters are candid and revealing, delving into the rampant dysfunction in the navy of the 1850s—sickness and disease, alcohol abuse, and poor leadership, among other challenges. Gideon also unabashedly shares his own cynical views of the navy's role in supporting American economic interests in Japan. This firsthand account of the political mission of the Perry expedition is a unique contribution to naval and military history and gives readers a better view of life aboard a navy ship.