Review by Choice Review
Mattern's book is a well-written and solidly researched biography of the American revolutionary general Benjamin Lincoln, a native of Hingham, Massachusetts. Lincoln is best remembered, perhaps unfairly, as the unsuccessful rebel commander of the Southern Department from late 1778 until May of 1780. This period in his career was marked by a series of defeats that culminated in the surrender of Charleston to the British. Mattern counters this inequitable popular image by presenting a finely crafted, balanced view of Lincoln that also highlights his achievements, including his heroic performance as an American strategist at Saratoga in 1777, his attempts to provide an adequate defense for the Southern Department in the face of controversy with the French Admiral D'Estaing, and his contributions to the victory at Yorktown. The book's substantial biographical treatment also emphasizes Lincoln's postwar career as Secretary of War in the early 1780s, his role as the Massachusetts suppressor of Shay's Rebellion, and his numerous activities as a Federalist Party stalwart until his death in 1810. Based on an impressive and comprehensive array of primary sources, this book will remain the standard biography of Benjamin Lincoln for many years to come. Upper-division undergraduates and above. L. T. Cummins Austin College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
