Evan Crutch appears as an infantryman in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War as portrayed in the film George Washington. He is a representation of the maturation of the soldiers during the course of the war and how their attitudes towards battle changed by the end of the conflict. His personality is a generalization of how the soldiers acted and behaved at given times during the war; however, he differs from the average American soldier in that he also serves as a great role model towards his comrades. He is loyal to those above him and encourages others to be the same. He also pushes others to give their best, even in peril.
When George Washington was assigned his position as Commander in Chief, the Continental Army was a rag-tag band of men from varying militias and backgrounds. They were highly unorganized, poorly trained, and ill-equipped for any kind of battle or survival. In the film, George Washington’s disgust with the way the Army behaved was depicted as the General going through a Continental encampment. Up on his horse, he views the loose union of soldiers he is given to lead. The first interaction he has with any member of the infantry is with Evan Crutch. He is seen with his section, holding a chicken. Washington asks Crutch where his officer is, to which Crutch replied with “He’s not here, sir.” This prompts Washington to say how he feels: “This encampment is a pigsty!” This leaves Crutch speechless as Washington rides away.
Keller 2
The second meeting with Evan Crutch comes on the New Year as Washington rides up to a Continental outpost at night. Evan and a few others are at watch, unlike the other soldiers who are at camp, getting ready to leave the Army soon. Washington is met with the que...
... middle of paper ...
...of his close friends; he is now considered one of the most well-trained and skilled soldiers in the entire Continental Army.
The Continental Army changed greatly from its start to the end of the Revolutionary War. It began as loosely-united group of militiamen and evolved into a true military force, now credited with taking down the world’s premiere war machine of the late 1700s. The character of Evan Crutch in George Washington served his purpose to show the development of the Army. He as a soldier retained respect and loyalty to General Washington and for his nation, and by doing this he greatly encouraged those around him to do the same. Evan Crutch exemplified the true drive, courage, and passion the Army had developed by the end of the American Revolution, as well as the strong and honest relationship between General George Washington and his Continental Army.
In 1776, David McCullough gives a vivid portrayal of the Continental Army from October 1775 through January 1777, with sharp focus on the leadership of America’s greatest hero, George Washington. McCullough’s thesis is that had not the right man (George Washington) been leading the Continental Army in 1776, the American Revolution would have resulted in a vastly different outcome. He supports his argument with a critical analysis of Washington’s leadership during the period from the Siege of Boston, through the disastrous defense of New York City, the desperate yet, well ordered retreat through New Jersey against overwhelming odds, and concludes with the inspiring victories of Trenton and Princeton. By keeping his army intact and persevering through 1776, Washington demonstrated to the British Army that the Continental Army was not simply a gang of rabble, but a viable fighting force. Additionally, Mr. McCullough supports his premise that the key to the survival of the American Revolution was not in the defense of Boston, New York City, or any other vital terrain, but rather the survival of the Continental Army itself. A masterful piece of history, 1776 is not a dry retelling of the Revolutionary War, but a compelling character study of George Washington, as well as his key lieutenants, and his British adversaries, the most powerful Army in the 18th Century world. When I read this book, I went from a casual understanding of the hero George Washington to a more specific understanding of why Washington was quite literally the exact right man at the exact right place and time to enable the birth of the United States.
As he immerses his audience into combat with the soldiers, Shaara demonstrates the more emotional aspects of war by highlighting the personal lives of the men fighting. For example, when Shaara reveals the pasts of James Longstreet and Lewis Armistead’s, I started to picture them as the men that they were and not as soldiers out for blood. After suffering a devastating loss of three of his children to fever, Longstreet is tossed into battle. In Armistead’s case, he not only suffered the loss of his wife, but also of a friend fighting on the Union side, General Winfield Scott Hancock. Shaara saves his readers a front row seat to the inner turmoil of General Chamberlain regarding his hindering duty as a soldier clashes with his duty to family as he strived to serve the Union as well as protec...
The Battle of Antietam could have been a devastating and fatal blow to the Confederate Army if Gen. McClellan acted decisively, took calculated risks, and veered away from his cautious approach to war. There are many instances leading up to the battle and during the battle in which he lacks the necessary offensive initiative to effectively cripple and ultimately win the war. This paper is intended to articulate the failure of Mission Command by GEN McClellan by pointing out how he failed to understand, visualize, describe and direct the battlefield to his benefit.
Nathanael Greene, although not afforded many victories in battles, was a masterful strategist, soldier and statesman. He was able to successfully employ militia, regular, light and mounted units during his command in the South. He built upon the reputation that he made for himself at the beginning of the war in Boston. It is because of this reputation and his ability to produce results that made him the second most important general in the continental army, next only to George Washington.
Washington understood that what lies ahead would be difficult, considering he would be facing the most powerful country in the world. But he probably didn't expect his worst problems to come from his own army, which was an undisciplined and untrained group that would eventually tamper with his great patience. Through it all, he would stay determined and always try to stay one step ahead of the enemy. In the summer of 1775, the Americans prepared to attack the British in Boston. But Washington was informed that they were shorthanded on gunpowder.
a Vietnamese man in a hut he was supposed to check out, and from this point on he does a lot of thinking about why he is fighting in the war. From experiences like this Perry changes both
...in which all of the tales and happenings are true. Having visited Mount Vernon for instance, Borneman’s portrayal and detailed information about George Washington brings so much more to the man and the character. Walter Borneman consistently connected the dots in describing what individuals did and what important things they had yet to do. With no real complaints and only a thirst for more, the author has scored big with this book and exampled narrative history at its finest! In the end, what is most important is the knowledge one can gain from such a vivid and living portrayal of the Seven Years War.
The violent nature that the soldiers acquired during their tour in Vietnam is one of O'Brien's predominant themes in his novel. By consciously selecting very descriptive details that reveal the drastic change in manner within the men, O'Brien creates within the reader an understanding of the effects of war on its participants. One of the soldiers, "Norman Bowler, otherwise a very gentle person, carried a Thumb. . .The Thumb was dark brown, rubbery to touch. . . It had been cut from a VC corpse, a boy of fifteen or sixteen"(O'Brien 13). Bowler had been a very good-natured person in civilian life, yet war makes him into a very hard-mannered, emotionally devoid soldier, carrying about a severed finger as a trophy, proud of his kill. The transformation shown through Bowler is an excellent indicator of the psychological and emotional change that most of the soldiers undergo. To bring an innocent young man from sensitive to apathetic, from caring to hateful, requires a great force; the war provides this force. However, frequently are the changes more drastic. A soldier named "Ted Lavender adopted an orphaned puppy. . .Azar strapped it to a Claymore antipersonnel mine and squeezed the firing device"(O'Brien 39). Azar has become demented; to kill a puppy that someone else has adopted is horrible. However, the infliction of violence has become the norm of behavior for these men; the fleeting moment of compassion shown by one man is instantly erased by another, setting order back within the group. O'Brien here shows a hint of sensitivity among the men to set up a startling contrast between the past and the present for these men. The effect produced on the reader by this contrast is one of horror; therefore fulfilling O'Brien's purpose, to convince the reader of war's severely negative effects.
In his book, My Fellow Soldiers, Andrew Carroll tells the story of World War I through the eyes of the American participants. He uses quotes, personal letters and diaries, from an array of characters, to depict a day in the life of a WWI warrior. Though, he narrows his focus on the untold story of General John J. Pershing, a US army leader. He uniquely talks about the General's vulnerable and emotional side. "Pershing was notoriously strong-willed, to the point of seeming cold, rigid, and humorless, almost more machine than man" (p.XVIII). Pershing is commonly recognized for his accomplishments during the war and remembered for his sternness. He was "…especially unforgiving when it came to matters of discipline" (p. XVIII). Nicknamed "Black Jack" due to his mercilessness towards his soldiers, in this book, Pershing is portrayed as a General with much determination and devotion to his troops, family, and close friends.
The men in the group faced a challenge of showing bravery. They always had to “one up” each other. The soldiers were told to go to the dentist. As they were told this, Curt fainted. This showed how he was unmanly, which wasn’t very good for his reputation. So when it was his turn, he told the doctor to pull one of his teeth. This was to show how he was a bigger and better man than the rest because nothing was wrong with that tooth or any other tooth. Later, Lemon is killed by playing catch with a grenade. This showed how dumb it was to try and waste their time trying to show everyone how they were bigger
During his deployment in Vietnam, Kiley experienced the dark elements of the war, indubitably changing his perspective of the war and him as a person-- from the deaths of his fellow soldiers to the unresolved issues, nightmares, and detachment from reality. What is left of Kiley is only a
The life of a common soldier fighting on behalf of colonial independence during the American Revolution was a difficult one. Recruiters for the Continental Army targeted young and less wealthy men, including apprentices or laborers. Some (like Martin) enlisted voluntarily, while others were drafted. Among the discomforts Continental soldiers suffered were shortages of food or other supplies, long periods away from home, sinking morale and the constant threat of death.
Sears’ thesis is the Union could have won the war faster. McClellan was an incompetent commander and to take the initiative to attack an defeat the Confederate army. The Army of Northern Virginia, under...
...e gun, it seemed, the greater the owner‘s pride in it.” (McCullough 33) The Continental army certainly did not look like an army yet these people were brought together in this fight for freedom and prevailed even winning the support of Americans who had no hope the British would be defeated.” Merchant Erving had sided with the Loyalists primarily because he thought the rebellion would fail. But the success of Washington‘s army at Boston had changed his mind as it had for many” (McCullough 108). The reader must comprehend the power of this accomplishment for the rag-tag army. “Especially for those who had been with Washington and who knew what a close call it was at the beginning-how often circumstance, storms, contrary winds, the oddities or strengths of individual character had made the difference- the outcome seemed little short of a miracle.” (McCullough 294).
Tim O’Brien is drafted one month after graduating from Macalester College to fight a war he hated. Tim O’Brien believed he was above the war, and as a result pursued the alternative of escaping across the border to Canada. This understandable act is what Tim O’Brien considers an embarrassment to himself, and to others. When Tim O’Brien finds accommodation on the border to Canada, he meets Elroy Berdahl who eventually influences Tim O’Brien, to change. Elroy Berdahl acts as a mentor to Tim, a figure that remains detached in the sense that he must provide enough support and understanding without being attached to the results.