Review - The Philadelphia Campaign by David G. Martin

Martin writes a concise history of a pivotal campaign in the American Revolution. It traces clearly, yet with significant detail, the campaign that included the major battles of Germantown, Brandywine, and Guilford Court House as well as the famous encampment in Valley Forge and a relatively unknown but fascinating struggle for the navigation of the Delaware River from the Atlantic to the city of Philadelphia.

Martin includes vignettes for more detail about key figures, like Baron von Steuben, semi-mythical figures, like Molly Pitcher, and the Hessians who fought for Great Britain. There are many illustrations and several maps.

As with most military histories there are not enough maps. The largest negative with the book, however, was a significant number of typographical errors, including one where the date of an event was entered incorrectly in one paragraph even though it was correct in the immediately preceding paragraph!

​Despite this, and its age (26 years since publication when I read it) the book holds up well and tells an important story.