{"product_id":"9781250146144","title":"How the French Saved America: Soldiers, Sailors, Diplomats, Louis XVI, and the Success of a Revolution","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAmericans today have a love\/hate relationship with France, but in \u003ci\u003eHow the French Saved America\u003c\/i\u003e Tom Shachtman shows that without France, there might not be a United States of America.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo the rebelling colonies, French assistance made the difference between looming defeat and eventual triumph. Even before the \u003ci\u003eDeclaration of Independence\u003c\/i\u003e was issued, King Louis XVI and French foreign minister Vergennes were aiding the rebels.  After the \u003ci\u003eDeclaration\u003c\/i\u003e, that assistance broadened to include wages for our troops; guns, cannon, and ammunition; engineering expertise that enabled victories and prevented defeats; diplomatic recognition; safe havens for privateers; battlefield leadership by veteran officers; and the army and fleet that made possible the Franco-American victory at Yorktown. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNearly ten percent of those who fought and died for the American cause were French.  Those who fought and survived, in addition to the well-known Lafayette and Rochambeau, include François de Fleury, who won a Congressional Medal for valor, Louis Duportail, who founded the Army Corps of Engineers, and Admiral de Grasse, whose sea victory sealed the fate of Yorktown. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e This illuminating narrative history vividly captures the outsize characters of our European brothers, their battlefield and diplomatic bonds and clashes with Americans, and the monumental role they played in America’s fight for independence and democracy.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"St. Martin's Publishing Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47143040418032,"sku":"9781250146144","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781250146144_p0.jpg?v=1769892634","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781250146144","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}