An interesting book about the state of Virginia during the Revolutionary War, with Thomas Jefferson as governor. ( )

This book has excellent scholarly work, but it is a bit dry and long. Sometimes, unimportant details are best left out for the sake of the reader. This book mentions everything, but without enough thesis statements. Thomas Jefferson does not come out looking particularly good since he seems to have pushed for the revolution from England more for personal profit than for the good of the people. Then there is always the slavery question, addressed in many ways and from many different directions by Kranish. Comparisons of the value set on runaway slaves as compared to runaway apprentices or soldiers what was important to the colonists. The attitude with which they addressed questions about the freedom of the slaves shows exactly how they felt about the dignity of human beings and their God-given rights to freedom and pursuit of happiness. Given that Africans were not considered fully human may explain but does not excuse the laws pertaining to them or the attitude of the lawmakers, who were mostly planters. Many, many of the colonial soldiers were black, although how they were made to serve and remain in the army is mystifying. Many more blacks left their masters' service to be freed by the British for whom slavery had been made illegal, but the blacks were often disappointed and cheated of their freedom, when it came right down to it. The Virginia colonials are shown as pretensious and often conniving, proud, and indebted people, but it is so easy to look back critically. ( )

Michael Kranish's Flight from Monticello: Thomas Jefferson at War (OUP, 2010) is a very detailed treatment of the British invasion of Virginia in 1781, including the near-capture of outgoing governor Thomas Jefferson at Monticello. Drawing on traditional sources, but complementing them nicely with primary documents from Hessian, British, and Continental soldiers involved in the fighting, Kranish tells the story of the tumultuous months in a compelling, narrative style.

By providing several chapters of background on Virginia politics, Jefferson's early life, career, and relationships, and the early years of the Revolution in the state, Kranish lays the groundwork for the main event, an in-depth reconstruction of the British assault on Virginia (led for a time by the traitor Benedict Arnold) and Jefferson's actions to combat the invasion and then, when the time came, to flee from it.

Putting Jefferson's escape into the context of the political, social and military situation in the state as the British drew nearer, it's really a surprise the whole thing didn't go even worse. Given the state of intelligence-gathering, executive authority, military readiness, &c., it actually is quite amazing that the entire governmental and military apparatus of the state wasn't completely demolished.

Kranish does well here in recreating the scenes, and provides some really fascinating anecdotes to weave into the fabric of the story, including the saga of John Champe, a Continental soldier who infiltrated British lines in New York under Washington's orders in a scheme to kidnap Benedict Arnold, but misses the chance and ends up on a British boat bound for Virginia. And the inclusion of elements from Jefferson's personal life add much: not only was he dealing with the collapse of the state he governed, but also with an ailing wife and a dying child.

The story of the flight itself is followed by a good treatment of the aftermath, in which Jefferson was strongly criticized for his actions at various later points, and felt compelled to depend himself vociferously and at great length. Kranish's closing episode of the book, which features Henry Lee visiting Monticello just six days before Jefferson's death to view papers pertaining to the period of the escape in 1781, makes the case quite clearly that this was an episode that had a major impact on Jefferson's life and reputation.

http://philobiblos.blogspot.com/2010/07/book-review-flight-from-monticello.html ( )