ho, either from their superior ability or
superior good fortune, played the most prominent part in the war of
independence. The volume contains thirty-three biographies. Of these
Washington's, Putnam's, Arnold's, Moultrie's, Warren's, Marion's,
Hamilton's, and Burr's, are, in our opinion, the most spirited. The
biography of Washington affords a keen analysis of that great hero's
character, and conclusively proves, we think, that he was not only a
great patriot, but a great general. This is a somewhat new view of his
character, the fashion having been to exalt his undoubted goodness at
the expense of his skill, the result of positive ignorance of his
character during the war of independence. Those were no weak
achievements which Napoleon acknowledged to have been the examples
which first fired him with the spirit and plan of his own victories!
And our author justly remarks, that "if four generals in succession,
beside several entire armies, failed to conquer America, it was not on
account of want of talent or means on the part of the enemy, but
because the genius of Washington proved too gigantic for any or all of
his competitors."

The most of these biographies are, as it were, the frames to battle
pictures: thus, in the history of Putnam, we have a graphic
description of the contest on Bunker Hill; in that of Moultrie, of the
defence of Fort Sullivan; and in that of Washington, of the battle of
Trenton. The actions from the skirmish at Lexington to the surrender
of Cornwallis, are all admirably and graphically told in a style
animated without being florid, and chaste without being stiff. The
straight forward honesty of the diction, leaves the mind of the reader
to be carried on with the simple but intense spirit of the action, as
if he were a spectator rather than reader. The description of the
battle of Trenton is the most complete ever published.

The author, in his preface, says he does not claim exemption from
errors, that no one can who writes on a subject so obscure in many
respects as that of the Revolution. We think his decisions, however,
are generally unimpeachable. Wherever we have been able of testing
them, we have found them accurate; and this induces us to believe that
in other cases he is correct. But we should like to have seen his
evidence of the second battle of Assunpink, for Hull, in his diary,
mentions nothing of it. We think, too, that Arnold was not personally
present at Stillwater, though Burg