In the spring of 1775, 1,000 Americans entered the western wilds of Maine and pushed overland to the very edge of modern-day Quebec. The trip was supposed to take three weeks. It took nearly triple that. Then the winter came. The Americans froze. They ate their own shoes. They ate green dog soup. And the wild animals ate them – and all of this took place on the overland death march before the epic battle of Quebec even began. The half-starved madmen who survived the hellish march shook their heads in disbelief as the t...
In the spring of 1775, 1,000 Americans entered the western wilds of Maine and pushed overland to the very edge of modern-day Quebec. The trip was supposed to take three weeks. It took nearly triple that. Then the winter came. The Americans froze. They ate their own shoes. They ate green dog soup. And the wild animals ate them – and all of this took place on the overland death march before the epic battle of Quebec even began. The half-starved madmen who survived the hellish march shook their heads in disbelief as the thirty-foot-tall walls of Quebec City greeted their tired eyes. Then the blizzard came. A man couldn’t see ten feet in front of himself. A man couldn’t even see his own feet. It was in this Siberian hell that the Americans attacked.
This is the story of unspeakable pain. This is the story of mass starvation. This is the story of The Skeleton March.
It’s all here and it’s all free on Battlecast – the world’s foremost podcast on war and its sociopolitical impact.
This is part three of an ongoing military history of the American Revolution. You can find episode two here and episode one here.
Download episode 109 here: download link
A History of the American Revolution Maps and Images:
Extensive maps and images are posted to the Historical Atlas of American Revolution located here
Music Source:
Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio /// website: karlcasey.bandcamp.com
References:
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Colonial New York: A history by Michael Kammen
Colonial South Carolina: A History by Robert Weir
Colonial Georgia: A History by Kenneth Coleman
Colonial North Carolina: A History by Hugh Lefler and William Powell
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Saratoga by Richard Ketchum
1777: tipping point at Saratoga by Dean Snow
Victory at Yorktown : the campaign that won the Revolution by Richard Ketchum
Divided loyalties : how the American Revolution came to New York by Richard Ketchum
