American History Tellers

In the aftermath of America’s victory at Saratoga, France entered the Revolutionary War, transforming the colonial rebellion into a global conflict. British officials decided that the path to victory lay in the South. As the fighting shifted to the Carolinas, a brutal civil war erupted, pitting families and neighbors against one another in cycles of violence and retribution.

By 1779, the Patriot cause hung in the balance, undermined by rampant inflation, soldier mutinies, and one of the most notorious incidents of treason in American history.
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In 1777, as Americans sought the support of France, Benjamin Franklin struggled to convince officials in Paris to form a military alliance with the new United States. Meanwhile, British General John Burgoyne planned a grand strategy to crush the rebellion by conquering the Hudson River Valley. That summer, his troops fought the Continental Army in a battle that would turn the tide of the American Revolution.

But late that year, American forces faced a winter of peril as George Washington led his exhausted army into quarters at Valley Forge, where the soldiers endured disease, freezing conditions, and the threat of starvation.
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Ed is the grandson of footballing legend Gordon Banks. He was a national icon, the only goalkeeper ever to win the soccer World Cup for England. But Ed’s heard a rumour: that in 1970, while defending the title, his granddad, his hero, was poisoned… by the CIA. All part of a Cold War plot to bolster a military dictatorship in Latin America, supposedly. Could this possibly be true? Banks did get ill in Mexico in 1970 with food poisoning. And England crashed out, marking the start of decades of hurt. Ed enlists the help of investigative journalist Gabriel Gatehouse. Together they embark on a journey into the bewildering world of Cold War espionage, a journey that threatens to unravel 60 years of sporting history; or possibly… to knock Ed’s granddad off his pedestal.
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In July 1776, the British Royal Navy began landing a massive armada in New York Harbor, setting up the biggest battle of the Revolutionary War. In response, General George Washington faced the daunting challenge of preparing his motley army to defend New York and keep the colonists’ hopes alive.

In the months that followed, faith in the cause of independence began to waver, and the Continental Army teetered on the brink of collapse. But on Christmas night, the Patriots made a bold strike against the British Army that began with a daring crossing of the icy Delaware River.
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In the aftermath of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, colonial militiamen converged on Boston to confront the veteran British Army. But over the next six months, newly appointed commander-in-chief George Washington struggled to transform a patchwork of amateur militias into a unified national army.

As the conflict wore on, Americans debated whether to escalate the fight and take the unprecedented step of declaring their independence.
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