George Washington's One-Man Army : The Life, Legend, and Battles of Peter Francisco

John T. Palmer

ISBN 10: 081177788X / ISBN 13: 9780811777889

Editore: Stackpole Books Apr 2026, 2026

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Neuware - From Brandywine to Yorktown, follow the astonishing real-life journey of the Revolutionary War s most mythic warrior."One-Man Army" was George Washington s nom de guerre for Peter Francisco. Abducted from the Azores and deposited in the colony of Virginia at the age of four, little Pedro Francisco was an orphan from a strange land in the New World. Renamed Peter Francisco, the youngster found a home under indenture to Patrick Henry s uncle as a blacksmith. Peter was present for Henry s famous speech, hearing firsthand the words "Give me Liberty or Give me Death." By the age of fourteen, he would grow to 6 feet-6 inches and 260 pounds. He would fashion himself an apex warrior serving both in the patriot infantry and cavalry.In his capacity as a soldier, Peter Francisco participated in some of the fiercest fighting, witnessed the greatest events, and met an astounding number of luminaries from early America headlined by generals George Washington, Nathanael Greene, and the Marquis de Lafayette. All told, Peter fought in at least ten battles and received six gruesome wounds as he dispatched over 20 enemy soldiers . . . mostly by the bayonet and a 6-foot broadsword commissioned for him by Washington. His feats of courage and strength were legendary as he is reputed to have carried a half-ton cannon from the battlefield at Camden.Postwar, he became a planter and businessman. Endeavoring to educate himself, he overcame illiteracy and developed into a voracious reader. As a veteran, the "Virginia Giant" was sought out for meetings by the Secretary of State and was received in the home of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He was thrice married into Virginia society, a father of six, and a fixture in the Commonwealth serving as Sergeant at Arms for the legislature late in life. Known to all throughout the newly independent thirteen states, Peter Francisco s exploits were all but lost to history . . . until now.

Codice articolo 9780811777889

Dati bibliografici

• Titolo: George Washington's One-Man Army : The Life, Legend, and Battles of Peter Francisco
• Editore: Stackpole Books Apr 2026
• Data di pubblicazione: 2026
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 081177788X
• ISBN 13: 9780811777889
• Rilegatura: Buch
• Condizione: Neu
• Dimensioni: 235 L x 161 A x 20 P (millimetri) 235 millimetri di larghezza per 161 millimetri di altezza per 20 millimetri di profondità
• Peso: 500 grammi

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Riassunto

From Valley Forge to Yorktown, follow the astonishing real-life journey of the Revolutionary War’s most mythic warrior.

Contemporaries called him the Virginia Giant, the One-Man Army, the American Hercules. He fought in an honor roll of Revolutionary War battles: Brandywine, Germantown, Camden, and Guilford Courthouse. He wintered at Valley Forge and witnessed the surrender at Yorktown. He was reputed to wield a massive broadsword. Four states honored him with special days; the nation celebrated him with a postage stamp. Cloaked in myth and legend, the true story of Peter Francisco has never been told – until now.

Pedro Francisco was born to a noble family in the Portuguese Azores in 1760. Five years later, he appeared on a Virginia dock, the victim of kidnapping. Adopted by a relative of Patrick Henry, Pedro became Peter, grew to a massive six-and-a-half feet, and took up blacksmithing. When the Revolution erupted, Francisco joined the Continental Army’s Virginia Line and fought near Philadelphia at Brandywine and Germantown before spending the bleak winter of 1777-78 at Valley Forge. Severely wounded at Monmouth the following spring, Francisco nevertheless participated in “Mad Anthony” Wayne’s bold attack on Stony Point along the Hudson River a year later. Here he was part of the assault’s spearhead, was the second American to enter the British fort, may have captured the enemy’s flag, and received a gash across his stomach. 

From there Francisco continued his exploits in the southern theater. At Camden, South Carolina, in 1780, legend has him carrying a half-ton cannon on his shoulder (a moment depicted on a 1975 U.S. postage stamp). At Guilford Courthouse, North Carolina, in 1781, he killed eleven enemies, helping turn the tide; a battlefield monument honors him as “perhaps the most famous Private soldier of the Revolutionary War.” He may have fought at Cowpens before going home to Virginia to recover from his wounds. There, on a night in July 1781, in what has become known as “Francisco’s Fight,” the young soldier claimed that he singlehandedly took on a patrol of Banastre Tarleton’s feared British Legion.  Months later, he would arrive at Yorktown too late to fight but in time to witness the British surrender. 

In a riveting narrative that separates fact and fiction, John T. Palmer tells the true story of the adventures of this larger-than-life soldier, a giant of the Revolution.
 

Informazioni sugli autori

John T. Palmer retired from the U.S. Navy as a rear admiral, having served in various logistics and supply posts across thirty-two years, including nine at sea. Since leaving the Navy, he has worked as an independent consultant, advisory board member, college guest lecturer, public speaker, and writer. A native of Kentucky and a graduate of The Citadel and Columbia University, Palmer lives near Spartanburg, South Carolina.
 

John T. Palmer retired from the U.S. Navy as a rear admiral, having served in various logistics and supply posts across thirty-two years, including nine at sea.  Since leaving the Navy, he has worked as an independent consultant, advisory board member, college guest lecturer, public speaker, and writer.  A native of Kentucky and a graduate of The Citadel and Columbia University, Palmer lives near Spartanburg, South Carolina.