Guns for General Washington

Guns for General Washington, Seymour Reit
(Gulliver Books, 1990), pb. 142 pp.
Ages 7 and up

This book tells the story of Henry Knox’s daring mission to cross 300 miles of forest bring 183 cannons from Fort Ticonderoga to George Washington’s army in Boston. This is a significant event in the early part of the Revolutionary War, a mission which many thought was impossible. This book tells the story from the perspective of Knox’s 19 year old brother Will.

This is one my boys (ages 11, 9 and 7) read on their own. They all said they learned more about Henry Knox and this mission. I was glad for this since Knox is often ignored even though he was one of Washington’s closest advisors and eventually served as the first Secretary of War. Nathan also mentioned that perseverance was highlighted often.

My two older boys both said the story was a bit slow though. Matthew said, “Don’t expect action-packed in spite of what it says on the front cover.” Jonathan, however, enjoyed the book more.

So, it was a worthwhile book for them to read. I think it simply did not live up to some of their favorites; and, even kids can be disappointed by overstated PR. 🙂

One Comment

  1. I thought Guns for General washington was a boring dull book! It had no action, it was boring! Afrter about the 3rd chapter I figured thats I’d just stop reading it! My Brother Sam is Dead id a much better book! I’d suggest it to anyone! It has action around EVERY corner!

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