Sales Handle Every schoolkid knows that Lord Cornwallis's surrender at Yorktown effectively ended the Revolutionary War. Few know, however, that an epic battle between the French and British navies off Yorktown spelled Cornwallis's doom'”and that it all unfolded according to George Washington's plan. Nelson's previous two books have secured for him a place of preeminence among naval historians of the Revolutionary War. The Battle of the Capes will be the final book in his Revolution at Sea trilogy and his crowning achievement.About the Book In the opening months of 1781, after six years of grinding war, General George Washington feared his army would fail to survive another campaign season. And yet, as the year unfolded, he saw an opening'”the chance for a French armada to hold off the mighty British navy while his own troops with French reinforcements drove Lord Cornwallis's forces to the Chesapeake. It was the only opportunity Washington ever had for a combined land-and-sea action against the British, and he used it brilliantly. The Battle of the Capes would prove the only time the French ever fought the Royal Navy to a draw, and for the British army it was a catastrophe.

Cornwallis confidently retreated to Yorktown, expecting to be evacuated by a British fleet that never arrived. In the end he had no choice but to surrender. Although the war sputtered on another two years, its outcome was never in doubt after Yorktown.There have been several books about the Battle of Yorktown. The most recent, and probably the best, is Richard Ketchum'sVictory at Yorktown(Henry Holt, 2004). Like most histories of Yorktown, it deals only peripherally with the Battle of the Capes. The only book about that epic naval battle was published in 1959 and is out of print. Yet without the Battle of the Capes, the American victory at Yorktown would have been impossible.

The Battle of the Capes is the story of the greatest naval engagement of the American Revolution. But it is more than that. It is a study in leadership, good and bad, political machinations and the wild, unpredictable circumstances that led to the extraordi¬nary confluence of military and naval resources at that time and place. Thanks to Washington's insight, Cornwallis's arrogance, and French tenacity and luck at the Battle of the Capes, all the elements of victory came together, after half a decade of fighting, for that one, shining moment, and the world was turned upside down.Features Big, fascinating topic neglected by recent best-selling stories of the American Revolution. As told by James L. Nelson, author of Benedict Arnold's Navy and proclaimed by Patrick O'Brian "a master of his period [the age of the sailing navies] and of the English language," the tale is both authoritative and hugely entertaining. Diverting, entertaining, satisfying exploration of a neglected but seminal story in our nation's founding.

For James L. Nelson's fans, a wholly edifying follow-up toBenedict Arnold's NavyandGeorge Washington's Secret Navy, both of which cover events earlier in the war, in 1775 - 76.Market / Audience All readers of historical nonfiction.About the Authors James L. Nelson (Harpswell, ME)is the author of fifteen works of fiction and nonfiction. His novels include the five books of his "Revolution at Sea" saga and three in his "Brethren of the Coast" series. His novelGlory in the Namewon the American Library Association's W.Y.

Boyd Literary Award for Best Military Fiction.Reign of Iron: The Story of the First Battling Ironclads, 2003, was his first nonfiction.Reviews For Benedict Arnold's Navy: "Benedict Arnold's Navy is an excellent book."-- Associated Press"This book must be on the shelf of anyone who is interested in our struggle for independence, a war we should not have won against the strongest nation on earth, but did.".