Flight from Monticello: Thomas Jefferson at War Review

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(More customer reviews)"Flight from Monticello," by journalist Michael Kranish, is a narrative history of the worst year of Thomas Jefferson's life: 1781, his last year as governor of Virginia, when a British invasion forced the government of Virginia to relocate from Richmond to Charlottesville, and nearly resulted in the capture of Jefferson himself. Jefferson never lived it down, and even at the end of his life was still concerned to defend his gubernatorial conduct against charges of incompetence and even of personal cowardice.
Jefferson's governorship occupies the last 200 pages of Kranish's book; the first 100 pages recount Jefferson's history from his student days in Williamsburg through the Revolution, as background to understanding the events of 1781. Kranish adopts an objective tone throughout; rather than personally assigning blame or praise, he mostly lets Jefferson and his contemporaries speak for themselves. Kranish's own opinion acknowledges Jefferson's faults as a war leader but allows for extenuating circumstances. For example, when writing about the British invasion of Richmond (pp. 256-257), Kranish says: "Jefferson, who later would be accused by enemies of cowardice during the invasion, in fact remained in Richmond even as many other government leaders refused to show up... Whether the complaint [that Jefferson was a weak governor] had merit or not, the failure in Virginia went beyond Jefferson's lack of authority; legislators, councilors, and thousands of draft resisters shared the blame."
"Flight from Monticello" is more than the story of Thomas Jefferson's governorship; Kranish provides much collateral information about the Revolutionary War in Virginia, the situation of Blacks, the economics of war, and a parade of personalities that includes such notables as Benjamin Harrison, Patrick Henry, the Marquis de Lafayette, Benedict Arnold, and Lord Cornwallis. We see Lafayette gallantly refusing to allow his sharpshooters to assassinate Benedict Arnold, and the same Benedict Arnold then distinguishing himself in action as a British general.
The book's thoroughness, objectivity, and insight, and the American people's lasting interest in Thomas Jefferson the man, make "Flight from Monticello" a book that every Revolutionary War buff will want to own.


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