Experts or Trusted Amateurs in the American Revolution

American Revolution/ Founding Fathers Experts

In studies of the American Revolution and the Founding Fathers, it is wise to get the opinions of experts. How does one go about that? There were experts back in the 1770s but which kind of expert do you want? One type of expert may have exceeding great qualifications but in the long run should not be trusted. Just because someone has a Ph.D. does not mean they are right (or that they are wrong either). Let us look at some of the experts of those days and then check out some lower qualified amateurs.

General Charles Lee had more qualifications in the military field than George Washington. He had experience in the British army in Europe as well as America. If he was given command instead of Washington, we would probably not have the priority given to the chaplaincy in the military (which Washington established). Lee dragged his heels in New Jersey in late 1776 and later at the battle of Monmouth.

General Gates had more experience than General DeKalb because of his victory at Saratoga. Continental Congress put Gates in charge of the Southern Campaign. At the battle of Camden in South Carolina the expert Gates took the straightest line through area without roads to engage the enemy whereas DeKalb wanted to take “the bypass area” with roads, supplies, food and where he could pick up local militia. At the battle itself, the expert took off on horseback for 90 miles in three days. DeKalb was not given an order to retreat. He stayed along with 800 men from Maryland who gave up their lives on the battlefield.

General Henry Knox was a bookseller in Boston. He would probably be laughed at by the British for being a general. His feat of carrying cannon captured at Fort Ticonderoga through the snowy hills to Dorchester Heights was a game changer. The expert would have called it off. An expert probably wouldn’t have accomplished that feat but the perspiring amateur got it done.

Nathanael Greene was a manufacturing Quaker. Quakers were not supposed to get involved in war. Greene saw that he could not just stand by and do nothing. Greene did not have the qualifications on his resume to be a general but he was the man that would be the successor if anything would happen to General Washington. Greene had excellent skills in the area of logistics and gathering supplies.
Which would you rather have in North Carolina/ South Carolina in 1780, Gates' expertise or Greene's amateur status?

A characteristic of these amateurs is that they could be trusted unto death. When life hangs in the balance, who can you trust?