Liberty's Lions: The Catholic Revolutionaries Who Established America

End of problem - thanks to an independent historian, Dan LeRoy, who gets right to the point. "The primary goal of this book: to gather together, in one place and for the first time, the significant contributions of Catholics to the American Revolution." The veteran writer-researcher does this in twelve chapters that flow like a screenplay and make his electrifying case: Catholics did something more remarkable than just support the patriot cause: they helped lead it. LeRoy skillfully depicts the risks taken by these men, whom he calls a "group of Catholics who were among the greatest statesmen, thinkers, and military leaders of the day." He also answers two fundamental questions unaddressed by other historians: (1) What would the Revolution have been like without these heroes? and (2) Why did they do it? Here, at last, is a full chronicle of the Founding that does justice to the courageous "papists" who put their lives on the line for their country. George Washington himself knew some of them, admired them, advanced their careers, and ultimately thanked them - on behalf of a grateful nation. Among hundreds of insights you'll learn of: The two Catholic Carrolls: one the first U.S. bishop, the other a signer of the Declaration of Independence, When Ben Franklin, John Adams, George Washington, and other founders thought of Catholicism, The Jesuit torn between his priestly duties and support for his countrymen, The privotal role of American Catholics in the first slave revolt, The saintly heroism of Lafayette-or rather, of his wife, the marquise, The frightful suffering of Catholics living in early America Book jacket.