Summary of Nathaniel Philbrick's In the Hurricane's Eye

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 On September 15, 1779, the French minister to the United States, Chevalier de la Luzerne, arrived at Fishkill, New York, to meet with George Washington. Washington was the one steering the boat.

#2 When Washington was 11 years old, his brother offered him a way out. He could be appointed to a British naval vessel and escape the possessive clutches of his widowed mother.

#3 When he was sixteen, Washington began a career as a surveyor. He began buying tracts of land, and by the time he was eighteen, he had amassed close to two thousand acres. He never went to sea, though, because his half brother was dying of tuberculosis and he wanted to cure him.

#4 Washington’s experience with the sea left him permanently biased against it. He never trusted the sea, and he preferred the saddle of a horse to the deck of a ship.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Jul 7, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822543416

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Insights on Nathaniel Philbrick's In the Hurricane's Eye

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

On September 15, 1779, the French minister to the United States, Chevalier de la Luzerne, arrived at Fishkill, New York, to meet with George Washington. Washington was the one steering the boat.

#2

When Washington was 11 years old, his brother offered him a way out. He could be appointed to a British naval vessel and escape the possessive clutches of his widowed mother.

#3

When he was sixteen, Washington began a career as a surveyor. He began buying tracts of land, and by the time he was eighteen, he had amassed close to two thousand acres. He never went to sea, though, because his half brother was dying of tuberculosis and he wanted to cure him.

#4

Washington’s experience with the sea left him permanently biased against it. He never trusted the sea, and he preferred the saddle of a horse to the deck of a ship.

#5

France had joined the American War of Independence to strike a blow against Great Britain, not to help America. She had no interest in conquering Britain, but simply wanted to restore the balance of power that had existed during the first half of the century when the two countries had functioned more or less as equals.

#6

The war for American independence began with Britain taking the French island of St. Lucia, to which Admiral d’Estaing responded by capturing British Grenada. The Spanish were hopeful of winning back what they had lost to Britain in Florida during the Seven Years’ War, as well as taking back the island of Jamaica.

#7

The Phoenix was a British frigate, meaning she was smaller and faster than the larger line-of-battle warships. She had cannons, but her main role was that of a sentinel and scout. She had left Jamaica on September 30, and after sailing north to British-held Pensacola on the Florida panhandle, she sailed south to the coast of Cuba.

#8

The Phoenix was still in danger of capsizing, so Archer had to cut away the masts to keep the ship afloat. The ever strengthening wind began to shred the canvas from the yards into coach whips.

#9

The Phoenix was able to land on the Cuban coast, but the ship was so damaged that it was impossible to save the masts. The only mast remaining was the foremast, and it threatened to force the ship’s bow around. It had to be cut down as soon as possible.

#10

The survivors of the wreck were lucky to have escaped a watery death.