Daniel Lee and the Idiot Who Saved America
What is the meaning of service for a private in the Revolutionary War? "Daniel Lee and the Idiot Who Saved America" examines the sacrifices and significances of the actions of one illiterate private in the 1st New York Regiment. Lee served nearly the entire length of the War, and observed or participated in many of its pivotal moments.
Serving in a small detachment under Benedict Arnold, doomed to certain failure against a massive British and Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) force, Lee's unit rescued a man typically characterized as "deranged" and "half-mad." Arnold turned the man, Honyost Schuyler, into one of the unlikeliest and most effective spies.
In addition to training saboteurs, Lee fought at the Battle of Monmouth Courthouse, witnessed Cornwallis's Surrender at Yorktown, was one of the first soldiers to be inoculated with smallpox at Valley Forge, and committed a war crime that disrupted the future of the entire Haudenosaunee Confederacy. This service narrative uses historical context and primary sources to examine the impacts any individual can have on the course of human history.Elevate your curriculum with McNeil of Cimarron and ignite a passion for history today!
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