We are proud to announce Matthew H. Spring has won the Cox Book Prize for his book With Zeal and With Bayonets Only: The British Army on Campaign in North America, 1775 – 1783. The prize is awarded by the Society of the Cincinnati and was presented to Spring at a black-tie dinner on September 11.
This groundbreaking book offers a new analysis of the British Army during the “American rebellion” at both operational and tactical levels. Presenting fresh insights into the speed of British tactical movements, Spring discloses how the system for training the army prior to 1775 was overhauled and adapted to the peculiar conditions confronting it in North America.
Written with flair and a wealth of details that will engage scholars and history enthusiasts alike, With Zeal and with Bayonets Only offers a thorough reinterpretation of how the British Army’s North American campaign progressed and invites serious reassessment of most of its battles.
The Cox Book Prize has been awarded every third year since 1989 to the author of a distinguished work of American history in the era of the American Revolution. The prize is awarded by a committee consisting of members of the Society and distinguished academics in the field of early American history. The prize is made possible by an endowment gift of $100,000 from the family of Dr. H. Bartholomew Cox.
The Society of the Cincinnati was founded at the close of the Revolutionary War by the officers of the Continental line and their French counterparts, who had served together in the struggle for American independence. They wished to preserve the rights and liberties for which they had fought and to foster the bonds of friendship that had been formed among them during the long years of war. The Society took its name from the Roman hero Cincinnatus. George Washington, known as the “Cincinnatus of the West,” was elected the Society’s first president general, a position he held until his death in 1799.
Matthew H. Spring holds a Ph.D. in history from the University of Leeds and teaches history at Truro School, an independent secondary school in Cornwall, England.
