Thomas James Fleming (July 5, 1927 – July 23, 2017) was an American historian and historical novelist and the author of over forty nonfiction and fiction titles. His work reflects a particular interest on the American Revolution, with titles such as Liberty! The American Revolution And The Future Of America, Duel: Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, and the History of America and Washington's Secret War: The Hidden History of Valley Forge.
Biography A native of Jersey City, New Jersey, Fleming graduated from St. Peter's Preparatory School in 1945 and from Fordham University in 1950, serving a year in the United States Navy before he started college.Mota, Caitlin. "N.J. author influenced by Jersey City politics dies at 90", The Jersey Journal, July 26, 2017. Accessed July 9, 2018. "Fleming was born in Jersey City in 1927. He graduated from St. Peter's Prep, spent one year serving in the United States Navy, and then attended Fordham University where he graduated in 1950, according to his online biography." While in the navy, he served aboard the .
Fleming served as president of the Society of American Historians and the PEN American Center. Fleming also spent ten years as chairman of the New York American Revolution Round Table and was an Honorary Member of the New York State Society of the Cincinnati from 1975. He lived in New York with his wife, Alice, a writer of books for young people.
Fleming published books about various events and figures of the Revolutionary era. He also wrote about other periods of American history, and wrote over a dozen well-received novels set against various historical backgrounds. He said, "I never wanted to be an Irish-American writer, my whole idea was to get across that bridge and be an American writer".http://www.bu.edu/bridge/archive/2001/09-28/fleming
Fleming died at his home in New York City on July 23, 2017, at the age of 90.
Controversy over Haitian history Thomas Fleming caused controversy when writing, on History News Network, about Haitian history, and describing president Dessalines as a "very angry black man". In a piece written by Alyssa Goldstein Sepinwall about Haitian History in the aftermath of Jean-Rolph-Trouillot's Silencing the Past, she comments on the different depiction of Dessalines and Thomas Jefferson in the article: "Haitian slaves were savage barbarians, while slaveowners’ crimes remained shrouded in silence."
Bibliography
Histories
Now We Are Enemies Beat the Last Drum: The Siege of Yorktown 1781 One Small Candle: The Pilgrims' First Year In America. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1963.
The Perils of Peace: America’s Struggle to Survive After Yorktown The Irish-American Chronicle The New Dealers’ War: FDR and the War Within World War II * Duel: Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr and the Future of America Liberty! The American Revolution
The Man from Monticello: An Intimate Life of Thomas Jefferson The Man Who Dared the Lightning: A New Look at Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin: A Life in His Own Words (ed.) The Forgotten Victory: The Battle for New Jersey–1780 The First Stroke: Lexington, Concord, and the Beginning of the American Revolution West Point: The Men and Times of the U.S. Military Academy 1776: Year of Illusions The Intimate Lives of the Founding Fathers George Washington: The General from Profiles in Leadership (ed. Walter Isaacson)
The Strategy of Victory: How George Washington Won the American Revolution. New York: Da Capo Press, 2017. . OCLC 1008913772
Novels Liberty Tavern Dreams of Glory The Spoils of War Rulers of the City A Passionate Girl Promises to Keep Remember The Morning The Wages of Fame
The Secret Trial of Robert E. Lee The Officers’ Wives Time and Tide Over There Loyalties: A Novel of World War II All Good Men The God of Love
References
Sources Who's Who in America Contemporary Authors, v. 7–8 Contemporary Literary Criticism, v. 37 B.U. Bridge newspaper, Volume 5, No. 4, 28 September 2001
External links Thomas Fleming's home page The American Revolution Center The American Revolution Round Table (New York) The Society of American Historians
Booknotes interview with Fleming on The New Dealers' War, August 26, 2001. In Depth interview with Fleming, January 4, 2004 Fleming's Presentation at the Pritzker Military Museum & Library on June 6, 2013