instead of explicit, hence Burgoyne received
almost no support from the armies of Howe
and Clinton. This, it turns out, would have
proved essential to British success.
Three years later, Germain helped conceive
the excellent southern strategy, which came
close to detaching that part of the colonies
from the United States. But again, personal
politics undercut his own success. Disliking
Clinton, Germain favored the aggressive
Charles Cornwallisas a senior commander,
encouraged insubordination toward Clinton,
and provided political cover for Cornwallis
when he was insubordinate. For this reason
Germain bears great responsibility for disas-
ters like Saratoga and Yorktown, outcomes
that precluded any chance for British victory.
By 1782, the loss of America was impend-
ing, and public sentiment demanded that Ger-
main step down. The haughty minister again
found himself a despised figure and the butt of
public humor. He secured the peerage of Vis-
count Sackville from George III, which enabled
him to sit in the House of Lords. Germain re-
mained an unhappy, unpopular figure, living in
relative obscurity thereafter. He died at Withy-
ham, England, on August 26, 1785, roundly re-
membered as the man who lost America.
Bibliography
Black, Jeremy. War for America: The Fight for Inde-
pendence, 1775–1783. New York: St. Martin’s
Press, 1991; Brown, Gerald S. The American Secre-
tary: The Colonial Policy of Lord George Ger-
main, 1775–1778.Ann Arbor: University of Michi-
gan Press, 1963; Burt, Alfred L. “The Quarrel
Between Germain and Carleton: An Invented
Story.” Canadian Historical Association 11
(1970): 202–222; Cook, Don. The Long Fuse: How
England Lost the American Colonies, 1760–1785.
New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1995; Edgar,
Gregory T. Reluctant Break with Britain: From
Stamp Act to Bunker Hill.Bowie, MD: Heritage
Books, 1997; Gruber, Ira D. “Lord Howe and Lord
George Germain: British Politics and the Winning
of American Independence.” William and Mary
Quarterly22 (1965): 225–243; Macksey, Piers.The
Coward of Minden: The Affair of Lord George
Sackville.New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1979; Sey-
mour, William. The Price of Folly: British Blun-
ders in the War of American Independence.Wash-
ington, DC: Brassey’s, 1995; Syrett, David.
Shipping and the American War, 1775–1783: A
Study in British Transport Organization.Lon-
don: University of London, Athone Press, 1970;
Valentine, Alan C. Lord George Germain.Oxford:
Claredon Press, 1962.GERONIMO
Geronimo
(ca. 1829–February 17, 1909)
Apache Warrior
A
pivotal figure during the final phase
of the Apache wars, Geronimo was a
skillful, fearless guerrilla warrior
who thwarted thousands of American sol-
diers. His very name, once the inspiration of
much terror, became the unofficial battle
cry of U.S. paratroopers: When jumping
from a plane, they invariably scream out
“Geronimo!”
Geronimo (born Goyakla, or “One Who
Yawns”) was born near the headwaters of the
Gila River in Arizona around 1829, a member
of the Chiricahua Apache band. He matured
during a period of increasing hostilities be-
tween Native Americans, Mexicans, and
Americans, and in 1856 a band of Mexican sol-
diers murdered his mother, wife, and children
at Janos, Chihuahua. Swearing revenge, Goy-