Chapter 5: No Room for Failure

The fallout was swift. Edward Dennis, the commander who had failed in his rescue attempt, was executed by firing squad—an unprecedented move in American history. Adams ordered Dennis’s entire command disbanded, their names stricken from the rolls. The message was clear: failure would not be tolerated. It sent ripples through every officer in the army, and gossip ran wild in the salons and smoky bars of the nation’s cities.

After this string of humiliations, Adams decided enough was enough. He was done with half-measures and border skirmishes. The time had come for all-out war. In early spring 1769, as thunder rolled over Washington and rain battered the capital, Adams personally took charge of the campaign against Burma. He pored over every scrap of intelligence, every map and letter from the front. Only then did the scope of the Burmese threat become clear: this was no backwater state, but the overlord of Southeast Asia—armed, organized, and unafraid.

Moreover, he learned that most Burmese regulars carried Western flintlock muskets—every bit as deadly as anything the Americans could field. That realization steeled his resolve. If the Burmese wanted a fight, Adams would bring the full might of America down on them.