A review by judyward
Bunker Hill: A City, a Siege, a Revolution by Nathaniel Philbrick

4.0

In 1775 the city of Boston in the colony of Massachusetts was occupied by British troops. After the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party, those troops and the American colonists viewed each other with suspicion until violence finally broke out on April 19th in Lexington and Concord. After April 19th, the city of Boston was cut off from re-supply by a British blockade and the Patriot militia decided to go on the offensive and take military possession of both Bunker and Breed's Hill. Holding those hills would give the Patriots the ability to fire cannon directly into the British army and naval positions in and around the city. The Battle of Bunker Hill, fought primarily on Breed's Hill, would be the bloodiest battle of the Revolutionary War and after the contest was over, there was really no turning back for the colonists. Philbrick skillfully draws character portraits of the major and minor players of the era--Joseph Warren, a leading Patriot who was killed during the battle, Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, George Washington, General Thomas Gage, and his successor, General William Howe, and many more. Philbrick views the Battle of Bunker Hill as a crucial moment in the early days of the Revolutionary War and he has empathy for all of the individuals on both sides who are caught up in the events surrounding the conflict between the British and the residents of their rebellious colonies.