Book Review: Bunker Hill: A City, a Siege, a Revolution by Nathaniel Philbrick
(Three Stars)
“Dysfunction came to define the battle that was ultimately named–perhaps appropriately, given its befuddled beginnings–for the wrong hill.”
The tile misleads: an examination of the origins of the American Revolutionary War in New England. Philbrick examines the historical and philosophic roots of Boston’s role as well as the biography of just about every player. He continues the book for a year after the battle, through George Washington’s assumption of command and the British evacuation of Boston.
“Boston’s patriots were not trying to reinvent the world as they then knew it; they were attempting to get back to the way it had been when they were free from imperial restraint.”
Looking under each stone, Philbrick reveals some interesting trivia. For example, the men General Howe attacked on Breed’s Hill funded a Westminster Abbey memorial for his brother, slain in the French and Indian War defending New England.
“Warren saw himself and all New England in a mythic quest that united the here and now of the present generation with the travails of their glorious ancestors.”
Lots of opinion and speculation. Some well-founded, such as the large role Joseph Warren might have played had he survived. Other is gossip, such as whether Warren got a particular girl pregnant out of wedlock. “In all likelihood … [Warren] got the young woman named Sally Edmonds Pregnant.”
“The success was too dearly bought.” General William Howe
Careful to credit where due, including the often decisive roles of African-Americans
“I wish [we] could sell them another hill at the same price.” Nathanael Greene
As a Matter of Fancy 