Decisive Day: The Battle for Bunker Hill | Richard M. Ketchum

Decisive Day: The Battle for Bunker Hill | Richard M. Ketchum | A Tremendously Good Read by a Skilled Historian!

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Decisive Day: The ...

	Decisive Day: The Battle for Bunker Hill Richard M. Ketchum Owl Books, 1999 - 288 pages average customer review:based on 21 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Boston, 1775: A town occupied by General Thomas Gage's redcoats and groaning with Tory refugees from the Massachusetts countryside. Besieged for two months by a rabble in arms, the British decided to break out of town. American spies discovered their plans, and on the night of June 16, 1775, a thousand rebels marched out onto Charlestown peninsula and began digging a redoubt (not on Bunker Hill, which they had been ordered to fortify, but on Breeds Hill, well within cannon shot of the British batteries and ships). At daybreak, HMS Lively began firing. It was the opening round of a battle that saw unbelievable heroism and tragic blunders on both sides (a battle that marked a point of no return for England and her colonies), the beginning of all-out war.

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What Really Happened on Bunker Hill

Ketchum brings long overdue praise to the American farmers, mechanics, merchants and other everyday citizens who stood to-to-toe with the world's greatest army at Bunker Hill. He delves into the strengths and weaknesses of both the American and British leaders who were insturmental in this first head to head battle of the Revolution. His descriptions are clear and complete making it easy for the mind's eye to percieve what it must have been like for the warriors on both sides. His flair for detail that explains and expounds without overwhelming the reader adds color and excitement to the narrative.

As Ketchum points out in his notes this book is not for scholars, but rather it is a popular piece for those who want to know what really happened on June 17, 1775 on Breed's Hill. But by no means is the book fluff - it contains detail and information that both the casual student and the devotee of the American Revolution will find fascinating.

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A Tremendously Good Read by a Skilled Historian!

In this tremendously good read, author Richard Ketchum skillfully describes the Battle of Bunker Hill, in detail, from both the American and British perspectives.

Having committed some 2,300 troops to the battle, the British suffered more than a thousand casualties, including many officers, prompting the British commander to comment that another few such victories would destroy King George III's Army in America.

Ketchum's fine writing is accompanied by a series of excellent maps of Boston in 1775 and the troop dispositions of both armies on the day of the battle in June 1775 making the action he describes easy to follow.

I enjoy well written history and I look forward to reading Ketchum's other books on the American Revolutionary War.

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Quality American History

This classic of American history was first published in 1962. The fact that it is still being reviewed is a testament to its quality. The scholarship is first rate and the author has a writing style that pulls you into the action.

He goes beyond just talking about the leaders, and dives into the common soldier, the geography, and the weather. By weaving all of these together a complete narrative of the battle is formed.

The events of Bunker Hill contain just enough background info on the War to bring the reader up to speed without dragging the book down. The maps and illustrations are some of the best I have seen about revolutionary war battles. The author has presented many beautiful original survey works drawn by the opposing armies in the months before the battle.

I got the feeling that the author has read so many 18th century works, that his writing style took on the flavor of the day and took a few chapters to get used to. Since the Battle of Bunker Hill was relatively short, the book moves quickly and its short length in no way took away from the quality of the work. I look forward to walking Charlestown, MA with the book and its maps as my guide.

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Great