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Decisive Day: The Battle for Bunker Hill
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.3312
EAN: 9780805060997
ISBN: 0805060995
Label: Owl Books
Manufacturer: Owl Books
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 288
Publication Date: May 15, 1999
Publisher: Owl Books
Studio: Owl Books
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Editorial Review:
On the morning of June 17, 1775, British troops moved to secure the heights around Boston. Marching up an incline called Breed's Hill, they engaged a battered gathering of farmers and tradesmen who, the night before, had hastily constructed a defensive wall within range of the Royal Navy's artillery. Richard M. Ketchum tells the story of the ensuing fight in his breathtaking Decisive Day: The Battle for Bunker Hill.
Ketchum explores what made that bloody, but relatively small, action decisive by probing the deteriorating relationships between New England and Britain during the months before the battle. He forcefully argues that both the British and American commanders were still seeking ways to make peace even as the guns began to fire. After June 17, 1775, the Americans and the British could view each other only as enemies.
The author of two other books on the Revolutionary War (Saratoga and The Winter Soldiers), Ketchum has written an authoritative history of how Americans--especially the rank-and-file soldiers--won their nation through combat. In Decisive Day he argues that the remarkable transformation of American rebels into soldiers was a crucial, if intangible, episode within the battle. Indeed, as those tired and shell-shocked colonials waited on their ramparts for some of the most disciplined fighters in the world, they did not shoot haphazardly, but held their fire until they saw the whites of British eyes. --James Highfill
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.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Shabby Publishing
This book contains excellent text but desperately needs a better publisher. The maps and reproductions of paintings are in dingy, blurry black and white. They look as if they are 1970's-era photocopies of 1960's-era photocopies. On page 124 there are illustrations of a grenadier and a drummer with the descriptions exactly reversed. In short, this edition of "Decisive Day" is not a book that you will be proud to have on your shelf. Do yourself a favor and borrow a copy from a library -- perhaps ... Read More
Rating:  - Great
In my opinion, this is the best book on The Battle for Bunker Hill out there.
Rating: - 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 ... Read More
Rating:  - 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 ... Read More
Rating: - 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 ... Read More
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