The Battle for New York: The City at the Heart of the American Revolution

People, including Franklin (father and son), the Howe brothers (William and Black Dick), the DeLanceys, the Livingstons, George Washington and Lord Stirling (a soi-disant Scottish peer AND an American patriot!); and geography, Hell Gate, Sandy Hook, Flatbush and Gravesend are the stars of Barnet Schecter's masterly study of New York in the American Revolution. In this 400+ page impeccably sourced book, we also learn about the first combat submarine (the Turtle) and other fascinating details like the peace conference on Staten Island and the noble death of Nathan Hale. I especially liked the maps which combine historic details with modern landmarks which helped enormously in picturing the action.Schecter is an up and coming historian; I look forward to reading his latest work on the 1863 NYC draft riot during the Civil War.

When one thinks of the Revolutionary Era in America, one might tend to think of Concord and Lexingtion, Boston, Monmouth, Philadelphia, Valley Forge, or a dozen other places before ever giving Manhattan a thought. This, as Barnet Schecter's brilliant history, "The Battle for New York: The City at the Heart of the American Revolution", is an undeserved slight to New York. As his perfect subtitle states, New York City was the pivotal center--the "heart"--of the Revolution. Too much had happened in New York to dismiss its role immediately before, during, and after the war. One example: the Battle of Golden Hill (at the present John Street) in which British troops fired upon and killed American patriots occurred more than a month before the Boston Massacre, which has been long regarded as the first skirmish between colonists and the Crown. Mr. Schecter appropriately emphasizes the Battle of Brooklyn (or the Battle of Long Island) and how Washington's strategic (and lucky) evacuation across the East River and through Manhattan turned the tide of the war: the war could've been over then and there had Washington's army been captured. There are more stories, there is more evidence of the critical role New York played during the nascent years of the United States, and, Mr. Schecter has wonderfully captured this undeniable fact. For a complete understanding of New York's role in this conflict, I recommend reading: "Divided Loyalties" by Richard Ketchum, which presents the political and social tensions of the city in the years before the Revolution; "The Battle of Brooklyn" by John Gallagher for a detailed examination of the weeks before, during and after this first large-scale confrontation between the British and Americans; and then Schecter's book--IN THAT ORDER. Each book picks up where the previous one had left off. There are other good books about New York's involvement in the Revolution, but these three can give you as close to a complete understanding of it as possible. "The Battle for New York: The City at the Heart of the American Revolution" is one of those books that fulfills a large gap in our complete understanding of that war and that era in history. For that reason, Mr. Schecter is to be thanked for his contribution.

Mr. Schecter has done a fabulous job of describing the American Revolution as it took place within the present-day boundaries of New York City. The Battle for the City is set forth in all of its very exciting but unfortunately little known details. Other amateur Revolutionary War historians may have known, as I did, that the "Battle of Long Island" (the traditional name is rather confusing since it was fought entirely within present-day Brooklyn) and the subsequent capture of Manhattan were pivotal events in setting the course of the war, but all of the accounts I had read before seemed to gloss over the specifics of the engagements. Probably because we (the Americans) lost so ignominously. The author does not hide from the serious mistakes made by General Washington and the other Patriot generals, but he also brings to light the many heroic engagements that the American forces fought in this campaign, at locations scattered all across the city -- on Staten Island, in Brooklyn, in the Bronx, on Manhattan and just outside the city at White Plains (I'm sure something important happened in Queens too but I can't recall what now). In particular, I found Mr. Schecter's description of the delaying action fought by a small unit of Americans when the British tried to outflank the Continental Army in the Bronx to be very stirring. I had never known anything before about that particular engagement, and after reading about it I wanted to enlist in Glover's regiment even though I'm 225 years too late! In addition to the pivotal campaign, Mr. Schecter vividly captures events in the city preceding the British invasion in 1776, as well as the long years under British occupation before the final evacuation and General Washington's triumphal reentry into the city at the end of the War. The author also provides detailed itineraries for touring the surprisingly many Revolutionary War sites that can still be seen in the expanse of New York's 19th and 20th Century sprawl. I am looking forward to touring the city soon and trying to find all of these sites! I'm not from New York but Mr. Schecter's book had me riveted from the introduction to the last footnote. My wife gave me this book for my birthday last year, and I am overjoyed that she did! The only caveat I have is that if you are looking for details about the many equally fascinating events that occurred in Upstate New York during the Revolutionary War, they're not here. Having said that, this book is a must read for anyone who is interested in not just the big picture, but also the details, of the American Revolution.

hard to imagine british troops landing near the UN. never knew what "fort lee" was named after. the list of mystererious names and places for those of us who grew up in the area goes on and on. this book filled in a lot of gaps in my knowledge of history around the new york area. if you were going to read 1 book on the american revolution, i would recommend this one. extremely enjoyable read!

As a born and bred New Yorker I was fascinated to read about the close to home battles fought in the early days of the Revolution. Those concrete NYC masses were once bucolic fields and small hamlets. Battles were fought where we now have massive bridges and urban sprawl. Schecter tells the story with an engaging style of a novel. He does not overwhelm us with tactics or military details. He tells a more personal account of the men and women who fought in this battle. What is also interesting is how the loyalties were clearly split among New Yorkers. This was not a revolution of unanimity. The British Loyalists felt that their attachments to the crown were as patriotic as the cause of the revolutionaries. Well done Mr. Shecter.