The Battle for New York: The City at the Heart of the American Revolution
by Barnet Schecter
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Description
On 15 September 1776 the British army under General William Howe invaded Manhattan Island, with the largest expeditionary force in their history. George Washington's Continental Army, still in disarray after the disastrous Battle of Brooklyn some two weeks earlier, retreated north to Harlem Heights, leaving New York in British hands. Control of the city was Howe's primary objective. Located at the mouth of the strategically vital Hudson river, it had become the centrepiece of England's show more strategy for putting down the American rebellion. However, as Barnet Schecter reveals in his stirring narrative, far from furnishing a key to the colonies, New York proved to be the fatal chalice that poisoned the British war effort. The Battle for New York tells the story of how the city became the pivot on which the American Revolution turned - from the political and religious struggles of the 1760s and early 1770s that polarised its citizens and increasingly made New York a hotbed of radical thought and action; to the campaign of 1776 that turned New York into a series of battlefields; to the seven years of British occupation, during which time Washington and Congress were as determined to regain show lessTags
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Member Recommendations
AnnaClaire Schecter often links locations in Revolutionary times with where they would be on a modern map of New York City; Walsh points to interesting things and places of all periods -- including the revolution.
Member Reviews
A suspense filled story.
The story is solid and Robert Ellis didn't disappoint me. Although there is no shortage of newly made corpses and some gruesome mutilations, Lena and Hank keep their spirits high. The story itself is well written and the plot is logical with well defined characters. This is the kind of story that you want to keep for when you can read it all in one evening. Should it be a dark, cold October night so much the better.
The story is solid and Robert Ellis didn't disappoint me. Although there is no shortage of newly made corpses and some gruesome mutilations, Lena and Hank keep their spirits high. The story itself is well written and the plot is logical with well defined characters. This is the kind of story that you want to keep for when you can read it all in one evening. Should it be a dark, cold October night so much the better.
A decent, fairly scholarly treatment of the various military struggles for New York and the surrounding area (slightly more detailed than "1776").
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The American Revolution -- in Parts
6 works; 3 members
French and Indian War through the War of 1812 (non-fiction)
31 works; 3 members
Good Nonfiction about New York City
62 works; 10 members
Author Information
3+ Works 503 Members
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Battle for New York: The City at the Heart of the American Revolution
- Original publication date
- 2002 (copyright) (copyright)
- People/Characters
- John Adams; John Andre; Benedict Arnold; John Burgoyne; Guy Carleton (Sir); George Clinton (show all 57); Henry Clinton (Lieut. Gen.); Cadwallader Colden; George Collier (Sir); Cornwallis, General Marquess Charles; William Lege (Earl of Dartmouth); Oliver De Lancey; William Douglas; Comte de Estaing; Benjamin Franklin; Thomas Gage; Horatio Gates; Comte de Grasse; Thomas Graves; Nathanael Greene; Nathan Hale; Alexander Hamilton; John Hancock; Edward Hand; William Heath; Richard, Lord Howe; William Howe; John Jay; Thomas Jones; Thomas Knowlton; Henry Knox; Wilhelm von Knyphausen; Marquis de Lafayette; John Lamb; Charles Lee; Benjamin Lincoln; Alexander McDougall; Joseph Plumb Martin; John Montresor; Samuel Parsons; Lord Hugh Percy; Israel Putnam; Joseph Reed; James Rivington; James Robertson; Jean Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, Comte de Rochambeau; Philip Schuyler; John Morin Scott; Isaac Sears; William Smith, Jr.; William Alexander, Lord Stirling; John Sullivan; Jonathan Trumbull; William Tryon; Benjamin Tallmadge; George Washington; Marinus Willett
- Important places
- New York, New York, USA; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Brooklyn, New York, New York, USA; Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn, New York, New York, USA; Charleston, South Carolina, USA; Fort Washington, New York, New York, USA (show all 14); Harlem Heights, New York, USA; Morristown, New Jersey, USA; Newport, Rhode Island, USA; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Savannah, Georgia, USA; White Plains, New York, USA; Yorktown, Virginia, USA; Staten Island, New York, New York, USA
- Important events
- American Revolution (1775 | 1783); Battle of Long Island (1776-08-27)
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 268
- Popularity
- 120,530
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.89)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 5
- ASINs
- 2
