Although largely fought in the field, many of the key battles of the United States' epic struggle for independence comprised sieges against fortified positions. Some were large-scale affairs, and in the case of Yorktown, played a crucial role in the outcome of the conflict. In the field, British, American, French, and Spanish military engineers also played an active role, construction a wide variety of earthen and wooden field fortifications around major towns (including Boston, New York, and Charleston) and frontier forts (such as Stanwix, Niagara, and Cumberland). This volume explores key sites in the Northeast, the South, and the Midwest, as well as the sieges at Montreal and Quebec, and charts the rapid advance in American military engineering capacity, which was crucial to the eventual realization of American independence.

Introduction : Key fortifications from the American Revolutionary War -- Chronology -- The Northeast : Boston -- Breed's Hill and Bunker Hill -- Ticonderoga's guns -- The fortifications of New York and Manhattan, 1776-1783 -- the Mohawk Valley and Saratoga -- Philadelphia -- Canada : Saint-Jean -- Quebec -- Nova Scotia -- Hudson's Bay -- The South : The first siege of Charleson, 1776 -- Savannah -- The second siege of Charleston, 1780 -- Ninety Six -- West Florica -- Yorktown -- The Midwest : Vincennes -- The sites today.