Colonel William Prescott

""Don Ryan has proven himself to be a prolific storyteller with this groundbreaking account of William Prescott's leadership at the Battle of Bunker Hill. For the first time, readers can truly grasp the depth of Prescott's strategic genius, the resilience of his troops, and the decisive role he played in shaping the course of the Revolution. This book is not just a recounting of history--it is a masterful narrative that brings to life the intensity and bravery of that fateful day and William Prescott's role in it. As we continue to celebrate what the Battle of Bunker Hill meant for our nation's independence 250 years later, Ryan's work will surely stand as a definitive account--one that belongs in history books and on the shelves of anyone who values the extraordinary sacrifices that built America.""--Julie Hall, President, Charlestown Historical Society, Founder, Bunker Hill 250 ""There were two legendary patriots who fought at the battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775--Dr. Joseph Warren who was killed in action and Colonel William Prescott. Through judicious research Ryan presents a compelling story about an often-overlooked American hero who continued to serve his country well beyond the Breed's Hill battlefield.""--Christian DiSpigna, author of Founding Martyr: The Life and Death of Dr. Joseph Warren, the American Revolution's Lost Hero and Chairman of the Dr. Joseph Warren Foundation ""William Prescott still stands, sword in hand, beneath the Bunker Hill Monument. We all know what he did on June 17, 1775. But he had lived nearly fifty years before that decisive day, and would live twenty years after. Don Ryan brings to life the elusive Prescott and the world that shaped him, and shows us why Prescott and men like him chose war instead of submission. Prescott's life, and the choices he made, before the war and after, help us understand the American Revolution, its causes and its consequences.""--Dr. Robert Allison, Professor of History, Language, and Global Culture, Suffolk University and President of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts ""Colonel William Prescott is a true profile in courage of a crucial leader in the American Revolution. Don Ryan clearly has immense enthusiasm for the hero of Bunker Hill, and he explores Prescott's personal character in addition to his deeds. Ryan also takes the reader through the historical detective work that helped unearth new facts about Prescott and his life before and after Bunker Hill. This book is an important addition to Revolutionary history.""--Dr. Alex Powell, President of the Pepperell Historical Society ""Donald Ryan's Colonel William Prescott is a wonderful book and a valuable contribution to the literature on the American Revolution. Prescott is best known for his courage, character, and leadership in commanding the colonial troops on Bunker Hill. Ryan's account of that desperate fight is gripping and insightful, and his perceptive post-mortem evaluation of the engagement is must reading. So, too, is his biography of Prescott, a stirring account that fleshes out the life of this important American patriot.""--John Ferling, author of Shots Heard Round the World: America, Britain, and Europe in the Revolutionary War ""William Prescott has been remembered by history as a hero of the early days of the American Revolution and perhaps the most prominent patriot leader at the 1775 battle of Bunker Hill. Yet he was so much more than the two-dimensional figure who has come down to us in the lore of the Revolution, and in Colonel William Prescott, author Donald R. Ryan relates Prescott's life in fascinating detail, a life dedicated to public service that went far beyond his role in a single battle. Ryan's conversational style also gives a glimpse into the process of reconstructing a past life. Ryan's book should be required reading for students of the Revolutionary War and the early Republic.""--Paul Douglas Lockhart, Professor of History, Wright State University, author of The Whites of Their Eyes and The Drillmaster of Valley Forge