Siege: How General Washington Kicked the British out of Boston and Launched a Revolution by Roxane Orgill (review)

In the winter of 1775/1776, Continental Army action against the British siege of Boston looked mightily like a revolutionary war, even if colonists still mouthed loyalty to King George and hadn’t yet declared independence. In free and structured verse, Orgill recreates over a dozen colonial voices and perspectives that collaboratively offer insight into the superhuman task that faced newly minted commander George Washington, the tension between military exigencies and a penurious Continental Congress, and the ordeals of a volunteer army subject to stern discipline. Kids who stayed alert in middle-grades social studies will recognize some episodes and players, from the snowball fight on Boston Commons to Henry Knox’s Herculean effort to transfer heavy artillery from Fort Ticonderoga to the Massachusetts coast. Mainly, though, they will see textbook accounts humanized: Washington slaps out daily orders rife with comment on shenanigans in camp; Martha Washington disappoints officers’ wives with her mending and modest mien; Private Samuel Haws writes newsy diary entries that complain of the lack of news. With a cast list of players, map, glossary, source notes, and bibliography, this can be a creative addition to the curriculum, a quick pick for war aficionados, or a satisfying read for lovers of story in verse.