Beth Anderson, Children's Writer

We’ve got another revolutionary true story for you! Another example of how children’s books widen understanding, engage all ages, and invite us to consider the range of people who contributed to the American Revolutions and the challenges they faced.

GIVEAWAY! For a chance to win a copy of GEORGE WASHINGTON’S ENGINEER: HOW RUFUS PUTNAM WON THE SIEGE OF BOSTON WITHOUT FIRING A SHOT from Darcy, just leave a comment after the post.

How George Washington’s Engineer Won a Battle without Firing a Shot

By Darcy Pattison

In January 1776, George Washington had a problem: the British army controlled the city of Boston. The colonial army needed to force the British to leave. But how?

The Battle of Bunker Hill, on June 17, 1775, was fought over who would control the high ground to the north of Charlestown. The British won that battle. The Colonials needed a big win.

But they needed a couple things or they would lose the war for independence before it even started. First, the Colonial army needed cannons and ammunition. Colonel Knox took care of this in a historic effort, traipsing through a frigid winter To Fort Ticonderoga, where he captured cannons. 59 cannons! It took 48 days to travel the 300 miles back to Boston. Most stories about the Siege of Boston end there. They Colonials had cannons, end of story.

But I’ve always been fascinated with the second part of the Colonial strategy. They needed to bring the cannons to high ground—Dorchester Heights—and aim those cannons straight at the British.

It was a cold winter, though. No one could drag cannons up Dorchester Heights without being seen. Washington asked Rufus Putnam, his army engineer, to create a temporary wall to protect the army as they moved the cannons into place. New England, though, was frozen solid and no one could dig in the ground till spring. Putnam had to figure out how to protect the troops without digging anything.

Military engineers have long been important in winning battles as they figured out how an army could quickly cross a river, digging trenches and bunkers, destroying obstacles, map battlegrounds, and so on. Putnam searched for ways to build a wall without a foundation and found a surprising inspiration military engineering book, The Attack and Defense of Fortified Places by British engineer John Muller.

Putnam created “chandeliers,” structures that could hold a “facine,” or a bundle of sticks. Best of all the structures could be prefabricated and moved into place when they were ready. 

Putnam relied on quartermaster Thomas Mifflin to find the materials, oversee building the portable structures, and manage the personnel. Truly, it was a massive operation requiring organization and coordination: 300 wagons, 1200 men, and sections of the defensive wall that weighed 700 to 800 pounds. 

Kirkus Reviews said the book is “…a case study in how logistics can sometimes accomplish more in war than battles do…”

General Washington would eventually be credited with a win, but it was the army of people behind him who made it work.

Don’t forget to leave a comment below for a chance to win a copy of GEORGE WASHINGTON’S ENGINEER: HOW RUFUS PUTNAM WONT THE SIEGE OF BOSTON WITHOUT FIRING A SHOT. (US addresses only. Winner announced 3/6/2026.)

Coloring pages, free download:  https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0066/3679/8009/files/GWColoringPages.pdf?v=1690816070

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