A plan of Boston, and its environs

This map shows us a colonial city built for trade but transformed by conflict—from the wharves where merchants protested British taxes, to the narrow neck where British troops built fortifications, to the surrounding hills where American forces eventually positioned their guns. Boston was practically an island, with only the neck connecting it to the mainland. This geography meant the British could easily control the city—or get trapped inside of it. Richard Williams’s map helps us understand why the British military forces found themselves increasingly isolated as revolutionary sentiment flared throughout New England.