author
Samuel Swett
1782–1866
An early American historian with a lasting fascination for the Revolution, this Boston writer is best remembered for detailed studies of the Battle of Bunker Hill and the people who fought there.
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About the author
Born in 1782 and dying in 1866, Samuel Swett was a Boston-based writer whose published work focused heavily on Revolutionary War history. Library of Congress records identify him as the author of Historical and topographical sketch of Bunker Hill battle (first published in 1818 and later issued as History of Bunker Hill battle), Notes to his sketch of Bunker-hill battle (1825), and Who was the commander at Bunker Hill? (1850).
His books show a deep interest in reconstructing the events, people, and disputed details of the Battle of Bunker Hill. Rather than writing broad national history, he concentrated on close argument, eyewitness testimony, and local memory, which gives his work a vivid, strongly personal place in early American historical writing.
Some archival references also place him in Boston society and point to his long life in Massachusetts. Even when later historians disagreed with his conclusions, his writings remained part of the ongoing conversation about how the Revolution should be remembered.