The Battle of Bunker Hill
June 17, 1775: 250 Years Ago Today
After the first shots of the Revolutionary War were fired at Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, the American colonists rallied their forces together to press their advantage against the British. Building upon the momentum they had gained by driving the British back into Boston, they sought to prevent the enemy from regrouping and strengthening their position by laying siege to Boston (TBBH). By besieging the British, the Americans had hoped that they could keep the enemy forces contained in Boston. However, since the British maintained their control of the Boston harbor, they were able to receive additional reinforcements, supplies, and protection from their naval fleet (MHS).
By mid-June, the British plotted to strengthen their position in Boston and control of the Boston harbor by deploying more troops into the countryside surrounding the city (ARW). For this purpose, British General Gage ordered his troops to take possession of two key high ground positions overlooking the city and Boston harbor: the Charleston Peninsula and Dorchester Heights (MHS). When the American militia learned of Gage’s plans, they immediately gathered their forces and hurried to seize position of the Peninsula and Dorchester Heights before they were occupied by the British. On the night of June 16, roughly 1,000 members of the American militia, under command of Colonel William Prescott, secretly made their way to and occupied one of the key positions on the Dorchester Heights, a small knoll adjoining Bunker Hill, which we now know as Breed’s Hill (NPS). Once there, they spent the rest of the night working feverishly to set up a makeshift fortification of earthworks to withstand the British offensive that they knew would ensue as soon as their presence was discovered. By the next morning, they had constructed an impressive 160 foot long, 30 foot tall earthen fortress, and assembled a complex network of fences leading up to their breastworks to slow the enemy advance. When the British in Boston caught sight of the new American fortifications overlooking the city and harbor, they were filled with consternation, for the unexpected occupation and entrenchment of their foes in such a key position posed a severe threat to their hold on the city of Boston, not to mention their naval fleet in the harbor (BBH250).
Once aroused, the British, commanded by General William Howe, wasted no time in launching their offensive against the American force on Bunker Hill, and began a barrage of cannon fire from their warships to try and break down their defenses. Undeterred, the American militia continued their work on their fortifications, and were cheered on in their efforts by their commander, Colonel Prescott, who even mounted and paced back and forth upon their bulwarks despite heavy enemy fire to encourage his men (MHS). At last, by late afternoon, the British assembled their forces together, numbering over 3,000 strong (BTPS), and prepared to launch their ground assault against the American’s position on Breed’s Hill. After landing at Charleston, they proceeded to set fire to the town to punish the colonists for their rebellious actions. After leaving the town engulfed in flames, and the townspeople filled with panic and confusion, fleeing the city, the British advanced upon the American militia at Breed’s Hill. Just as at Lexington and Concord, the British fully expected that they would have little trouble in vanquishing the rag-tag, backward, rebel militia, and gravely underestimated the courage, determination, and passion that drove the American patriots. Though heavily outnumbered, and armed with little ammunition and largely inadequate, old-fashioned weaponry, the American militia held their ground, and prepared to engage with their foes. As the enemy soldiers drew closer, Colonel Prescott is famously reported to have issued the chilling command to his men, “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes!” (ABT)(BBH250). As they waited, tense and ready, a few American colonists who resided in the area, such as Abigail Adams, and her seven-year-old son, John Quincy Adams, would quietly watch and pray from nearby vantage points overlooking the scene, as the smoke from Charleston rose into the heavens, and the battle for Bunker Hill unfolded. (Damon, B., & Cuskarovska, B.)
As soon as the British came within close range, the American militia unleashed a ferocious volley into their ranks, which, together with the strategically establish networks of fences, swiftly slowed and halted the enemy advance, inflicting heavy casualties, and ultimately forced them to retreat back down the hill. After regrouping, the British soldiers reformed their lines, and advanced against the American forces for a second time. Once again, they were faced with a fierce onslaught of gunfire and were forced to retreat a second time, leaving the battlefield littered with their dead and wounded. In a third attempt, the now thoroughly disillusioned British rallied their forces together yet again and forced their way up the hill and bore down upon the American militia. Unfortunately, by this time, the American forces had run almost completely out of ammunition, and were unable to withstand the third enemy advance. Before long, the British had overwhelmed their defenses, and engaged with the American militia in a fierce, desperate hand-to-hand combat. To make the situation even more dire for the Americans, the British rifles were armed with bayonets, which the Americans, with their old-fashioned, subpar weapons did not possess. Undeterred, however, the Americans fought with everything they had, using rocks, and turning their rifles into make-shift clubs to drive back their foes. Ironically, during the battle, an African American colonial militiaman by the name of Peter Salem successfully shot down the infamous British officer, Major John Pitcairn, who had order his troops to fire upon the Minutemen on the Lexington green just over a month earlier (ABT)(TBBH).
The American soldiers made the British pay dearly for every inch of ground that they took, but in the end, despite their valiant efforts, they were soon overwhelmed and forced into retreat (ABT)(TBBH). Tragically, one of America’s greatest founding fathers and member of the “infamous” Son’s of Liberty, Doctor Joseph Warren, would die a tragic death on Bunker Hill. Despite his superior rank and position amongst the colonists, he had joined the ranks of the American forces as a common soldier to fight alongside them against the British, and stayed behind to cover their ultimate retreat after they were overwhelmed. Unfortunately, he was soon recognized by the enemy, who fiercely hated him for his prominent role and leadership in the American resistance to their tyranny. Once recognized, he was swiftly targeted, and shot and killed, after which the British proceeded to brutalize and disfigure his body with their bayonets until it was unrecognizable (NEHS). They would later dispose of his body in a hastily dug, and pitifully shallow grave, where it would eventually be discovered, identified, and recovered after the battle by the American forces, and a fellow Son of Liberty, Paul Revere (ABT).
The Battle of Bunker Hill was one of the fiercest and most costly battles of the American Revolution. However, while ending in defeat for the Americans, it was not an utter loss, for though the enemy triumphed in the end, their victory came at a very high price. In fact, General William Howe, who commanded the British offensive on Bunker Hill, stated, “When I look to the consequences of it [the battle], in the loss of so many brave Officers, I do it with horror—The success is too dearly bought.” While the Battle of Bunker Hill cost the lives of 115 American soldiers, and left an additional 335 of their number severely wounded, missing, or captured, the British forces suffered far more severe casualties, with 226 of their forces killed, and 828 wounded (ABT). Thus it was that while the enemy emerged as the victors of the battle, their triumph had come at a very high and unexpected cost, serving as yet another bitter example of the true spirit and determination of their “rag-tag” rebel foes. They had not expected the colonists to actually stand and fight against them with such fierce determination and valor, and had yet to learn that their love of freedom was dearer to them then life itself.
As it would soon turn out, far from being demoralized by their defeat, the surviving American militiamen that had endured Bunker Hill would carry on their fight by continuing the siege against the enemy in Boston. Within a few short weeks, they, together with forces from across the 13 colonies, would be formed into the official American Continental Army, commanded by none other then George Washington (ABT)(MHS). Despite numerous future defeats, throughout eight long years of war, the American army and would continue to stand firm and fight on relentlessly, and undaunted, until finally, in 1783, they achieved the ultimate victory over their foes, and secured freedom for the United States of America.
“When liberty is the prize, who would shun the warfare? Who would stoop to waste a coward thought on life? We esteem no sacrifice too great, no conflict too severe, to redeem our inestimable rights and privileges.”
~ Dr. Joseph Warren
Sources:
ABT: American Battlefield Trust. (n.d.) Bunker Hill. Retrieved from: https://www.battlefields.org/learn/revolutionary-war/battles/bunker-hill
MHS: Massachusetts Historical Society. (n.d.) The Coming of the American Revolution: 1764 to 1776: The Battle of Bunker Hill. Retrieved from: https://www.masshist.org/revolution/bunkerhill.php
BBH250: BattleofBunkerHill250.com. (n.d.) The History of the Battle. Retrieved from: https://battleofbunkerhill250.com/history/
ARW: American Revolutionary War. (n.d.) The Siege of Boston. Retrieved from: https://revolutionarywar.us/year-1775/siege-of-boston/
NPS: National Parks Service. (n.d.) Breed's Hill. Retrieved from: https://www.nps.gov/places/breeds-hill.htm
BTPS: Boston Tea Party Ship. (n.d.) A Fledgling Nation Discovers Its Confidence at Bunker Hill. Retrieved from: https://www.bostonteapartyship.com/battle-bunker-hill-1775
Damon, B., & Cuskarovska, B. (2021, June 21.) Abigail Adams Cairn. Retrieved from: https://theclio.com/entry/14064
ABT: American Battlefield Trust. (n.d.) Joseph Warren. Retrieved from: https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/joseph-warren
NEHS: New England Historical Society. (2025.) Joseph Warren Dies a Martyr in the Battle of Bunker Hill. Retrieved from: https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/death-gen-joseph-warren/
Getty, K. (n.d.) Top 10 Battle of Bunker Hill Quotes. Retrieved from: https://allthingsliberty.com/2024/01/top-10-battle-of-bunker-hill-quotes/
Dr.JosephWarren.com. (n.d.) Top 20 quotes. Retrieved from: https://www.drjosephwarren.com/category/top-20-quotes/
Artwork Citation:
Trumbull, J. (1834) The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker's Hill, 17 June, 1775 [Painting]. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Death_of_General_Warren_at_the_Battle_of_Bunker%27s_Hill,_June_17,_1775.jpg
