The Battle Of Bunker Hill

Did you know that a bake sale raised money to build the Bunker Hill Monument, or that the battle of Bunker hill mostly took place on Breed’s Hill, but it was confused with Bunker Hill. The American Revolutionary war had many Battles one of the battles was the battle of Bunker/Breeds Hill. It was a battle like no other, there are many things one must know about the Battle. The different sides are one of the most important things about the battles and how they struggled through times, like when the british woke up to see a 6 foot wall, and how the Americans felt about their hard work. The Geography is super important, because the battle was on a hill and made the british walk up the very high hill so the Americans had an advantage. There were many important parts of the battle to, like when the American forces found out that the British wanted to take over hills, in Charlestown, Massachusetts.

On June 16, 1775, a day before the actual battle was fought, the Colonial Army decided to move from Bunker Hill to Breed’s Hill. This is where most of the battle was fought; it was never correctly changed since the fight. The reason for the switch is simple, and makes sense for the small, independent and poor militia. The men “built earthen fortifications on top of Breed’s Hill, overlooking

He believed that they needed about 20k soldiers to scare the colonists in to obeying their rule. Whig leaders knew that Massachusetts should remain defensive. Then General Gage ordered “the troops… marched over the people’s land—some where their grain sown—and gardens; broke down their fences, walls.” Then the Battle of Lexington and Concord took place. “An assault on unresisting militiamen at Lexington common, a military confrontation at Concord’s North Bridge, and a classic guerrilla action by ill-disciplined provincials, drawing on Indian fighting experience to harry the Britain retreat to Charles-town on the bloody Battle Road.” Americans then met the British soldiers at the east end of the bridge. Shots’ begin to ring off killing Abner Hosmer and Isaac Davis. The battle was about two to three minutes

Taking place in 1775, at the start of the Revolutionary War, the Battle of Bunker Hill was a needed victory early in the war to get the soldiers to believe in themselves. Many soldiers in the beginning of the war did not believe that the lowly colonists could defeat and declare independence from a superpower; Britain. Although outnumbered and with little confidence, the continental army stood their ground at the Battle of Bunker Hill and proved that they could win the war.

According to Rebecca Brooks, the colonists were the ones that were teased into taking actions. Her side of the story stated that the British soldiers were in Boston mainly for protection as more taxes

By March 5, 1770, only 600 British troops remained in the city (Zobel, 181). “On Monday, March 5, Boston seemed to be holding its breath” (Lukes, 32). The friction between

The British did indeed fire first but fell back when more and more militiamen showed up. By the time British soldiers were prepared to return back to Boston, almost 2000 militiamen arrived and more were arriving. Fighting had started yet again with militiamen hiding behind bushes in trees. British soldiers pulled back to Lexington where they had came into contact with more reinforcements of Redcoats. This didn’t stop the Patriots from continuing to resume attacks. The British tried and tried with Redcoats flanking and canon fire. The Patriots had a chance to finish the Redcoats off but were commanded not to. The British Redcoats retreated to Charlestown Neck. The Americans had won the battle, neither Samuel Adams or John Hancock had been taken and they only destroyed very little military supplies! By the end of the day Britain lost 293 soldier and the colonials 93. The colonial Patriots proved they were more than a group of unorganized colonial rebels.

People may believe that the Bunker Hill Monument is a simple representation of an American pastime that occurred during the Revolutionary War, but there is much more to it than some may believe. The actions that took place on June 17, 1775 became a very crucial, and telling role to how the success of the American forces would come during the Revolutionary War. Information discovered of the British Army planning to take area surrounding Boston on gave way to an intricate plan by the colonial forces to secure the top of Breed’s Hill overnight. Poorly equipped, but with their heads held high, the colonial troops took over the top of Breed’s Hill to take a vantage point against the British. William Prescott leading the fortification of the hill, guided the colonial troops to prepare for their confrontation with William Howe and the British Army. The heart and pride of the American forces at the Battle of Bunker Hill was a sign 

Ralph Waldo Emerson’s poem, “Concord Hymn” supports that the first shot was fired at the North bridge in Concord, Massachusetts. The first stanza of the Concord Hymn is, “By the rude bridge that arched the flood, Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled, Here once the embattled farmers stood, And fired the shot heard round the world.” Although, Emerson suggest that it was in Concord where the “shot heard around the world” was fired, desendents of the towns Lexington and Concord still debate this fact today. On Wednesday, April 19, 1775 at the village green in the village of Lexington in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay. Captain John Parker and around 60 militia men, many of the men being related to Parker faced off against 240 redcoats under General Gage’s comand. John Parker was a farmer and had previously fought along side the british. The militia men were not near as well trained or well equipt as the british regulars. There were over one hundred onlookers at the battle of Lexington. Both John Parker’s milita men and Gage’s redcoats were under orders to hold their fire. Nobody is exactly sure who fired the first shot at Lexington, some people believe that it could have been a spectator. Regardless of who fired the first shot.

Chapter 3 starts off by Major General Henry Clinton, a British General, demanding that they must occupy Dorchester Heights because as he described,”It was absolutely necessary for the security of Boston.” Additionally, the Americans also thought it was a priority to occupy Boston, but both armies were hesitant and didn't do much about it. Instead, the British fortified Bunker Hill for the winter. However, the British armies weren't used to the American winters and consequently they lost several men due to the extreme temperatures causing the men to freeze to death. On the other

McCullough further uses The Siege to mention significant military figures that took part during The American Revolution. These major characters include: George Washington, Nathanael Greene,

On 19 April 1775, the battle begun. The colony protected by local militiamen was vastly outnumbered, armed with only 77 men including “minutemen,” named for their ability to be ready to fight in a minute’s notice were

England made any town meeting, except authorized by the governor illegal, and housed British soldiers in select public buildings. In Massachusetts the British military governor, General Gage, ordered his 3,500 British soldiers in Boston to seize armories and storehouses in Charlestown and Cambridge. After the seizure, 20,000 colonial militiamen mobilized to protect other military supply depots and in the town of Concord the famous defensive force, the Minutemen, were organized.2 With these acts Parliament declared that Massachusetts was in open rebellion. British Secretary of State, Lord Dartmouth, quickly ordered Gage to send his soldiers on a search and destroy mission to capture colonial leaders, and military supplies in Concord. “At the same time Gage would attempt to find, capture, or kill John Hancock and Samuel Adams.”3 The stage was set for the first major engagements of the American Revolution.

Following the events in Massachusetts at Lexington and Concord, April 19, 1775, state militiamen from Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Vermont gathered in Cambridge and the area surrounding Boston. British General Gage and about 6,000 soldiers and marines were in possession of Boston, while the American force consisted of over 16,000 men. Sickness and missing soldiers brought the number of available soldiers closer to 9,000. In addition, the American force was extremely short of gunpowder, having only around thirty or so half-full barrels of powder over what was carried in the horns of their citizen soldiers. (Ellis 27-29)

In June 1775 colonists seized Bunker Hill: Fought on the outskirts of Boston, on Breed’s hill, the battle ended in the militias