Bunker Hill
The battle on Breed’s Hill, wrongly named the Battle of Bunker Hill, changed
the course of the American Revolution. This battle was the first large-scale
engagement and also one of the bloodiest battles of the American Revolution. It
was held on June 17, 1775 in Charlestown (now part of Boston), Massachusetts.
The prior battle to this one would be the at Lexington and Concorde which sort
of started it all. This battle took place April 19, 1775. After the battle at
Concorde British troops decided to give up and stop fighting and marched back.
Meanwhile the Americans continuously made hit and run attacks on the retreating
forces.
This heightened the heat between the rebels and the British. Later, 5
days before the battle at Breeds Hill, General Thomas Gage would declare martial
law. Stating to give pardon to anyone who would lay down their arms and pledge
himself to King George. He did this to avoid further uprisings and armed
conflict. Unfortunately, this had the opposite effect and upset many of the
colonists. Thus, adding to the flame and making the battle almost imminent. On
June 16, 1775 the Americans became aware of the British plan to take control of
Bunker and Breed’s Hills. So the rebels decided to invade the area before the
British in a hope to fortify it and be prepared for the Redcoats. Colonel
William Prescott and 1,200 men, mostly from Massachusetts, moved in to the
peninsula with the mission to fortify Bunker Hill. Two ours upon arriving they
realized that they needed to fortify Breed’s Hill and fall back on Bunker Hill
if necessary. During the night of the sixteenth Colonel Prescott gave them the
orders to Dig, and dig hard. Trying to get the soldiers to fortify Breed’s Hill
as best as possible.
If they learned anything from that night they learned that
a Yankee soldier, at this stage of war, was a great digger. The night’s work
turned out to be tactically genius. Between those ours of midnight and first
light the troops dug up a square frame on the hill. Each side being about 45
yards. They also fortified an area running northeast from the hill about halfway
to the water. A quarter of a mile behind that, they continued the barricade
along a stone wall and rail fence that went the rest of the way down the shore.
Breed’s Hill was now tactically secure and was ready for battle. The next day
when the British discovered this fortification they became infuriated. The boat
Lively opened fire upon the hill. Joined in by the Glasgow and Somerset these
three ships made much noise and did minimal to no damage. The British finally
realized that the American position was not as completely stupid as it looked
some eight hours later. Sir William Howe received tactical information from Gage
on commands of operation. With this and 1,200 men Howe landed on the peninsula.
Throughout that day the American forces had been reinforced to about 1,500
troops. The British grew to about 2,500 that would actually partake in the
battle. The stage was now set for one of the bloodiest battles of the
Revolutionary War. The British could have easily taken over the hills by
surrounding them but they wanted to show them who was boss so they decided on a
head on battle. They realized faults in their plan where the rebels fortified
the areas well, however the British paid no attention to it. They had no reason
to stop and think twice from their past experiences with the rebel forces. So
far they had shown no great ability to shoot and these men behind low stone
walls or rails surely would be nothing to think twice about. British brought
some light cannons for some direct artillery support but foolishly brought the
wrong size ammunition, but no one expected to use them anyway so they remained
there useless.
This type of thinking was part of why the British had such severe
casualties. When it was obvious the battle was going to begin the officers were
extremely nervous on the American side. Many of the officers paced back and
forth in the trenches behind their men. They had a serious problem to face… a
very low ammunition supply. The officers ordered the soldiers to hold their fire
and to make sure that they made every shot count. Wisely adding directions to
aim low because soldiers tended to aim high downhill and to look for the men
with the gold gorgets(officers). Colonel Prescott gave the famous orders Don’t
one of you fire until you see the whites of their eyes. This was to make sure
that the men didn’t fire prematurely and waste ammunition on bad shots. Instead
to wait until the British troops were close enough to get a good shot almost at
point blank. At three o’clock that afternoon the British finally advanced
towards Breed’s Hill. The light infantry along the shoreline made first contact.
The British cane within fifty yards of the area, held by Colonel John Stark and
his New Hampshire troops, until Stark gave the order to fire. The first column
was completely blown away and the next two emerged and met the same fate. On the
left, Pigot shared the same fate. In the center the grenadiers finally reached
the redoubt in some confusion after getting mixed up from crossing some earlier
fences. Then when they approached within about fifty yards they prepared to fire
contrary to orders and then Prescott instructed to open fire. The British tried
to stand their ground but was devastated and rolled back downhill. Within those
few starting moments a total of 96 lives were taken on the British side. Howe
wasted no time and prepared for a second attack within fifteen minutes. The
second strike met the same fate as the first. The rebels held their fire until
the last moment and then completely decimated the British lines. The British
troops were once again forced to retreat. After the second strike the British
learned their grave mistake. They really meant business and took all possible
precautions. The soldiers stripped off their packs filled with over a hundred
pounds of useless equipment. Sir Henry Clinton came from Boston to organize
stragglers around the beach to fight with them.
The British got another regiment
to add to their army with some companies of marines. And those useless artillery
guns had gotten their proper ammunition. They were determined to do it the right
way this time. The Patriots however held the opposite fate. They had done
everything correctly until the third strike. Many troops refused to march from
exhaustion or fear. The biggest problem was that their small supply of
ammunition was now gone. The third attack started off similar to the first two.
The British advanced very close to the American defense until the patriots
opened fire. The British sustained heavy losses again however they were
determined to break through and the did. The fire from the rebels started to
diminish and the British finally broke through. The men were helpless with out
ammunition. Some fought back with rocks, fists, teeth, feet, and clubbed muskets
as best they could. However, the rebels knew that they were defeated and
retreated to Bunker Hill. The totally exhausted British tried to go after the
rebels but could not pursue them. So the British won. Right? Technically
speaking the British had won the battle because they gained the area in their
possession. However, the patriots sustained far less casualties compared to the
British. The Americans sustained about 30% casualties out of their 1,500 troops
1/3 of which were killed and 2/3 wounded. So 450 men were wounded and 135
killed. The British on the other hand sustained almost 50% casualties out of
their 2,500 troops. There were 925 wounded and 225 killed. If you compare the
numbers the evidence clearly shows that the patriots had succeeded in hurting
the British army. The Battle of Bunker Hill was definitely a wake-up call for
Britain. This predicated that the Revolutionary War would be a long, close one.
The fact that the battle was almost won by the rebels rose the spirit in other
Americans that they might actually have a chance at this rebellion. Also proving
to Britain that the Americans were not afraid to fight for their freedom and
that they could be vicious at times. General Henry Clinton wisely said after the
battle It is such a dear victory, another such would have ruined us.
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