The Battle of Bunker Hill, fought during the siege of Boston, though a British tactical victory, proved the ability of the New England militia to stand against British regulars, and the British suffered the highest casualty rate during any battle of the war.

 Background

On the night of April 19^th, 1775, the British had returned to Boston following their running engagement against the American militia. The militia had not gone home, but had instead ringed Boston and besieged it, and by May 25^th, from their makeshift camps around Boston, 10,000 American farmer and mechanics were keeping half that number of British regulars bottled up in the port city.[1] That day, the British received reinforcements, aboard the frigate Cerebus, and four other British ships, including three major generals, Sir William Howe, Henry Clinton, and “Gentlemen Johnny” Burgoyne, soon to become famous for their role in the war that had just begun. It was well that the British had command of the sea, for Boston was cut off by the countryside and could supplied only from England, a supply link 3,000 miles long. Furthermore, General Thomas Gage, the commander of the British forces in North America, until the arrival of Sir William Howe, only “retained a precarious foothold…hemmed in.”[2] “His position was untenable should the Americans occupy either Dorchester Heights to the south, or the low hills on the Charlestown peninsula.”[3] The arrival of the three British generals and the reinforcements, was of considerable value to General Gage, for they brought his troop strength up to ten thousand men. However, only eight thousand of these were fit for duty, for the garrison was weakened numerically by constant skirmishing, and disease, as well as a lack of supplies, especially of fresh meat.[4] However, the eight thousand that were fit for duty were “under excellent discipline and ably commanded.”[5]  General Gage and his British colleagues, apparently recognizing the military value of the high ground, elected to seize and to fortify Dorchester Heights. Unfortunately, for the British, the Americans were to preempt their planned operation with one of their own, for they got wind of the British plans on June 13^th, five days before the British operation was set to proceed. The Massachusetts Committee of Safety now decided that “Bunker Hill in Charlestown be securely kept and defended, and also some one hill or hills on Dorchester Neck be likewise secured.” The occupation of Dorchester Heights would wait but the occupation of Bunker Hill would proceed immediately. Bunker Hill was located on the Charlestown Peninsula, opposite Boston’s north side, separated from Boston by the half mile width of the Charles river. It was a mile in length, and in width, at its widest point, it was half a mile. Three hills crowned the Peninsula. The first, Bunker Hill, began at the Neck and rose 110 feet high, its east and west sides sloping to the water. A low ridge connected this hill to Breed’s Hill, the second hill, which was 75 feet high and 600 yards from Bunker Hill.  Near the water on the west side of this hill was the village of Charlestown itself. Moulton’s Hill, the third hill was only 35 feet high, and lay at the southeast corner of the Peninsula near where the Mystic and Charles river merged. The peninsula was divided with rail fences and stone walls, which marked off plots of ground used mainly for growing hay and pasture, and there were some orchards and gardens dotted about. In some sections, the grass had been mown, in others, particularly on the southeast approach to Breed’s Hill, the grass had been standing at knee high length.[6] General Artemis Ward, the old and feeble commander of the American militia army now besieging Boston, an apparent Christian “who professed the rigid tenets of New England religion,”[7] held a council of war on the 15^th. General Seth Pomeroy, Colonel William Prescott, and General Israel Putnam were among the attendees. Ward and newly appointed major general Dr. Joseph Warren, opposed the occupation of Bunker Hill, and even now that it was ordered, were reluctant to do so. The reluctance was due in large measure to the low quantity of gunpowder available in the American camp. However, Putnam was firmly in favor of the plan, and won the others over. “The Americans are not all afraid of their heads, though very much afraid of their legs,” he said, “if you cover these, they will fight forever.” Through this argument, he managed to convince the others.[8]

 The Occupation and Fortification of Breed’s Hill

The responsibility for carrying out the plan was placed on the shoulders of Colonel William Prescott, a tall, muscular man, who had been worn to a rich and powerful Massachusetts family. Prescott was kindly and well-mannered, yet he had the firmness of command that was necessary for military authority, and knew how to exact obedience from subordinates. The men chosen were from Prescott’s own regiment, and those of Colonels James Frye and Ebenezer Wood, as well as two hundred men from Putnam’s Connecticut regiment under the command of Captain Thomas Knowlton, as well as the Massachusetts artillery company of Colonel Richard Gridley, the American army’s chief engineer. Frye’s party was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel James Brickett, for Frye was ill. The force was to number 1,400 men, but no more than twelve hundred actually assembled on the Cambridge common, ready to deploy, because at least two of the colonial regiments were not at full strength. Reverend Samuel Langdon, the president of Harvard College, prayed for their success, and then the troops were arranged in column, and the march began. The militiamen were ignorant of their objective; not even the company commanders knew the destination. Colonel Prescott and Colonel Gridley knew it, however, and led the way with lighted lanterns.

Although Prescott and some of the officers wore military uniforms, the soldiers were dressed in their homespun clothing of a variety of colors, with bucked shoes rather than boots, and carried a variety of arms. The troops marched to the foot of Breed’s Hill, where for the first time, Prescott informed them of their mission. Although their orders were to fortify Bunker Hill, the officers resolved to fortify Breed’s Hill instead, because it was nearer Boston, and would cover their rear should they be forced to retreat from Bunker Hill. It was decided to fortify both hills, establishing the main entrenchments on Breed’s Hill, and secondary works on Bunker Hill.

Work began around midnight, the first hour of June 17^th, with pick and shovel, as the troops labored to do as much as they could in the four hours remaining before daylight, for much time had been lost as the officers had deliberated over which hill to fortify. While this was going on, Prescott detached a company of his own regiment to patrol the shore of the Boston side of the peninsula. Another company was sent to patrol Charlestown and the adjoining shore. Prescott personally went down to see if there was an alarm being mounted in the British camp, but all was still there, as well as in the dark outlines of the British ships whose forms rose out of narrow channel of the Charles river, where they lay at anchor, the 36 gun Cerebus, the 34 gun Glasgow, the 20 gun Lively, and sloop Falcon with sixteen, and the transport Symmetry, with nine 18-pounder cannon.

The American plan of fortification was for a redoubt ten rods long and eight rods long, and by morning much progress had been made on it, for by daylight, its walls were six feet in height. The coming of daylight exposed the work to the sharp eyes of British sentries, as well as seamen on the Lively, whose captain at once put a spring on the ship’s cable and opened fire with his cannon upon the Americans. The sound of the cannon fire aroused the whole town of Boston and the British camp. British land batteries at Copp’s Point added their fire to the Lively’s, as did two British ships, but it was out of range to do much damage. The British ships were in much the same fix, for their naval artillery could not be elevated high enough to bear upon the target, and it was too light for the purpose anyhow.[9]  Thus, the “heavy cannonading and bombardment” as Prescott reported it, was unsuccessful. The round shot made no impression on the redoubt, and though some American nerves were sufficiently rattled to induce them to desert, the majority remained at work as if nothing was going on, the fire only causing them to become “more diligent in digging and fortifying ourselves against them,” to quote Peter Brown, a young Massachusetts militiaman.[10] One man was killed, working outside the redoubt, and to convince his comrades that was little to fear from the British fire, Prescott walked the parapet, openly exposed to the British fire, and re-inspired the men by his fearlessness.[11] As for the dead soldier, he received a Christian burial, officiated by a clergyman.

It has often been alleged that the American War for Independence and the political principles that undergirded it were Enlightenment ones, and that rationalism and deism were the dominant philosophical thought of the day. However, in reality, the dominant political thought of the day was thoroughly Christian and even reformed. Indeed, the War for Independence was birthed in the pulpits and sustained by them. The pulpits then, can rightfully be considered the cradle of American liberty. That Christianity was overwhelmingly embraced by the common people, and even by their leaders, can be seen in the fact that the soldiers refused to let this casualty be buried without a Christian funeral service. Deists and Atheists after the manner of the European Enlightenment these New England patriots were not. American historian of this battle, Samuel Swett, writing in 1826, records:

A subaltern informed Col. Prescott and inquired of him what should be done. ‘Bury him,’ he was told.­ “What,” said the astonished officer, “without prayers!” A chaplain, who was present, insisted on performing service over this first victim, and collected many of the soldiers around him, heedless of peril. Prescott ordered them to disperse; but religious enthusiasm prevailing, the chaplain again collected his congregation, when the deceased was ordered to be taken and buried in the ditch.[12]

But the unceasing labor began to tell on the men, as did the intense heat of the sun, for the sun rose in a cloudless sky that baked the men its rays as the day grew warmer. There was no water to quench their parched lips; most of the men, inexperienced in warfare had neglected to bring water, and what barrels of water were available had been smashed by a British cannonball.[13] Prescott sent Major John Brooks to headquarters for rations and reinforcements, for the troops under his command had already consumed all of the former. By 11:00 am, Prescott’s men had completed the redoubt, thanks in large part to the personal direction and attention of Prescott himself. But Prescott’s men had little time to rest, for he soon perceived that the lone redoubt was vulnerable to being outflanked, and soon embarked his men on a task of building a breastwork extending from the north side of the redoubt to the bottom of the hill. But this work could not be finished due to the heavy British fire. General Ward paid little heed to Major Brooks request for more troops and rations, for he thought the British would not attack Prescott, but Cambridge instead, where munitions and supplies were stored. However, the Committee of Safety did heed Brooks, and two New Hampshire regiments of Colonels John Stark and James Reed were ordered to reinforce Prescott. General Israel Ward, now that the work on Breed’s Hill was complete, called on Prescott to give him the entrenching tools so he could fortify Bunker Hill as well. Prescott obliged, and Putnam supervised the entrenching work on Bunker Hill. But there was not enough time to accomplish it successfully.

 The British Landing

On the British side, the soldiers of Great Britain had not been idle while these preparations were going on. General Gage had called a council of war upon the first alarm. It was obvious that the American position was a bad one, for it was nearly surrounded by water that was controlled by the ships of the Royal Navy. The narrow neck was the only way supplies and reinforcements could reach the Americans, and it was under the guns of the British fleet too. General Clinton suggested immediately landing, with five hundred men on the peninsula in rear of the redoubt, cutting off the colonials, while another force attacked from the front. Gage and most of the other officers objected to this plan, for they did not think it sound military sense to put a force in between the Americans on Breed’s Hill, and the main army ringing Boston. Instead, it was decided that a strong British force would be landed below Moulton’s Point, “on the southeast corner of the peninsula, march it up the east side along the Mystic [river], out of musket shot of the redoubt, flank it, and attack it in the rear.”[14] It wasn’t a half bad plan, but the British failed to execute their plan promptly, and dragged their feet for six hours. By that time, it was too late for a flanking attack. For in the six-hour interim, the Americans strengthened their position. Carrington records the American defensive positions:

A new line of breastwork, a few rods in length, was hastily carried backward, and a little to the left; and very hasty efforts were made to strengthen a short hedge, and establish a line of defense for a hundred and twenty rods in the same direction, thereby to connect with the stone fence and other protection which ran perpendicularly toward the Mystic river. This retreating line was begun under the personal direction of Prescott himself, but was never fully closed up. A piece of springy ground on this line was left uncovered by any shelter for troops acting in its rear, or passing too and fro behind the main lines…Freshly mown hay which lay around in winrows or in heaps, was braided or thatched upon these rails, affording a show of shelter, while the top rail gave a resting place for the weapon. In front of this, an ordinary zig-zag “stake and rider” fence was established, and the space between the two was also filled with hay. This line was nearly six hundred feet in rear of the front face of the redout, and near the foot of Bunker Hill…Still beyond the rail fence eastward, toward the river, and extending by an even slope to its very margin, was another gap which exposed the entire command to a flanking movement of the enemy, endangering the redoubt itself, as well as the more transient works of defense. To anticipate such a movement, subsequently attempted, an imperfect stone wall was quickly thrown together by the assistance of Colonel Stark’s detachment, whose timely arrival had cheered the spirits of the worn out pioneer command.[15]

At this point were placed two cannons from Gridley’s artillery company, and some 200 Connecticut militiamen under the command of Captain Thomas Knowlton, as well as New Hampshire militiamen under Colonel Stark.

The British were meanwhile preparing to assault the American position. Orders were given to ten companies of light infantry, ten companies of grenadiers, and the 5^th and 38^th regiments were to march to the Long Wharf. The 52^nd and 43^rd regiments, with the remaining companies of grenadiers and light infantry were ordered to march to the North Battery. Sir William Howe, as senior British officer under Gage was placed in command of the expedition. His second in command was Brigadier General Sir Robert Pigot. Strict discipline was to be maintained; no troops would be allowed to quit the ranks or leave them to plunder on pain of death. The British troops assembled at half past eleven, and at noon, strode through the streets of Boston to the places of embarkation. They carried three days rations, as well as their rations, blankets, and full kits.[16] Meanwhile, to cover the landing of the British, an intense British bombardment of the redoubt had opened. The Somerset, Symmetry, Glasgow, Falcon and Lively as well as the batteries on Copp’s Hill, and two floating batteries, all rained a storm of shot and shell. The Glasgow and the Symmetry, and two floating batteries concentrated their fire upon the redoubt, while the Glasgow, Symmetry, and two gunboats anchored in the Charles river, poured theirs upon the Charlestown neck. The sloops Lively and Falcon swept the low ground before Breed’s Hill to cover the landing of the troops there.[17]

Perfect silence by now filled the American lines. The patriots were awed by the spectacle of twenty-eight barges in two parallel single file lines rowing across the water filled with redcoats. Brilliant sunlight reflected off British bayonets. In the American lines, Dr. Joseph Warren had joined the troops, musket in hand, to fight alongside them, despite his high political stature as President of the Provincial Congress. Also present was 70-year-old general Seth Pomeroy, a veteran officer of the Massachusetts militia, who had seen action against the Indians. He had joined Stark’s command when it arrived to reinforce Prescott, but declined any command, preferring to fight as a private volunteer.

Again and again, the British barges were rowed across the river, dropping off a full load of redcoats, and then returned for another load. By 1:00 pm, the landings were complete, and the troops were formed in three lines on Moulton’s Hill, while Howe examined the American fortifications. He realized that the situation had changed since the morning. While the redoubt had been alone then, now a breastwork extended to the east and restricted the ability of the British to maneuver in that direction. However, restricted though a flanking movement would be, it was not so hampered by the American works as to be impossible. However, the troops on Bunker Hill looked suspiciously like a reserve force, and Howe was afraid lest his flankers find themselves sandwiched between two American forces. He decided he needed more men and ordered his men to break ranks and eat their noonday rations, while the boats ferried him more men. 700 men, held in reserve, were boated ashore.

The First British Attack

Fire from American troops at Charlestown harassed the British from the left, and Admiral Graves, of the British fleet, who had come ashore to see what help the fleet could give Howe’s materializing attack, was informed of this by General Pigot. Graves ordered his fleet to burn Charlestown to the ground. (It should be noted that the deliberate and intentional destruction of a city like this is a violation of the just war doctrine, one of many such violations and atrocities committed by the British troops in America during the war for Independence).

Under a hail of hollow cannonballs filled with lighted combustibles, known as carcasses, and red-hot cannonballs, from both Graves’ ships, as well as the British batteries, both land and floating, Charlestown was instantly set ablaze in numerous sections in the city. Again and again, the British guns flashed flame and smoke, and the American troops were speedily forced out of the city. As Charlestown was practically deserted, there was no effort made to extinguish the flames, and soon the whole city was a roaring inferno, as the wooden buildings of Charleston made excellent kindling. Buildings crashed, church steeples blazed, shipping was aflame. Thick black smoke curled in the air above Charlestown. It was with the backdrop of Charlestown burning to a crisp that the British launched their attack.

The British disposition of forces was in two divisions, the larger, under Howe’s personal command, and holding the right of the British line, was drawn up in three lines, with the light infantry in front, the grenadiers in the second line, and in the third, the foot soldiers of the 5^th and 52^nd British regiments. General Pigot commanded the left of the British line, with a composition of forces similar to that of Howe’s. Just before the attack began, General Howe addressed his troops, reminding them of the consequences of defeat, stating that “we have no recourse to any resources if we lose Boston, but to go on board our ships, which will be very disagreeable to us all.” He was willing to take the same risks the troops did, for he assured them that “I shall not desire one of you to go a step further than where I go myself at your head.” Before he advanced his infantry to the assault, Howe brought up his artillery to take the redoubt, breastwork, and rail fence under fire. The ships of Admiral Graves, and the British batteries on Copp’s Hill, joined in, pouring shot and shell against the breastwork. The British fire had little effect, except to rattle American nerves. Gridley’s artillery company fired a few feeble shots, but soon ceased fire, as many of the men of that company, their nerves shot, deserted, and Gridley and the remainder withdrew their artillery to the rear, an action for which Gridley would be court-martialed after the battle.

However, if cowardice was evident in some of the Americans, it was matched by British ineptitude. Howe’s artillery pieces were soon forced to cease fire. It turned out the 6-pounder guns had been supplied with 12-pounder cannonballs, which naturally didn’t fit the bores, and so Howe’s artillery was thus placed out of action. Howe responded to this mishap by ordering the guns to employ grapeshot instead, but the range was too great. When the guns were brought up to shorten the range, they got stuck in boggy ground. Providence was simply not with the British artillery that day. The British advance now began. Howe’s division had the objective of flanking the Americans by moving against the American line at the rail fence, penetrating this, and thus cutting of an American retreat, while General Pigot took his division and stormed the breastwork and redoubt itself. The British advance was slow, the troops having to trudge through knee high grass, and having to tear down or climb over the walls and fences that obstructed their path. The weight of the knapsacks and full campaign equipment which the British soldiers wore on their persons also weighed and slowed them down, and the intense heat of the day cannot have helped the speed of the march either. But it did not increase the time under the gauntlet of the American muskets, because Prescott’s men held their fire.

From behind the rail fence, the breastwork, and the redoubt waited the liberty loving farmers and craftsmen, dressed in their plain clothes, pockets stuffed with bullets, powder horns slung over their shoulders, muskets in their hands. Prescott, when he saw that the enemy was advancing, went round the American works encouraging his men, and assuring them that the redcoats would not overrun the works, if only the militiamen would heed his instructions. “Steady men!” Prescott commanded his men, and Warren repeated the order. “Wait until you see the whites of their eyes!” “Not a shot sooner.” The orders were passed down the ranks by the officers, who reminded their men that powder was scarce, and it would not do to waste it. Prescott was intent on making every shot count, for he was well aware of the chronic shortage of gunpowder among the American ranks. It must have galled him therefore, when a few jittery militiamen hastily fired at the British, and drew fire in return. Indeed, “Prescott indignantly remonstrated at this disobedience and appealed to their often expressed confidence in him as their leader, while his officers seconded his exertions, and some of them ran round the top of the parapet and kicked up the guns.”[18] But most of the militiamen were cool enough to hold their fire.

It could not have been easy. The British advance was certainly awe inspiring, as the lines of Brits moved steadily towards them, bayonets gleaming in the sun as if on parade. The slowness of the British advance, which was forced to stop periodically both for the artillery to come up, and for the officers to reform the lines after the obstructions jumbled the ranks, must have grated at them. But coolness and discipline prevailed, and American muskets remained silent. “Aim at their waistbands,” the officers urged them. “Wait for the word. Every man steady!”  From Boston, the inhabitants looked on, the rooftops crowded with watching spectators. The militiamen waited as the British advanced closer and closer, until they could count the buttons on the scarlet unforms of their foes and make out the emblem on their belt buckles. General Howe led his division against the rail fence, the light infantry advancing along the Mystic river, to take it in flank, while the grenadiers moved directly towards it. At the same time, Pigot’s men were nearing the redoubt and breastwork. A few militiamen now fired, which drew Prescott’s ire and he threatened to cut down the next man who disobeyed orders to hold fire until ordered to shoot. This caused the British to begin shooting, which they continued to do as they advanced, but the balls passed overhead.  Finally, when the British had closed to 150 yards, did the command ring out “Fire!” The American militiamen immediately blazed away with their muskets in a massive volley. With the fence rail steadying their musket stocks, and at such short range, they could hardly miss, and miss they did not. Like wheat cut down by a scythe, the whole front rank of the British line went down, rent by musket balls.  A British soldier wrote: “Most of grenadiers and light infantry, the moment of presenting themselves, lost three fourths, and many nine tenths of their men. Some had only eight and nine men a company left, some only three, four, and five.” Their ranks shattered, their units cut up terribly, the British were thrown into instant confusion. Not even the King’s regulars could stand up to that kind of close-range fire, deadly and accurate as it was. The British retreated. The left wing of the British army had done no better. When the British reached the distance at which they were to fire into redoubt and breastwork, the patriots there poured in a withering volley into their ranks that did terrible execution. The British tried to stand their ground and return their fire, but the patriots now reloaded and poured a second devastating volley into them, and that was too much for even British discipline.  The soldiers of Pigot too, broke and fled down the hill, leaving the hill strewn with groaning casualties.

The Americans were beside themselves with jubilancy. They had put the redcoats to flight! Confidence soared. Many of the militiamen wanted to leap out from behind the defensive works and pursue the foe, but the officers, more prudent than their exultant men, restrained them.[19] Prescott knew the battle was not yet won. The British would not throw in the towel after only one repulse. They were too good of soldiers for that. He mingled with the men freely, praising their performance and congratulating their success in repulsing the redcoats. He cautiously charged them to again hold their fire until the word was given by the officers. General Putnam meanwhile had rode to Bunker Hill to bring back reinforcements. But the troops he found were reluctant to cross the Charlestown Neck under the heavy fire of the British fleet. Putnam attempted to rally the men, but his commands and entreaties fell largely on deaf ears. Though a few men followed Putnam, the defense of Breed’s Hill and the continuation of the battle would have to rest upon the men already there. Meanwhile Howe was reforming his shattered columns. In a short time, they were rallied, which was no easy task for the officers of the shaken men. Again, the British advanced, just a quarter of an hour after the cessation of the last attack, across the whole length of the American line. Offshore the British fleet redoubled their efforts to blast the neck and keep reinforcements from coming to the Americans on the Charlestown Peninsula. The heavy fire scattered the men on Bunker Hill, and they dispersed.

 

The Second British Attack

Howe had by this time come to the conclusion that the rail fence, dubbed by one Brit as “the strongest post that was ever occupied by any set of men,” was too strong a position to take. His plan to flank the American line had been quite literally shot to pieces. The plan now was for his light infantry to assault the rail fence only as a diversion, leaving the rest of the British force to assault the redoubt and breastwork in a direct, frontal attack. The whole British force, it was reasoned, would be strong enough to overrun the position, strong though it was. The British now marched up the hill, encountering among the other obstacles, the bodies of their comrades strewn about on the hillside, which they had to gingerly step over. There was no scattered fire against the British as they pressed on up the hill. The troops were by now confident in their officers’ orders, and in the knowledge that the tactic they were enjoining upon them was a successful and proven one.  The British did fire, for the most part unsuccessfully, as they advanced, killing, and wounding several officers, but otherwise doing little execution, as their aim was poor, and the breastworks and redoubt protected the Americans from British lead.[20] Before they had waited until the Lobsterbacks had closed to twelve rods, but now waited until the British were just five rods away, a mere one hundred feet. Then the Americans poured in a devastating volley into the British ranks. Devastating was an understatement. It was even more terrible in its effects than the earlier volleys delivered in the first attack. The entire front rank of the British was cut down in an instant, including every member of Howe’s staff. One writer described the volley: “The discharge was simultaneous the whole length of the line, and though more destructive…than on the former assault, the enemy withstood the shock.” The officers endeavored to rally the shaken men and endeavor the men to sweep the American works with the bayonet. But the Americans gave the British no respite in which to rally for their bayonet charge. Instead, they reloaded and fired, reloaded and fired, as fast as they could, pouring as heavy and as fast a deadly fire as they could against the British foe. A British officer reported:  …an incessant stream of fire poured from the rebel lines; it seemed a continuous sheet of fire for near thirty minutes.” Under that kind of fire, the British could not stand. Despite the exertions of their officers, they again broke and retreated out of musket range at the base of the hill, in even greater disorder than before, leaving the hillside covered with the dead and wounded. “The dead lay as thick as sheep in a fold,” one writer described it, and writer George Bancroft described the fire that laid them there as a “a continuous sheet of fire.” Another writer spoke of it as a “shower of bullets. The field of battle was covered with the slain.”[21] It is no surprise therefore, that such a long time elapsed before the third British attack that some of the American officers began to suppose that the battle was won. General Putnam again made strenuous efforts to reinforce the troops on Breed’s Hill with those from Bunker Hill, but the hundreds of men did not the spirit of patriotism and liberty that their comrades did. Frothingham records:

…at Bunker Hill, there was hardly a company in any kind of order. The men had scattered behind rocks, hay-cocks, and apple trees. Parties, also, were continually retreating from the field, some alleging they had left the fort with leave because they had been all night and day on fatigue without sleep or refreshment; some that they had no officers to lead them; frequently, twenty were about a wounded man, when not a quarter part could touch him to advantage; while others were going off without any excuse.[22]

While Putnam was for the most part fruitlessly endeavoring to get reinforcements to come to Breed’s Hill, Colonel Prescott was preparing the men for the next British attack. Good order prevailed in the American line, where Prescott was doing his utmost to inspire his men with hope and with confidence. Despite the successes they had achieved, spirits flagged at the shortage of gunpowder, and everyone knew that it was a critical shortage.  Most of the troops were down to three rounds of ammunition. Desperate for gunpowder, the remaining cannon cartridges were broken into, and their contents distributed, but it was not near enough. There was no longer any hope that aid would come either from the main American army or from Bunker Hill, and the presence of a mere fifty bayonets among the militia made the prospects of winning a bayonet fight impossible and hopeless.[23] Prescott assured his men that if they could merely hold out for one more attack, just one more, the British would be so disorganized that they would not rally again, and victory would be theirs. He impressed upon his men that it was imperative that they conserve their powder and make every shot count.

The Third British Attack

Meanwhile, General Howe was forming his men for another attack. Some of his officers protested that another attack would be downright butchery, but Howe was unwavering. He meant to drive the Americans from their position. But Howe intended to do it right this time. He ordered all knapsacks and other excess baggage laid aside by the troops. There would be no extra weight to slow them down and prevent them from getting to the redoubt and breastwork as quickly as possible. The advance was to be made in columns, and the works would be swept clear of their defenders by the bayonet; there were to be no pauses to fire.[24] Generals Clinton and Burgoyne had watched the progress of the battle from Copp’s Hill, and Burgoyne at once rowed ashore with reinforcements to take part in a third attack. Four hundred marines which had remained to the landing place, were added to Howe’s force.

General Howe’s right division would assault the breastwork and take it by storm, while General Pigot, on the left, and General Clinton with the 47^th regiment, would assault the redoubt. A demonstration would be made against the rail fence to attract its attention. The artillery would advance a few rods and swing to the left, sweeping the breastwork in preparation for Howe’s advance. Colonel Prescott perceived the enemy’s intention when he saw the British artillery wheel to the left, and the marching columns again moving to attack. He maintained his composure, however, and gave his orders coolly. The troops were ordered to withhold their fire until the British had closed to twenty yards. Then and only then, would the militiamen discharge their last rounds directly into them. The British artillery, now evidently armed with the properly sized ammunition, enfiladed the breastwork, and drove its occupants into the redoubt, and killed or wounded many Americans within, as the cannonballs entered the passageway.[25]  The artillery shells made little impact on the redoubt itself, as Lieutenant Lord Rawdon, a British witness wrote: “ Our cannon fired upon the entrenchment for some time, but it was so strong that our balls had no effect upon it, and their men kept so close behind it that they were in no danger.” The British infantry meanwhile plunged up the hill to attack, impatiently, Rawdon reported, for they wished to avenge their repulses and shed American blood. The militiamen once more cooly held their fire until the British had closed to twenty yards, and then “rose up,” Lord Rawdon reported, “and poured in so heavy a fire upon us that the oldest officers say never saw a sharper action. They kept up this fire until we were within ten yards of them…” The terrific and deadly fire of the Americans, delivered at close range, was once again devastating, and for a moment, it checked the advance of the British, who stopped in their tracks. But they sprang forward without returning the fire and attacked the redoubt from three sides. Prescott ordered the militiamen lacking bayonets to retire to the rear of the redoubt and fire their last ammunition into the enemy as they showed themselves above the parapet. This order was obeyed, for as the British soldiers mounted the parapet, ready to leap down inside, the militiamen poured in their last volley, and it was a devastating one that cut down the whole front rank of the British line. Major Pitcairn of the marines was slain by that volley, as was Lieutenant Colonel Abercrombie, Majors Williams and Speedlove, and many others.[26] The second line of Brits mounted the parapet and rather than jump down inside, paused atop it, and began to shoot, as the militiamen fired their very last rounds of ammunition, and their gunfire sputtered out.

The officers got them to cease firing and to attack with the bayonet, and the British now leapt into the redoubt, bayonets poised to skewer the defenders. With very few bayonets of their own, and no more powder, the militiamen were forced to defend themselves with the butts of their muskets and with stones – not an equal match. Colonel Prescott at once ordered a retreat. Thrusting with the bayonet, the British skewered and slew thirty of the militiamen. Others were wounded by the sword and bayonet. The rest of the militiamen beat a retreat as fast as they could. Some escaped over the parapet; the rest crowded the gateway in the rear wall. Bunched together in this way, it could have been a fearful massacre had the British opened fire upon them, but the smoke hung so thick about them, that the British could not tell their comrades from their adversaries and held their fire.[27] The retreating defenders found themselves between two parties of the redcoats, which had come up around on opposite sides of the redoubt. Both parties hesitated to fire lest they hit their comrades opposite them. As soon as the defenders were clear of these parties, however, the Brits opened a heavy fire upon them. Prescott and Warren were among the last to leave the redoubt. Prescott was surrounded by the British, and he had to fight his way clear, parrying their bayonet thrusts with his sword. He got away unharmed, though his clothing was cut in several places by the British steel.[28] Though Providence had not decreed that Prescott would fall this day, the appointed hour of Dr. Joseph Warren’s death had come, and a British ball tore through his head just as he escaped the redoubt. In the meantime, the defenders at the rail fence had suffered but little, as the attack made upon their position was merely a diversion. Standing their ground, they resisted every effort of the British to turn their flank and held on as long as their powder held out, buying time for their comrades to retreat. At length, they also fell back, but with no disorder. They “gave ground,” reported the Committee of Safety, “but with more regularity than could have been expected of troops who had been no longer under discipline and many of whom never before saw an engagement.” Seth Pomeroy was among them, still facing the foe, walking backwards, the stock of his musket shattered by a British ball.[29] “The whole body of Americans were now in full retreat, the greater part over the top of Bunker Hill.”[30]

The American Retreat

However, the battle did not end with the British capture of the redoubt. Carrington records:

Major Jackson rallied Garner’s men on Bunker Hill, and with three companies of Ward’s regiment…an effort was made to cover the retreat, and a vigorous fire was for a short time maintained upon the advancing enemy. It saved more than half of the garrison.[31]

There were attempts made to rally the retreating Americans. The indefatigable General Putnam rode to the rear of the retreating troops, and disregarding the British lead flying about him, urged them to stand and renew the fight with drawn sword. “Make a stand here!” He cried. “We can stop them yet!” “In God’s name, form, and give them one shot more!”[32] Seth Pomeroy too attempted to rally the troops, but likewise to no avail. Carrington records that: “…without bayonets or ammunition, worn out in physical strength, and hopeless of a successful resistance, the retreat became general…”[33] Yet that retreat was no rout. “The rebels were obliged to abandon the post,” wrote Lord Rawdon, “but continued a running fight from one fence, or wall, to another, till we entirely drove them off the peninsula of Charlestown.” The Reverend John Martin, a chaplain with the patriots, had come to Breed’s Hill to do what he could for the wounded. Arriving as the retreat was in progress, he found himself under attack from a British soldier. Ezra Stiles reported that:

Mr. Martin drew his Irish longsword and defended himself, thrust and killed his adversary by letting out his bowels. Another fired and attacked him with the broadsword. Mr. Martin handled the sword –defended himself and killed his adversary by a stroke on the neck. He brought off his wounded.[34]

But in the midst of such courage and honor, there was dishonor too. Ward records:

There were many hundred, perhaps a thousand, fresh men with Putnam on Bunker Hill no more than six hundred yards away – enough with Stark and Knowlton’s men, to turn the tide of battle if they had come up and attacked the disorganized enemy; but they themselves were a mere mass of men without organization or unified command and they did not even fire a shot to cover the retreat.[35]

As the Americans retreated over the Charleston neck, they sustained their greatest casualties as they were forced to run the gauntlet of the British naval and land artillery pummeling the narrow stretch of land. More troops fell under that British artillery fire, during the retreat than during the battle itself. The Americans withdrew to Prospect Hill, and dug in, building entrenchments, under Putnam’s able leadership. The British were now in possession of Breed’s Hill, in addition to Bunker Hill. During the night, while the Americans labored away on Prospect Hill, the British were building breastworks on Bunker Hill. General Howe was advised by General Clinton to follow up his dearly won victory by an assault on Cambridge, but Howe declined, doing nothing more in that vein that firing a few desultory cannon shots toward the place. The fact is, both armies were exhausted to renew the fighting. Colonel Prescott, who had plenty of fight left, returned to headquarters, reported on the outcome of the engagement, and offered to retake Breed’s Hill that night provided he was given three regiments for the task. General Ward demurred, believing that the troops were too tired for such an offensive. The British, for their part, were content to hold the field of battle and not press their providence. “Following the battle, General Gage remained inactive, other than to fortify the captured hills, and the Americans strengthened their lines from Cambridge to Roxbury.”[36]

Aftermath

The battle of Bunker Hill was a pyrrhic victory for the British. They had succeeded in capturing Breed’s Hill, and in driving the Americans from the Charlestown peninsula, but at a staggeringly fearful cost. The British suffered 1, 054 casualties. Of these 226 had been killed. It was the highest death toll of any battle during the American War for Independence, and the high casualty rate certainly affected Sir William Howe, for whom that blood drenched, corpse strewn hillside always was in view, and effectively dissuaded him from mounting bloody frontal attacks upon American defensive fortifications, in future operations, even when the results to be gained by such offensive tactics (such as the destruction or capture of the whole Continental Army in one stroke), justified their employment.  Such an attitude of General Howe’s was a most fortunate Providential outcome of the battle, a clear example of the Providence of God intervening in the minds of men to shape history for his glory and his ends, for Howe’s reluctance on several occasions saved the American army from destruction and to put it colloquially “saved our bacon” as Americans. “The success is too dearly bought,” he would say of this British victory in this battle. General Clinton reported the battle was a “dear bought victory, another such would have ruined us.”  On the American side, the casualties sustained were 140 killed and 271 wounded. The most significant casualty and loss to the American side was Dr. Warren, who was without his equal in significance among the American leaders at the time. But if the battle was a defeat for the Americans, it in many respects, a victory. The Americans had twice beaten back the redcoats, and the success of the third attack was due only to the lack of gunpowder and ammunition, as well as reinforcements. The militiamen had proven that from strong defensive fortifications at least, they were capable of defeating the trained and disciplined soldiers of Great Britian in battle.[37]

 Colonel Prescott always thought he could have maintained his post with the handful of men under his command, exhausted as they were by fatigue and hunger, if they had supplied with sufficient ammunition and with bayonets. In their last attack, the British wavered under the first fire of the Americans, and if it could have been continued, he felt confident they would have been repulsed, and would never have rallied again.[38]

There were still kinks to be ironed out of the infant Continental Army of course. Large numbers of troops had fled the field, or refused to fight, and the militia did better behind fortifications than they did in open battle, a type of warfare in which the British were experienced and proficient. Gradually, the Americans would become better at the art of war. The performance of the Americans in the battle was mixed. Contrasted with the shirkers who refused to fight, or who took advantage of the first opportunity to desert the first time a British shell landed nearby, was the excellent performance of the Americans in that redoubt and behind those works, who obeyed the orders of their officers, and reaped the rewards, cooly and calmly inflicting severe losses on the soldiers of the King. For this praise must be heaped on Colonel Prescott and upon General Putnam, who conducted themselves gallantly and tirelessly for the cause of liberty. But if the tactical performance of the Americans was good, the strategic performance was another matter entirely. The domination of the Charlestown peninsula against the British would only be valuable to the Americans in the siege of Boston if they had been able to mount such large artillery there as would command the water route to the city and prevent ships from reaching it.[39] However, they had no such heavy artillery, and supplying the troops on the peninsula would have always involved traversing the neck under the guns of the British fleet.[40] Strategically, then, the whole American operation was fatally compromised and impossible of success from the very start. However, the British response was equally as flawed, for as already pointed out, it would have been possible to seize and control the Charlestown peninsula neck, cutting off the Americans on the peninsula from their comrades and severing their logistics and supply line, thus necessitating their surrender. The dislodgement of the Americans from the peninsula need not have been a bloody one. In view of these facts, the reason for the actions of both sides playing out the way they did was because both sides were itching for a good fight, and a good fight they got. In the battles for American liberty to be fought in the future, which may or not be bloodless, may we remember our ancestors and the heroic stand they made for political liberty at Breed’s Hill.

Bibliography

Christopher Ward, The War of the Revolution (New York, New York, The MacMillan Company: 1952)

Henry B. Carrington Battles of the American Revolution 1775-1781 (New York, Chicago, and New Orleans: A.S. Barnes & Company, 1876) [Reprint, Promontory Press]

Rupert Furneaux The Pictorial History of the American Revolution: As Told by Eyewitnesses and Participants (Chicago, Illinois: J.G. Ferguson Publishing Company, 1973)

Richard Frothingham History of the Siege of Boston And of the Battles of Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill. Also An Account of the Bunker Hill Monument. With Illustrative Documents (Boston, Massachusetts, Little, Brown and Company, 1873)

Samuel Swett History of the Bunker Hill Battle. With a Plan. (Boston, Massachusetts, Munroe and Francis, 1826) [3^rd Edition]

J.T. Headley, Chaplains and Clergy of the American Revolution (New York, Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1864)

Endnotes

[1] Samuel Swett describes the character of this patriot militia:

All these troops were hardy, brave, and athletic. Almost every soldier would rival Tell as a marksman and aim his weapon at an oppressor with as keen a relish. Those from the frontier had gained this address against the savages and beasts of the forest; the country abounded with game, all were familiar with hunting ; and the amusement universal throughout New England was the trial of skill with the musket. These troops were also religious, and their respect for the opinions of the clergy unbounded. But the religion of their clergy was republican in its nature; they had the most lively antipathy to church establishments, and dread of royal oppression. To avoid the expense of chaplains, the clergy in the neighborhood of the camp were invited by Congress to perform divine service, thirteen of them every sabbath; a request they punctually complied with. Three or four chaplains, however, were attached to the army, and prayed with the troops every morning on the common. The confidence of the army in their officers was implicit and, as it appears from the characters already described, richly merited. (Samuel Swett History of the Bunker Hill Battle. With a Plan. (Boston, Massachusetts, Munroe and Francis, 1826) [3^rd Edition] p. 10)

 

[2] Rupert Furneaux The Pictorial History of the American Revolution: As Told by Eyewitnesses and Participants (Chicago, Illinois: J.G. Ferguson Publishing Company, 1973) p. 51

[3] Ibid

[4] Henry B. Carrington Battles of the American Revolution 1775-1781 (New York, Chicago, and New Orleans: A.S. Barnes & Company, 1876) [Reprint, Promontory Press] p. 93

[5] Ibid

[6] Facts on the topography of the Charlestown Peninsula taken from Christopher Ward, The War of the Revolution (New York, New York, The MacMillan Company: 1952) pp. 73-74

[7] Samuel Swett History of the Bunker Hill Battle. With a Plan. (Boston, Massachusetts, Munroe and Francis, 1826) [3^rd Edition] p. 8

 

[8] Ibid p. 74

[9] Ibid p. 79

[10] Quoted in Rupert Furneaux The Pictorial History of the American Revolution: As Told by Eyewitnesses and Participants (Chicago, Illinois: J.G. Ferguson Publishing Company, 1973) p. 54

[11] Henry B. Carrington Battles of the American Revolution 1775-1781 (New York, Chicago, and New Orleans: A.S. Barnes & Company, 1876) [Reprint, Promontory Press] p. 98

 

[12] Samuel Swett History of the Bunker Hill Battle. With a Plan. (Boston, Massachusetts, Munroe and Francis, 1826) [3^rd Edition] p. 22

[13] Christopher Ward, The War of the Revolution (New York, New York, The MacMillan Company: 1952) pp. 80

 

 

[14] Ibid p. 82

[15] Henry B. Carrington Battles of the American Revolution 1775-1781 (New York, Chicago, and New Orleans: A.S. Barnes & Company, 1876) [Reprint, Promontory Press] p. 101-102

[16] Christopher Ward, The War of the Revolution (New York, New York, The MacMillan Company: 1952) pp. 84

[17] Ibid

[18] Richard Frothingham History of the Siege of Boston And of the Battles of Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill. Also An Account of the Bunker Hill Monument. With Illustrative Documents (Boston, Massachusetts, Little, Brown and Company, 1873) p. 141

[19] Ibid p. 142

[20] Ibid p. 145

[21] Quotations quoted from Henry B. Carrington Battles of the American Revolution 1775-1781 (New York, Chicago, and New Orleans: A.S. Barnes & Company, 1876) [Reprint, Promontory Press] p. 108

[22] Richard Frothingham History of the Siege of Boston And of the Battles of Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill. Also An Account of the Bunker Hill Monument. With Illustrative Documents (Boston, Massachusetts, Little, Brown and Company, 1873) p. 147 There was a chaplain on Bunker Hill, David Avery, praying for divine favor on the arms of the patriots. J.T. Headley notes of him: “In the battle of Bunker Hill, as it is called, but which it is well known took place on Breed’s Hill, this brave, godly man stood on Bunker Hill in full sight of the conflict, and as Moses, who stood on the hill, and held up his hands that Joshua might smite the Amalekites, so he, while the adjacent heights and shores were shaking to the thunder of cannon, and the flames of burning Charlestown were rolling heavenward, lifted up his hands and prayed that God would give victory to the Americans. Breed’s Hill, dimly seen through the rolling smoke of battle, amid which flashed the deadly volleys and gleamed the glittering ` lines, and in the background this patriotic divine, with upraised hands beseeching Heaven for victory, would make an appropriate picture of that bloody prelude to the revolution.” (J.T. Headley, Chaplains and Clergy of the American Revolution [New York, Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1864] pp. 294-295)

[23]  Henry B. Carrington Battles of the American Revolution 1775-1781 (New York, Chicago, and New Orleans: A.S. Barnes & Company, 1876) [Reprint, Promontory Press] p. 109

[24] Christopher Ward, The War of the Revolution (New York, New York, The MacMillan Company: 1952) p. 93

[25] Richard Frothingham History of the Siege of Boston And of the Battles of Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill. Also An Account of the Bunker Hill Monument. With Illustrative Documents (Boston, Massachusetts, Little, Brown and Company, 1873) p. 149

[26] Henry B. Carrington Battles of the American Revolution 1775-1781 (New York, Chicago, and New Orleans: A.S. Barnes & Company, 1876) [Reprint, Promontory Press] p. 110

[27] Christopher Ward, The War of the Revolution (New York, New York, The MacMillan Company: 1952) p. 94

 

[28] Richard Frothingham History of the Siege of Boston And of the Battles of Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill. Also An Account of the Bunker Hill Monument. With Illustrative Documents (Boston, Massachusetts, Little, Brown and Company, 1873) p. 150

[29] Ibid p. 95

[30] Richard Frothingham History of the Siege of Boston And of the Battles of Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill. Also An Account of the Bunker Hill Monument. With Illustrative Documents (Boston, Massachusetts, Little, Brown and Company, 1873) p. 152

[31] Henry B. Carrington Battles of the American Revolution 1775-1781 (New York, Chicago, and New Orleans: A.S. Barnes & Company, 1876) [Reprint, Promontory Press] p. 110

[32] Richard Frothingham History of the Siege of Boston And of the Battles of Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill. Also An Account of the Bunker Hill Monument. With Illustrative Documents (Boston, Massachusetts, Little, Brown and Company, 1873) p. 152

[33] Henry B. Carrington Battles of the American Revolution 1775-1781 (New York, Chicago, and New Orleans: A.S. Barnes & Company, 1876) [Reprint, Promontory Press] p. 110

 

[34] Quoted in Rupert Furneaux The Pictorial History of the American Revolution: As Told by Eyewitnesses and Participants (Chicago, Illinois: J.G. Ferguson Publishing Company, 1973) p. 59

 

[35] Christopher Ward, The War of the Revolution (New York, New York, The MacMillan Company: 1952) p. 95

 

[36] Quoted in Rupert Furneaux The Pictorial History of the American Revolution: As Told by Eyewitnesses and Participants (Chicago, Illinois: J.G. Ferguson Publishing Company, 1973) p. 60

[37] It should be noted that Ancient Hebrew political state depended on a militia for its national defense. While armies are not biblically impermissible, militias do have Scriptural support for them, and hence it is no surprise that such system of local and citizen militias actually works, and is capable of repelling invaders, as we see from history in the battles of Lexington, Concord, and in this study, Bunker Hill, as well.

[38] Quoted in Richard Frothingham History of the Siege of Boston And of the Battles of Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill. Also An Account of the Bunker Hill Monument. With Illustrative Documents (Boston, Massachusetts, Little, Brown and Company, 1873) p. 153

[39] Christopher Ward, The War of the Revolution (New York, New York, The MacMillan Company: 1952) p. 98

[40] Ibid