Battle of Bunker Hill

:A number of places and things are named for this battle, see: Bunker Hill (disambiguation).

Description of the battle

On the night of June 16, American Colonel William Prescott led 1,500 men onto the peninsula.

Related Topics:
June 16 - William Prescott

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At first Putnam, Prescott, and their engineering officer, Captain Richard Gridley, disagreed as to where they should locate their defense.

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Breed's Hill was viewed as much more defensible, and they decided to locate their primary redoubt there.

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Prescott and his men, using Gridley's outline, began digging a fortification 160 feet (50 m) long and 80 feet (25 m) wide with ditches and earthen walls.

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They added ditch and dike extensions toward the Charles River on their right and began reinforcing a fence running to their left.

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In the early predawn, around 4 am, a sentry on board the HMS Lively was first to spot the new fortification.

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The Lively opened fire, temporarily halting the Americans' work.

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Admiral Graves, on his flagship HMS Somerset, woke irritated by gunfire he hadn't ordered.

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He ordered it stopped, only to reverse himself when he got on deck and saw the works.

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He ordered all 128 guns in the harbor to open up on the American position.

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The broadsides proved largely ineffective, since the ships couldn't elevate their guns enough to reach the fortifications.

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It took almost six hours to organize an infantry force, gather up and inspect the men on parade.

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General Howe was to lead the major assault, drive around the American left flank, and take them from the rear.

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Brigadier General Robert Pigot on the British left flank would lead the direct assault on the redoubt.

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Major John Pitcairn led the flank or reserve force.

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It took several trips in longboats to assemble Howe's forces on the northwest corner of the peninsula.

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On a warm day, with full field packs of about 60 pounds (30 kg), the British were finally ready about two in the afternoon.

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The Americans, seeing this activity, had also called for reinforcements.

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The only troops to get to the forward positions were two New Hampshire regiments of 200 men under John Stark.

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Stark's men took positions along the fence on the left or north end of the American position.

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Since low tide opened a gap along the Mystic River, they quickly extended the fence with a short stone wall to the north.

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Gridley or Stark placed a stake about 30 meters in front of the fence and ordered that no one fire until the regulars passed it.

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But Prescott had been steadily losing men.

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He lost very few to the bombardment, but had ten volunteers to carry every wounded man to the rear.

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Others took advantage of the confusion to join the withdrawal.

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Two generals did join Prescott's force, but both declined command, and simply fought as individuals.

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One of these was Dr. Joseph Warren, the president of the Council and acting head of Massachusetts' revolutionary government.

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The second was Seth Pomeroy.

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By the time the battle started the total involved defenders numbered about 1,400 and they faced 2,600 regulars.

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The first assaults both on the fence line and the redoubt were met with massed fire at close range and repulsed, with heavy British losses.

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The reserve, gathering just north of the town, was also taking casualties due to rifle fire from a company in the town.

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Howe's men reformed on the field and made a second unsuccessful attack at the wall.

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The Americans had lost all fire discipline.

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In traditional battles of the 18th century, companies of men fired, reloaded, and moved on specific orders, as they had been trained.

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After their initial volley, the Americans all fought as individuals, and every man fired as quickly as he could reload and find a target.

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The British withdrew almost to their original positions on the peninsula to regroup.

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The navy, along with artillery from Copp's Hill on the Boston peninsula, fired heated shot into Charlestown.

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All 400 or so buildings and the docks were completely burned, but the snipers withdrew safely.

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The third British assault carried the redoubt, due to a number of factors.

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The reserves were included.

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Both flanks concentrated on the redoubt.

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The Americans ran out of ammunition, reducing the battle to a bayonet fight, and most of the American soldiers' rifles didn't have bayonets.

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