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EMMONS, 47 AND 49 MAIN STREET. \n1S43. \n\nCh *o-. \n\n\nTME NEW YORK] \n\nPUBLIC LIBRARY1 \n\n584207 \n\n••TOM, LlM< *\"■ \nTUDl* .o, .^OATOWt \n\nP. 19«3 \n\n\nEntered, according to act of Congress, in the year 1843, \nBY CHARLES P. EMMONS, \n\nIn the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. \n\n\nSTERFOTYI-ED $>£ ' <~H T^ \n\nGEORGE \\. QtfRTI- \n\nN. ENGLAND TYPE AND !? TEPEDTTPE-l Ot >?.DRY, BOSTON. \n\n\nPRINTED PY DUTTON AND WENTWORTH. \n\n\nPage. \n\n7- \n\n-27 \n\n28- \n\n-87 \n\n88- \n\n-154 \n\n88- \n\n-12S \n\nCONTENTS. \n\nPreliminary Remarks on the Opening \n\nScenes of the American Revolution, \nThe Battle, ...... \n\nDocuments Illustrative of the Battle \nof Bunker's Hill, .... \nPart I. English Documents, . \n\nExtracts from the Orderly Book of \n\nGeneral Howe, . . . 88—92 \nLetter from General Gage to Lord \n\nDartmouth, .... 92 — 98 \nObservations on the above, . 98 — 106 \n\nGeneral Burgoyne to Lord Stanley, 106 — 110 \nObservations on the above, . 110 — 114 \n\nLetter from a British Surgeon, . 114 \n\nLetter from a British Officer, . 115 — 116 \nLetter from a British Officer, . 117 — 119 \nLetter from a Merchant in Boston, 119 — 123 \nLetter :bf H. Huiton, OomWssioher, 123— 128 \n\n129—154 \n129—131 \n131—139 \n140—142 \n142—145 \n145—147 \n148—150 \n151—154 \n155—172 \n\n\nPart II. American Documents, \nCommittee' o\"Ssi 2 t)V I r. \nAccount sent to/England, .. \nAccount to (p$Ag£ess,,> « .• ; \nAccount of the Engagp.m«ivt, \nLetter from Colonel Stark, \nLetter from Mr. Isaac Lothrop, \nLetter from Rev. Dr. Eliot, \nThe Monument, .... \n\n\nPRELIMINARY REMARKS \n\nUPON THE \n\nOPENING SCENES \n\n\nAMERICAN REVOLUTION \n\n\nThe important relation which the Battle of \nBunker Hill bears to the whole war of the Amer- \nican Revolution, requires a brief statement of the \ncauses that led to that memorable conflict. Pro- \nposals in successive British Parliaments, for the \ntaxation of the American colonists, without allow- \ning them a representation in those Parliaments, first \nopened the issue of strife. That there were those, \nespecially in the New England colonies, who had \nfor some time previous cherished a lurking spirit \nof opposition to any acts of sovereignty which \nGreat Britain might here attempt to exercise, may \nnot be denied. The mother country was bur- \ndened with a debt, which, though trifling compared \nwith that which now weighs upon her, was then \nfelt to be grievous ; and it was not strange, that, \namid the various projects for meeting its annual \nobligations,\" the hope of a revenue from America \n\n\n8 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\nshould suggest itself. The taxing of America \nwas first moved in the British Parliament by Mr. \nGrenville, in March, 1764. The result of his \nmotion was the Stamp Act, imposing a tax upon \nall notes, bonds, papers, &c, which passed the \nHouse of Commons by a vote of 250 to 50, and \nthe House of Lords, without debate or dissent, \nand received the approval of George III., March \n22, 1765. \n\nThe object of this delay of a whole year be- \ntween the motion and its passage, was to give the \ncolonists an opportunity to suggest some other \nmode of raising the tax, which should be prefera- \nble to them. A tax of some kind they must sub- \nmit to, and if they did not like to have the impo- \nsition attached to their legal instruments, bills, \nreceipts and private contracts, they might propose \nsome other method. This show of indulgence \nwas represented to the colony agents in London, \nas establishing a precedent by which their con- \nstituents might demand, henceforward, the right \nof being consulted before any tax was imposed \nupon them. But this gilded bait did not tempt. \nThe reception of the news of the passage of this \nact was followed by remonstrances and petitions \nfrom a Continental Congress assembled at New \nYork, and by various demonstrations of popular \nexcitement. Handbills printed with funereal dec- \norations around them, the tolling of muffled bells, \nand the construction and ridicule of the effigies of \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 9 \n\nobnoxious officers, testified to the deep indignation \nof the people. The stamp agents were compelled \nto resign, and the act was wholly disregarded. \nThe act was repealed the next year by a new \nadministration ; Pitt having triumphed in the \nHouse of Commons by denying the right of the \nParliament to impose a tax on the colonies. The \nrepeal was, however, accompanied by a declara- \ntory act, maintaining the power and right of the \nkingdom to bind the colonies in all cases what- \nsoever. This declaration, being only a threat, \nwas, for the time being, harmless, and was winked \nat on this side of the water, as a salvo to British \npride. \n\nIn 1767, under the Townshend administration, \nseveral measures, most obnoxious to the colonists, \nwere devised in succession, — such as import du- \nties on paper, glass, paints and teas, a list of civil \nofficers to be named by the crown, with salaries \nfixed at the pleasure of the monarch, a requisition \nfor providing articles of food and clothing for the \nsoldiers, at the expense of the colonies, together \nwith the establishment of a custom-house and a \nboard of commissioners, on tyrannical principles. \nThese measures were all followed by intense ex- \ncitements of the people, and led to protective com- \nbinations. In 1770, Lord North brought about a \nrepeal of the new duties, with the exception of \nthat upon tea, which was retained, as it was \nalleged, for the purpose of upholding the disputed \n\n\n10 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\nright of taxation. \" The Boston Massacre \" of \nthe 5th March, as it was most improperly called, \nin which three of the inhabitants were killed and \nfive others wounded, in an affray with the soldiers, \nwell nigh maddened the populace. In this matter \nthe blame was unquestionably on our side. How \nfar it is palliated by the honest indignation of the \npeople of Boston at the presence of the military in \ntheir streets, is a question open for individual \njudgment. From that time there was a continued \nsuccession of insurrections and hostilities. \n\nAt every stage in the offensive proceedings \nagainst the colonies, there were those among the \nlegislators and the people of Great Britain who \nopposed the measures of the government, and pre- \ndicted the disastrous results which at last mingled \nin the issue. Our former governor, Pownall, whose \njudgment and experience should have given au- \nthority to his words, uttered in the House of Com- \nmons a prophecy which the war fulfilled. \n\nAn act of parliament, in 1764, in anticipation \nof extreme measures, had empowered the king to \nstation a military force in any province, and to \nquarter it upon the people. This act was not im- \nmediately enforced, but in 1767, some troops of \nthe royal artillery arrived in Boston, and Gov- \nernor Bernard made provision for their support at \nthe castle, at the expense of the province, without \nauthority thus to vote away money. He dissolved \nthe General Court, and refused to call it together \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 11 \n\nagain. The people of Boston and of the neigh- \nboring towns formed and re-established their com- \nbinations against the importation and consumption \nof British goods, of tea, of foreign fruit, and arti- \ncles of mourning apparel, recommending likewise \ngreat prudence and economy. \n\nAs the people were deprived of their General \nCourt, a convention of delegates from more than a \nhundred towns assembled in Boston, in September, \n1768, and sat several days. They requested the \ngovernor to call together the General Court, but \nhe refused. Their measures were judicious and \ncalm, but resolute ; they advised the observance \nof a day of fasting and prayer, and that the peo- \nple should provide themselves with fire-arms. At \nthe close of the convention two more regiments \narrived. They were quartered in Boston, in de- \nfiance of the earnest objections of the people and \nthe council. They marched through the town in \nbattle-array, and occupied the common, the state- \nhouse, the court-house, and Faneuil Hall. The \npeople looked on in amazement, but they did not \nfear. \n\nGovernor Bernard was re-called to England \nAugust 1, 1769, and was succeeded by Lieutenant \nGovernor Hutchinson, who followed up the mea- \nsures of his predecessor, delaying at his pleasure \nthe convoking of the General Court, and then ar- \nbitrarily summoning it to assemble at Cambridge. \nThere were now about two thousand British troops \n\n\n12 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\nin Boston. As they had been kept for a time in \nclose quarters, the people had not received from \nthem any provocations beyond that of their un- \nwelcome presence. But in the winter of 1770 \nthey had been allowed to walk about the streets \nin little squads, and their language and conduct \nwere often insulting. It might have been foreseen \nthat outrages like that upon the 5th of March \nwould ensue. The resolute remonstrances of the \npeople procured the removal of the troops from \nBoston to the castle. Discontent and bold resis- \ntance gradually ripened the elements of civil strife, \nand it was evident that a great crisis approached. \nThe destruction of three cargoes of tea, belonging \nto the East India Company, in Boston harbor, in \n1773, was a plain evidence of the determination \nof the people to resist the duty which Lord \nNorth's bill had left to be exacted on that import. \nAt the session of the General Court, in May, 1773, \na committee was appointed to open a correspon- \ndence with the committees of other colonies on \npolitical subjects, and it was this step which led \nto the convention of a Continental Congress at \nPhiladelphia. The people had petitioned the \nKing for the immediate removal of Governor \nHutchinson, who in letters to England had made \nunfair and prejudicial representations of the state \nof things in this colony. He sailed for England \nin June, 1774. His house had been destroyed \nby a mob, and his property and papers scattered \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 13 \n\nto the winds. He was succeeded by General \nGage, the Commander in chief of the British \nforces in America. \n\nIf England had not then a Stuart for a monarch, \nshe had a Stuart ministry. Infatuation seems to \nbe the only appropriate word by which to desig- \nnate their galling accumulation of abuses and \nrestrictions upon the colonists, who had already \ngiven sufficient evidence of their indomitable reso- \nlution to resist. Next came the appointment of the \nGovernor's Counsellors by the King, instead of by \nthe Court, as heretofore, and finally the climax of \nministerial delusion, in which, upon June 1, 1774, \na parliamentary bill declared that Boston Port \nshould be closed against all commerce and navi- \ngation, and be in a state of blockade. The pas- \nsage of this bill was procured under the expecta- \ntion that the other ports of this and the other col- \nonies would delight in the humiliation of Boston, \nand selfishly seize the opportunity thus put into \ntheir power of drawing commerce to themselves. \nHere again did the ministry delude itself by \nanother gross miscalculation. The effect of the \nbill was wholly opposite to their expectations. \nNumberless copies of it were quickly multiplied \nand circulated over the continent, having, as Burke \nsaid, trie inflammatory effect which the poets ascribe \nto the fury's torch. Copies of the bill, printed on \nmourning paper, with a black border, were hawked \nin the streets of New York and Boston, under the \n2 \n\n\n14 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\n^title of \" a barbarous, cruel, bloody and inhuman \nmurder.\" In other places, the populace being \ncalled together by placards, burnt the bill with \ngreat solemnity. The General Court of Massa- \nchusetts recommended to the other colonies to \nsuspend all commercial intercourse with Great \nBritain, and formed a solemn league and covenant \nagainst the use of English goods, though General \nGage threatened all the subscribers of it with \ntransportation to England for treason. \n\nWithin four months after the receipt of the \nBoston Port bill, the deputies of twelve provinces, \nrepresenting three millions of people, were con- \nvened at Philadelphia. Loyal and constitutional \nsentiments there found an honorable reception, \nand conciliatory measures on the part of Britain \nwould even then have been of avail. Yet it was \neasy to see that allegiance to the throne was a \nword which was fast becoming of an empty sound \nthroughout the continent. The sufferings to \nwhich the people of Boston were subjected were \nrelieved by generous contributions throughout the \ncountry. General Gage removed the Court from \nBoston to Salem, where it met by adjournment \non June 7th ; but on the 17th he sent his messen- \nger to announce its dissolution. The messenger \nwas shut out of doors, while the Court, before \nobeying the summons, chose their first delegates \nto the General Congress, dishing, Samuel and \nJohn Adams, Paine and Bowdoin. About this \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 15 \n\ntime independent military companies were formed* \nin Boston. General Gage began to assume de- \nspotic power, as the successive encroachments upon \nthe chartered liberties of the people brought on the \nunavoidable issue. He ordered military stores \nfrom New York ; he collected powder from the \nneighboring towns ; sent out agents to survey the \ncountry, and erected strong fortifications on Boston \nleek. This last measure, which amounted to a \nshutting out of all intercourse between the people \nin Boston and the environs, by land as well as by \nsea, was regarded as an outrage which ought not \nto be endured. But he alleged that the object of \nthe fortifications was to prevent the frequent de- \nsertions of his soldiers. \n\nDelegates from the different towns met at Salem \nin October, and there constituted the Provincial \nCongress of Massachusetts. A committee of this \nbody was directed to ascertain the character and \namount of the military stores in the province, and \nto encourage military discipline. The taxes were \nturned from the authorised provincial treasurer to \na new officer then appointed ; a Committee of \nSafety, with executive authority, was chosen to \nact after the adjournment, and three general offi- \ncers, Colonels Ward, Thomas and Pomeroy, were \ninvested with the command of the provincial mili- \ntary. Before that Congress met again, another \nwarning voice was lifted in solemn tones to coun- \nsel the mother country. On the 20th of January, \n\n\n16 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\n1775, Lord Chatham, after long retirement and \nsevere bodily suffering, rose in the House of Lords. \nHe foretold the event of these ruinous measures ; \nhe implored the nation to pause and consider, and \nthen proposed that a humble request be made to \nthe King to require General Gage to evacuate \nBoston. But the voice of warning was not heeded. \nThe Provincial Congress met again by adjourn- \nment in February, 1775, organized their commit- \ntees, arranged their correspondence, and provided \nmilitary preparations and stores, designating Wor- \ncester and Concord as places of deposit. General \nGage was well informed of all these proceedings, \nand hearing of some stores at Salem or Danvers, \nhe sent one hundred and fifty men to seize them. \nBut the attempt was rendered fruitless by resist- \nance on the way. \n\nThere was a third session of the Congress in \nMarch, when vigorous measures were adopted. \nLarge companies were organized, composed of \nmen who held themselves ready for service at a \nminute's warning. More British troops arrived, \nand General Gage was equally determined to pur- \nsue his blind and misguided measures. Nor were \nlegislative enactments the only grievances of which \nthe people complained ; insults and indignities of \nvarious kinds were offered them by officers and \nsoldiers, which annoyed and vexed the citizens. \nThe 16th of March had been consecrated as a day \nof fasting and prayer by the Provincial Congress. \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 17 \n\nWhile the society were assembling in the church \nat West Boston, the regulars pitched two marquee \ntents within ten yards of the house, and continued \nwith fifes and drums to disturb the service. At \nthe commemoration of the 5th of March massacre, \nin the Old South Church, the patriot Samuel \nAdams courteously placed about forty British \nofficers, who came to hear Warren's Oration, in \nthe best seats, and they listened in quietness. At \nits close, Adams moved that an orator be chosen \nfor the ensuing 5th March, to commemorate \" the \nbloody and horrid massacre, perpetrated by a party \nof soldiers under the command of Captain T. \nPreston.\" His motion was received with hisses \nand cries from the officers, when great confusion \nensued. \n\nOn the 8th of the month, a countryman (Thomas \nDitson) from Billerica, while buying a musket in \nBoston, was seized by the regulars and covered \nwith tar and feathers. He was carried through \nthe streets on a truck, guarded by twenty soldiers \nwith fixed bayonets, a label being attached to his \nback, inscribed \" American Liberty, or a Specimen \nof Democracy,\" while a promiscuous crowd of \nofficers, negroes and sailors followed, and the \ndrums and fifes played \" Yankee Doodle,\" a tune \nused by the British in ridicule of the provincials. \nThe selectmen of Billerica sent a remonstrance to \nGeneral Gage, and told hirn if it did not answer \nthe purpose, they should \" hereafter use a different \n2* \n\n\n18 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\nstyle from that of petition and complaint.\" Colo- \nnel Hancock's house was twice assaulted during \nthe month, when the fence and the windows were \ndestroyed by the soldiers. On the night of the \n18th the Providence coach was attacked, as it \nentered the town, and its passengers were abused, \nbut the driver, leaping from his seat, inflicted a \nsevere castigation upon the British Captain Gore. \nThese are but specimens of the many riots, out- \nrages and indignities, which maddened the people \nof the town and of the province. \n\nSuch were the ministerial enactments, the pub- \nlic grievances and the military outrages, which \nwere preparing the way for a civil war. It was \nevident that only an occasion was necessary to \nconfront the foreign invaders, and the citizens of \nthe soil, in two opposing armies. That occasion \npresented itself on the 19th of April, when Gen- \neral Gage, without provocation, warrant or justifi- \ncation, sent a body of troops to Concord to seize \nupon the military stores there deposited. Those \ntroops on their way, going beyond their orders, \nwrong as they were, made an attack upon a few \nmilitia-men at Lexington, and then ensued the \nfight at Concord. It was a most inglorious ex- \nploit for his majesty's regulars, for as the country \npeople had good warning of their purpose, it was \nbut poorly accomplished, and they were forced to \nretreat, marking their homeward way by a line \nof killed and wounded, shot from the shelter of \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 19 \n\nhouses, woods, wnlls and fences, by the incensed \ncountry people. That dastardly enterprise was \nnot even sanctioned by ministerial authority, when \nthe news reached England, though an attempt \nwas made to charge upon the provincials the sin \nof striking the first offensive blow. The Congress \nof the colony instituted inquiries and procured \ncertified affidavits, which proved that both at Lex- \nington and at Concord the first fire was discharged \nby the British. That aggression upon the liber- \nties of the people was equally unauthorized and \nexasperating. On the 22d of the month the Pro- \nvincial Congress again assembled, voted to raise \nat once thirteen thousand men, to rally at Cam- \nbridge and the neighborhood, and asked aid from \nthe other provinces, to which Connecticut, Rhode \nIsland and New Hampshire responded. The forts, \nmagazines and arsenals were secured for the \ncountry. Then, for the first time, the title of \nenemies was given to the British, and General \nGage was denounced as the agent of tyranny and \noppression. An account of the battle at Lexing- \nton was sent to England, and an address, closing \nthus : \" Appealing to heaven for the justice of our \ncause, we determine to die or be free.\" \n\nBy advice received from Lord Dartmouth, the \nhead of the war department, General Gage issued \na proclamation on the 12th of June, in which he \ndeclared the discontents to be in a state of rebellion, \noffered full pardon to all, with the exception of \n\n\n20 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\nHancock and Adams, who would lay down their \narms and bow to his authority, and announced \nthat martial law was now in force. \n\nThis proclamation, issued on the first day of \nthe week, was to be illustrated by a fearful com- \nmentary before another Sabbath came. For we \nhave thus entered upon that week in our history \nwhen was fought the battle which has made that \ngreen summit the first altar of our country's free- \ndom. \n\nOf the fifteen thousand troops then gathered, by \nthe cry of war, at Cambridge and Roxbury, under \nthe command of General Ward, about ten thou- \nsand belonged to Massachusetts, and the remainder \nto New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Connecti- \ncut. They constituted an irregular and undisci- \nplined army, without accoutrements, or any other \nuniform than their working suits. Recruits and \nstragglers were continually coming in. Yet many \nof those provincial soldiers, though undisciplined \nby any thing like regular service, were by no \nmeans unused to the severities and obligations of \na military life, having had experience in the Indian \nand French wars. One regiment of artillery, \nwith nine field-pieces, had been raised in Massa- \nchusetts, and put under command of the famous \nengineer, Colonel Gridley, but it was not yet \nthoroughly organized. A self-constituted Provin- \ncial Congress discharged the legislative functions, \nand a Committee of Safety, elected by the Congress* \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 21 \n\nfilled the executive place of governor and council, \nand confined their functions chiefly to military- \ndirections. \n\nThere were in fact four independent armies \nthen united in resistance to the foreign enemy. \nThe forces then gathered in the neighborhood did \nnot constitute a national army, for there was then \nno nation to own them ; they were not under the \nmthority of the Continental Congress, for the au- \nthority of that Congress was not as yet acknowl- \nedged ; nor had that Congress as yet recognised \nthose forces. Neither were the troops from Con- \nnecticut, Rhode Island and New Hampshire, sub- \nject to the command of General Ward, save as \nthe friendly purpose which led them to volunteer \ntheir arms in defence of a sister colony, would be \naccompanied by the courtesy that would make \nthem subordinate allies. These independent \narmies could act in concert only by yielding them- \nselves to the influence of the common spirit which \ncalled them together. General Ward was a judi- \ncious and conscientious patriot, had served the \ncolony in high civil and judicial stations, and in \nthe French war, in which he was a Lieutenant \nColonel, had earned some military experience and \nfame. Lieutenant General Thomas, who accepted \nhis commission on May 27, was distinguished for \ntalents, patriotism and military reputation ; he \nwas second in command. General Pomeroy, like- \nwise famous in the border war, continued to serve \n\n\n22 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\nunder the appointment of the Provincial Congress. \nGeneral Putnam preceded his Connecticut troops, \nin hurrying- to the scene of war, on the news of the \nbattle of Lexington. His men soon followed him \nwith like enthusiasm. The New Hampshire \ntroops, on their arrival at Medford, made choice \nof Colonel Stark as their leader. General Green \ncommanded a regiment from Rhode Island. \n\nThe semicircle of headlands, slopes, points and \neminences, united by green levels and extending \nover ten or twelve miles, which we may now see \nfrom these summits, in all the beauty of its sum- \nmer garb, was then covered by the wide-spread \nwings of our citizen army. A part of Colonel Ger- \nrish's regiment from Essex and Middlesex, and a \ndetachment of New Hampshire troops, stationed \non the hills of Chelsea, formed the tip of its left \nwing, and all along the eastern sea-board to Cape \nAnn and Portsmouth, were watchful spies on the \nalert to spread the alarm, if the British should at- \ntempt an entrance at any of the ports. Colonels \nReed and Stark, next in the line, were stationed \nat Medford with their New Hampshire regiments. \nLechmere's Point, at East Cambridge, was guard- \ned against a hostile landing, to which it offered \ngreat facilities, by parts of Colonel Little's and \nother regiments. General Ward, with the main \nbody of about 9,000 troops, and four companies of \nartillery, occupied Cambridge ; while all the points \nof high land, the farms, and the main roads, were \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 23 \n\ncautiously defended. Lieutenant General Thomas, \n-with 5,000 troops from Massachusetts, Connecticut \nand Rhode Island, with three or four companies of \nartillery, constituted the right wing of the army at \nHoxbury and Dorchester. \n\nHere was a wide extent of space, approachable \n\"by land only at Roxbury neck, where the British \nlines were strongly entrenched, assailable at seve- \nTal points by armed ships and floating batteries, \nbut protected to a great degree by shoal and tide \nwaters, swamps, and intersecting creeks. The \narmy was wholly voluntary in its organization, the \nsoldiers having enlisted for different periods, de- \npending for their daily food upon the provisions \nsent from their several towns. Subordination and \nobedience to their officers were secured and yield- \ned by their respect for those whose names were \nfamiliar to them, as associated with magnanimity, \nenterprise and bravery. \n\nSuch was the constitution and the disposition of \nthe American army when the provincials found \nthemselves in the singular position of besieging \ntheir own chief town of Boston. That little penin- \nsula was thus completely invested and hemmed in. \nSeveral of its inhabitants remained there from dif- \nferent motives ; some as devoted loyalists, some as \ntimid neutrals, some as spies, to watch each hos- \ntile movement and to communicate it to the colo- \nnists. Some of these last, together with many \ndeserters, would occasionally cross the water by \n\n\n24 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\nswimming, or in boats, or pass the Roxbury lines \nand enter the American camp by night. Others \nthere were whose anxiety for their property induc- \ned them to continue in Boston. After hostilities \nhad commenced, General Gage of course consider- \ned the citizens as prisoners. By the spies and \ndeserters our officers generally received full infor- \nmation of all that occurred in Boston during the \nwhole time of its investment by the British. That \nword British had now become synonymous with \nenemy, and though the regular army encamped in \nthe capital might despise the undisciplined multi- \ntude which kept it in such close quarters, it was \ncompelled to regard its opponents as powerful and \nformidable. \n\nAt the time of the battle at Lexington, there \nwere about 4,000 British troops in Boston. The \nnumber was increased to more than 10,000 before \nthe action in this town. The best disciplined and \nmost experienced troops in the kingdom, many of \nthem freshly laurelled in the recent wars on the \nEuropean continent, under the command of officers \nequally distinguished, composed the invading \narmy. Gage, the Governor and Commander in \nChief, had lone resided in America, and had mar- \nried here. He came originally as a lieutenant \nunder Braddock, and was with that general when \nhe received his mortal wound. He had been \nGovernor of Montreal, had succeeded General \nAmherst in command of the British forces on this \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. «SO \n\ncontinent, and Hutchinson as Governor of Massa- \nchusetts. He had constantly and vigorously favor- \ned the oppressive measures of the ministry which \nbrought on the war. He had strongly fortified \nBoston by a double line of intrenchments crossing \nthe neck, and by batteries there, and also upon the \nCommon, commanding Roxbury and Cambridge, \nupon Copp's Hill, commanding Charlestown, upon \nFort Hill and the northern extremity of the town, \ncommanding the harbor, and upon West Boston \nPoint. There were, besides, at least twenty-five \narmed vessels in the harbor. To the inhabitants \nremaining in Boston, the population of which, in- \ndependent of the military, was then about 20,000, \nthe troops behaved in an insulting and tyrannical \nmanner. \n\nThus confronted, both armies seemed alike con- \nfident of success, and anxious for a trial. The \nBritish were naturally mortified at their condition \nas besieged. They looked with anxiety to the \nheights of Charlestown and Dorchester, and were \nforming measures to occupy them, having decided \nto put them in force on the 18th of June. They \nregarded their opponents as rude, untaught, and \ncowardly farmers, and were nettled at being kept \nat bay by an army clothed in calico frocks and \ncarrying fowling-pieces. \n\nThe provincials did not feel their lack of disci- \npline as they should have done. They were rest- \nless under restraint, they were used to skirmishes, \n3 \n\n\n26 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\nand thought such would be the contest before them. \nYet in the Council of War, and in the Committee \nof Safety, there was a difference of opinion as to \nthe measures to be pursued. If the heights of \nCharlestown were once occupied by the provin- \ncials, they must be retained against a constant fire, \nwhich could not be answered, as there were but \neleven barrels of powder in the camp, and these \ncontained one-sixth of all that was in the province. \nGeneral Ward, and Joseph Warren, who was \nChairman of the Committee of Safety, and had \nbeen elected Major General on the 14th of June, \nwere at first doubtful as to the expediency of in- \ntrenching on Bunker's Hill. General Putnam was \nearnest in advocating the measure, saying, \" the \nAmericans are not at all afraid of their heads, \nthough very much afraid of their legs ; if you cover \nthese they will fight forever.\" Pomeroy coincided \nwith Putnam ; he was willing to attack the enemy \nwith five cartridges to a man, for he had been ac- \ncustomed in hunting, with three charges of powder, \nto bring home two or three deer. Daring enter- \nprise prevailed in the Council, and it was resolved \nthat the heights of Charlestown, which had been \nreconnoitred the month before by Colonels Gridley \nand Henshaw, and Mr. Devens, should be fortified. \nOn the fifteenth of June, the Committee of Safety, \nby a secret vote, which was not recorded till the \n19th, advised the taking possession of Bunker's \nHill, and of Dorchester heights. On the next day \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 27 \n\nthe Provincial Congress, as a counterblast to \nGeneral Gage's proclamation, by which Hancock \nand Adams had been excepted from the proffer of \na general amnesty, issued a like instrument, in \nwhich General Gage and Admiral Graves were the \nscape-goats. \n\nIt was amid the full splendor, luxuriance, and \nheat of our summer, when rich crops were waving \nupon all the hills and valleys around us, that the \nCouncil of War decided to carry into execution the \nvote of the Committee of Safety. We may omit \nthe question as to the prudence or discretion of the \nmeasure, as being equally difficult of decision and \nunimportant, save as the misgivings of those who \npredicted that the deficiency of ammunition would \nendanger a failure, were proved by the result to \nbe well grounded. \n\n\nTHE BATTLE \n\n\nOn Friday, June 16th, 1775, the very day upon \nwhich Washington was officially informed, in the \nCongress at Philadelphia, of his appointment to \nthe command of the Continental army about to be \nenlisted, General Ward issued orders to Colonels \nPrescott and Bridge, and to the commandant of \nColonel Frye's regiment, to have their men ready \nand prepared for immediate service. They were \nall yeomen from Middlesex and Essex counties, \nand were habituated to the hard labors of a farm \nbeneath a summer's sun. Captain Gridley's new \ncompany of artillery, and one hundred and twenty \nmen from the Connecticut regiment under the \ncommand of Captain Knowlton, were included in \nthe order. Colonel Gridley accompanied as chief \nengineer. Three companies of Bridge's regiment \ndid not go, but as small parties of other regiments \nfell into the detachment, it consisted of from one \nthousand to one thousand two hundred men. \nThey took with them provisions for only one meal. \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 29 \n\nColonel Prescott was ordered to take possession \nof, to fortify, and to defend, Bunker's Hill, but to \nkeep the purpose of the expedition secret; nor was \nit known to the men, until, on arriving at Charles- \ntown neck, they found the wagons laden with in- \ntrenching tools. The detachment was drawn up \nupon Cambridge Common, in front of General \nWard's head quarters, after sunset, when prayers \nwere offered by Reverend Dr. Langdon, President \nof the College. About nine o'clock the expedition \nwas in motion, Prescott with two sergeants carry- \ning dark lanterns, leading the way. The Colonel, \nexpecting warm service, carried with him a linen \ncoat or bannian, which he wore during the engage- \nment. Thus it was that in the accounts of the \nbattle given by some of the British soldiers, the \nAmerican commander was described as \" a farmer \ndressed in his frock.\" \n\nA brief sketch of the natural features and posi- \ntion of the scene may aid the imagination of the \nreader. The peninsula of Charlestown is in \nshape not unlike a pear, as an early settler upon \nit described it : the stem uniting it to the main- \nland, the end extending towards the harbor. Two \nsmall hills, the Burial Hill and the Town Hill, \nand two larger summits, Breed's Hill and Bun- \nker's Hill, swell out from its surface. The south- \neastern slope of Breed's Hill divides the waters \nof the bay into two broad rivers, which indent \nthe shores, and just beyond the western base of \n3* \n\n\n30 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\nBunker's Hill approach so near each other as to \nallow scarcely four hundred feet of breadth to the \nneck of land which unites the peninsula to the \nneighboring- country. The Mystic, on the north, \nwashes with its double channel the farther shore. \nOn the south, the opposite side of the mouth of the \nCharles, which, in its narrowest span, is about \nthree hundred yards across, we see the now \ncrowded peninsula of Boston, similarly environed \nby the waters of the sea, and united to the main- \nland at Roxbury by a narrow neck. The com- \nmunication between Boston and Charlestown was \nthen maintained by a ferry. A sloping eminence \nin Boston, at the point where it approaches nearest \nto Charlestown, is called Copp's Hill, and was \nused as a burial-place. Thickly studded with \ngraves then, as now, there was planted the battery \nwhence came the missiles for the burning of \nCharlestown. Breed's Hill is thus the part of \nthe peninsula which approaches nearest to Boston, \nbeing less than a mile north of Copp's Hill. \nBunker's Hill lies a few rods north of a line \ndrawn westward from Breed's Hill. The relative \nfeatures of the two summits, the highest points of \nwhich are one hundred and thirty rods apart, have \nnot been as yet essentially changed. Bunker's \nHill, the superior elevation of which has taken the \nfame from the summit where the real action was \nfought — rises to the height of one hundred and \ntwelve feet. Breed's Hill, which bears the monu- \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 31 \n\nmerit, though it has been robbed of its fame, rises \nto the height of about sixty-two feet. North and \neastward of the two summits the land slopes, with \noccasional irregularities, down to the Mystic shore. \nA point of land bearing east, from Breed's Hill, \nand extending towards the bay, is called Morton's \nPoint, and was at the time of the battle crowned \nwith an elevation, called Morton's Hill, This \nlittle summit, which was about thirty-five feet in \nheight, and was the place where the first detach- \nment of the enemy landed and formed for the at- \ntack, has been nearly removed. Between Breed's \nHill and Morton's Hill, much of the ground was \nsloughy, and occupied by several brick-kilns. \nBreed's Hill was then chiefly used by house- \nholders in Charlestown for pasturage, and was \nintersected by some fences. Towards Morton's \nPoint some patches of ground were, on the day of \nthe battle, covered with tall waving grass, ripe \nfor the scythe, while farther back, on the margin \nof the Mystic, at the base of the two principal \nsummits, were fine crops of hay, just mown. The \nfences, and tall unmown grass, which were of \ngreat advantage to the Americans in their station- \nary defences, were grievous impediments and \nannoyances to the British in their advances. The \nedifices of the town were gathered around the \npresent square, and extended along the main \nstreet to the neck. Two roads united at the neck, \nthe one leading over Winter Hill to Medford, the \n\n\n32 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\nother to Cambridge, the latter being low and \nmarshy, and exposed to missiles from Boston, and \nfrom shipping in the river. \n\nThe order which Prescott received designated \nBunker's Hill as the position to be taken, and in \nthe account of the battle afterwards prepared by \nthe Massachusetts Congress it is said that Breed's \nHill was fortified by mistake. Here undoubtedly \nwe must begin to make allowances for that confu- \nsion which marked the proceedings of that event- \nful day, and which originated in the necessary \nhaste with which all the measures were concerted \nand executed. The forcible occupation of the \nheights of Charlestown was designed on a sudden \nemergency, for the purpose of forestalling a con- \ncerted plan of the enemy then confined in Boston. \nIt would be in vain for us, therefore, to undertake \nto reason upon the supposition of any more defi- \nnite object than this, of taking the start of the \nenemy. With the scanty ammunition and artil- \nlery of the Americans, and the few measured \nhours of operation in which they might expect to \nwork undiscovered, a fortification of Bunker's \nHill, so far from Boston, would scarcely have \neffected their purpose, as it would not have pre- \nvented the landing of the British from boats, and \nthe occupation by them of Breed's Hill, if this \nlatter summit had been left wholly undefended. \nFor all purposes of restraining and annoying the \nenemy in Boston, Breed's Hill offered superior \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 33 \n\nadvantages. The Americans have never referred \nto their works in this town as a specimen of the \nmanner in which they laid their plans. Dorches- \nter Heights upon the other side, at the sight of \nwhich, when day broke, the enemy thought it wise \nto take to their ships, would be rather selected by \nus for such a specimen. \n\nThe detachment from Cambridge, on the night \nof the 16th of June, when it had reached this side \nof the neck was for a time undecided as to the \nposition to be taken. The moments, however, \nwere too precious for deliberation, though many \nwere spent upon it. It was only after repeated \nand urgent warnings from the engineer that longer \ndelay would nullify all their labors, that the works \nwere commenced upon Breed's Hill, when the \nclocks had announced the midnight hour. The \nhighest part of the summit was selected, and \nthither the simple intrenching tools, gathered on \nthe spur of the moment, were speedily carried. \n\nThe intrenchments consisted of a redoubt and a \nbreastwork, formed entirely of the earth heaped \nby the spade. The redoubt, of which the monu- \nment now occupies the centre, was eight rods \nsquare ; the southern side, running parallel with \nthe main street, was constructed with one pro- \njecting and two entering angles. On a line with \nthe eastern side, which faced the present navy- \nyard, was the breastwork, extending from the re- \ndoubt nearly four hundred feet upon the brow and \n\n\n34 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\ndown the slope of the hill towards the Mystic ; \nthe sally port opened upon the interval between \nthe redoubt and the breastwork. This interval, \nthat is, the space between the beginning of the \nbreastwork and the corner of the redoubt, was \ndefended by a blind, but the sally port, the outlet \non the northern face of the redoubt, was not pro- \ntected, either within or outside. Probably the \nintention was to have extended the breastwork \ndown the whole length of the hill, had time per- \nmitted ; but, instead of wondering at the incom- \npleteness of the works, we are rather impressed \nwith amazement at the results which were brought \nabout in four hours of toil. Colonel Gridley \nplanned the works, which exhibited an equal \nmeasure of military science and of Yankee inge- \nnuity. No vestige of the redoubt now remains, it \nhaving been entirely obliterated in the process of \nlaying the foundation of the monument. A small \nportion of the breastwork is distinctly visible, as \ncausing a slight protuberance in the soil which \nhas never been ploughed. The intrenchments \nwhich we now see lying a few rods west of the \nmonument, are remains of the fortifications made \nby the British army, which was in possession of \nthe ground for nine months after the battle. \nTheir fortifications upon both summits, which \noccupied several weeks in their construction, have \noften been carelessly taken by superficial observers \nfor the American works raised in four hours of \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 35 \n\ndarkness. Coming generations will regret, as \nmany of the present generation do, that the battle- \nground has been so disfigured and marred by the \nsale of all but a small portion of the hill, for house \nlots. Still, the natural features of the peninsula \nare such that they can never be obliterated to an \nextent which will deny to a visiter some conception \nof the fearful scene which has made the ground \nfamous. The erection of the Belgic mound on \nthe field of Waterloo, causing the removal of a \nridge of earth, has done as much injury there, as \nthe sale of house lots here. \n\nThough the hands which spaded the bulwarks \nof earth upon Breed's Hill on the night of Friday, \nJune 16th, were used to daily toil, and brought to \ntheir unwonted midnight task the most unflinch- \ning courage and determination, it was still a work \nof dreadful anxiety. Besides the battery on \nGopp's Hill, there was another in close proximity \nto Charlestown and to the road from Cambridge, \nerected on Barton's Point, at the foot of Leverett \nstreet, in Boston. It was a bright star-light night \nof midsummer, when the long hours of day \nalmost deny an interval to the darkness, and we \nexpect each moment after twilight in the west to \nbehold the grey of morning in the east. Probably \nhad the distance to Boston across the water been \none rod less, the midnight laborers would have \nbeen discovered. Cooper, in his admirable tale \nof Lionel Lincoln, which is remarkably faithful \n\n\n36 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\nto history in most of its details, has represented \nthe sounds of the work as audible, at least as \noccasional and smothered tokens of some secret \nenterprise, to the guard on Copp's Hill. It may \nhave been so, but no proof of it appears. A guard \nwas stationed on the Charlestown shore nearest \nto Boston, to anticipate any movement of the \nenemy. Prescott himself went there in company \nwith our late Governor Brooks, then a major in \nBridge's regiment, and heard from the enemy's \nsentries, when relieving guard, the cry, \" All 's \nwell.\" He returned to his works upon the hill, \nand after another interval, thinking it impossible \nthat the enemy could be so dull of hearing, he \nwent down to the shore again, and finding all \nsecure, he recalled the guard, as their hands \nwere needed even more than their ears. The \nmoments may have passed rapidly, yet they \nmust have left space for thought ; and then those \nearnest patriots, knowing full well to what a ser- \nvice the light of day would introduce them, \ncould not but call before their minds, their homes, \ntheir wives and children, and striking the \"balance \nbetween their private joys and their public rights, \nresolve that they must fight. The resolve must \nhave been deeply formed, for it was cherished \nand acted upon through a day of horrors which \nthey could not have anticipated. The midnight \nwork went on, and those burdened moments \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 37 \n\nsecured the results of long years of liberty and \nprosperity to a nation. \n\nThere was a scene for the imagination to pic- \nture. Even the narrow space occupied by the \nriver's bed was wider than the distance between \nthose midnight laborers and their enemies. Five \narmed vessels then floated in the stream, and the \nBoston shore was guarded by a belt of sentinels. \nThe Glasgow frigate, with twenty guns and one \nhundred and thirty men, lay on the line of the \npresent Cragie's Point Bridge, and commanded \nthe neck of land by which the peninsula of \nCharlestown is united to Cambridge ; the Somer- \nset, with sixty-eight guns, and five hundred and \ntwenty men, lying near the draw of the pres- \nent Charlestown Bridge, commanded Charlestown \nSquare and its dwelling-houses ; the Lively, \nwith twenty guns, and one hundred and thirty \nmen, lying off the present navy-yard, could \nthrow its shot directly upon the redoubt ; the \nFalcon, sloop of war, lying off Morton's Point, \ndefended the ascent between the landing places \nof the British and Breed's Hill ; and the Cer- \nberus, of thirty-six guns, maintained a continual \nfire during the action. These vessels were most \nadvantageously situated for the purposes of the \nenemy, and it seemed almost impossible that the \nsentries could have been wakeful at their posts, \nand not have overheard or suspected the opera- \ntions of the hill. Either dullness in them, or \n4 \n\n\n38 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\nwonderful caution and unbroken harmony among \nthe provincials, must have secured the unbroken \nrepose of those midnight hours. \n\nThe brief interval of darkness after the labors \nof intrenching had commenced, at last gave place \nto the grey of early morning. On that moment, \nwhen the sun sent forth the first heralds of his \ncoming, seems to have been suspended the inter- \nests of nations. Then was the moment for peace \nto insinuate her mild influences, before brutal \npassions had been kindled at the roar of can- \nnon and the flow of blood. If true patriotism, if \nwise policy, if the love which Christian people, of \nthe same lineage, should bear to each other, had \nbeen allowed its full free influence over the par- \nties in the approaching struggle, how much agony \nand wo, and fruitless wretchedness, might have \nbeen averted. Even then it was not too late for \njustice to have ensured peace. Even then a \nvessel was on her way to the mother country, \nbearing yet another earnest petition from her in- \njured colonists, for a redress of grievances ; but \nthe same ocean which was transmitting her fruit- \nless message, was already crowded with a hostile \nfleet coming hither with the instruments of death ; \nand on the very day of the battle, and upon the \neve before, reinforcements of foreign troops had \nentered the harbor. \n\nThe blood shed at Concord and Lexington, \nwith the long list of antecedent outrages, might \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 39 \n\nhave been forgiven by our fathers. They had \nnot been the aggressors ; they acted only on the \ndefensive ; they struck a blow only to ward off a \nblow. There is no evidence that the heights of \nCharlestown were occupied for any other purpose \nthan that of defence, to confine the enemy within \ntheir narrow quarters, and to prevent any more \nhostile incursions into the country. When the \nmorning sun displayed to the astonished invaders \nthe character of the last night's labor, and showed \nthem the workmen still employed, with undis- \nmayed hearts and untired hands, it was not even \nthen too late for peace. Gage and his officers, at \nleast, if their hired subordinates did not, should \nhave honored, though they might not have feared \nthat patriot band ; should have respected the \nspirit which controlled them, and should have \ncounted the cost of the bloody issue. But not \none moment, not one word, perhaps not one \nthought, was spent upon intercession or warning. \nThe instant that the first beams of light mark- \ned distinctly the outlines of the Americans, and \nof their intrenchments upon the hill, the cannon \nof the Lively, which floated nearest, opened a hot \nfire upon them, at the same time arousing the \nsleepers in Boston, to come forth as spectators or \nactors in the cruel tragedy. The other armed \nvessels, some floating batteries, and the battery \non Copp's Hill, combined to pour forth their \nvolleys, uttering a startling and dismal note of \n\n\n40 BATTLE OF EUNKER HILL. \n\npreparation for the day's conflict. But the works, \nthough not completed, were in a state of such \nforwardness that the missiles of destruction \nfell harmless, and the intrenchers continued to \nstrengthen their position. The enemy in Boston \ncould scarcely credit their eyesight. Prescott, \nthe hero of the day, with whom its proudest fame \nshould rest, was undaunted, ardent, and full of \nheroic energy. He planned and directed, he \nencouraged the men, he mounted the works, and \nwith his bald head uncovered, and his command- \ning frame, he was a noble personification of a \npatriot cause. Some of the men incautiously \nventured in front of the works, when one of them \nwas instantly killed by a cannon shot. This \nfirst victim was buried in the ditch, and his com- \npanions were fearfully warned of the fatalities \nwhich the day would bring yet nearer to them. \n\nWhen the orders had been issued at Cam- \nbridge, the night before, to those who had thus \ncomplied with them, refreshments and reinforce- \nments had been promised in the morning. Thus \nsome of the men might have thought they had \nfulfilled their part of the work, and were entitled \nto relief, or were at liberty to depart. Some few, \nwhen the first victim fell, left the hill, and did \nnot return. Those who remained were exhausted \nwith their toil, and without food or water, and \nthe morning was already intensely hot. The \nofficers, sympathizing with their situation and \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 41 \n\nsufferings, requested Prescott to send to Cam- \nbridge for relief. He summoned a council of \nwar, but was resolute against the petition, saying \nthat the enemy would not venture an attack, and \nif they did venture, would be defeated ; that the \nmen who had raised the works were best able to \ndefend them, and deserved the honor of the vic- \ntory; that they had already learned to despise \nthe fire of the enemy. The vehemence of Pres- \ncott infused new spirit into the men, and they \nresolved to stand the dread issue. Prescott or- \ndered a guard to the ferry to prevent a landing \nthere. He was seen by Gage, who was recon- \nnoitring from Copp's Hill, and who inquired \nof Counsellor Willard; by his side, \" Who is \nthat officer commanding ? \" Willard recognised \nhis brother-in-law, and named Colonel Prescott. \n\" Will he fight ? \" asked Gage. The answer \nwas, \" Yes, sir, depend upon it, to the last drop \nof blood in him ; but I cannot answer for his \nmen.\" Yet Prescott could answer for his men, \nand that amounted to the same thing. \n\nThe measures of the enemy were undoubtedly \ndelayed by sheer amazement and surprise, on \nfinding that the intrepidity of the provincials had \nanticipated them in an enterprise upon which \nthey had deliberately decided. In the council \nof war called by Gage, all were unanimous that \nthe enemy must be dislodged, but there was a \ndifference of opinion as to the manner of effecting \n4* \n\n\n42 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\nthis object. The majority agreed with Generals \nClinton and Grant, in advising that the British \ntroops should be embarked at the bottom of the \nCommon, in boats, and, under the protection of \nthe ships and floating batteries, should land at \nCharlestown, and thus hold the provincials and \ntheir intrenchments at their mercy. But General \nGage overruled the advice, and determined upon \nlanding and making an attack in front of the \nworks, fearing that his troops, if landed at the \nNeck, would be ruinously surrounded by the in- \ntrenchers and the whole army at Cambridge. \n\nMeanwhile, General Ward, though repeatedly \nsolicited by General Putnam, who had been at \nthe ground by night, or early in the morning, \nand by messengers sent from Prescott, hesitated \nabout weakening the strength of the main army \nby sending reinforcements to the Heights ; for, as \nthe enemy had not yet landed, he had good \nreason to fear that they might divide their forces, \nand, while engaging with the intrenchers, effect a \nlanding at some other spot, and proceed to Water- \ntown or Cambridge, where the scanty stores of \nthe provincials were deposited. \n\nBy nine o'clock, the preparations in Boston, \nheard and seen by Prescott on the hill, informed \nhim of the determination of the British to attack. \nHe therefore gave up his first opinion, that they \nwould not dare to resist him, and comforted him- \nself and his men with the promise of certain and \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 43 \n\nglorious victory. He sent Major Brooks to Gen- \neral Ward, to urge the necessity of his being \nreinforced. Brooks, being obliged to proceed on \nfoot, as Captain Gridley would not risk one of \nhis artillery horses to pass the Neck, which was \nswept by the Glasgow frigate, arrived about ten \no'clock at head-quarters, where the Committee \nof Safety were then in session. Brooks's ur- \ngency, seconded by the solicitations of Richard \nDevens, a member of the Committee, and a citizen \nof Charlestown, induced General Ward to order \nthat Colonels Reed and Stark, then at Medford, \nshould reinforce Prescott with the New Hamp- \nshire troops. The companies at Chelsea were \nthen recalled, and the order reached Medford at \neleven o'clock. The men were as speedily as \npossible provided with ammunition, though much \ntime was consumed in the preparation. Each \nman received two flints, a gill of powder, and \nfifteen balls. They were without cartridge-boxes, \nand used powder-horns and pouches, or their \npockets, as substitutes, and in making up their \ncartridges, they were obliged to beat and shape \ntheir balls according to the different calibre of \ntheir guns. \n\nDr. Joseph Warren, one of the most distin- \nguished and self-sacrificing of the many patriots \nof the time, had not yet taken the commission \nwhich was granted to him on the 14th of June. \nHe had twice maintained the cause of liberty \n\n\n44 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\nin the very teeth of British officers, on the \nannual commemoration of the 5th of March. \nWhen the report of the coming action reached \nhim at Watertown, where he then was, as acting \nPresident of the Provincial Congress and Chair- \nman of the Committee of Safety, though suffering \nfrom illness and exhaustion, he resolved to join \nin the strife. Wholly inexperienced as he was \nin military tactics, his determination could not \nbe shaken by the earnest remonstrances of his \nfriends. His presence and counsel wTere needed \nin the Committee, but he persisted in his resolve, \nand we must lament, as all his contemporaries \nlamented, that his heroism outran his prudence, \nand would not be controlled by duty in another \ndirection. \n\nThe hostile arrangements of the British being \nconcluded, the devoted band upon the slightly \nfortified hill soon saw the result. At noon, \ntwenty-eight barges, formed in twro parallel lines, \nleft the end of Long Wharf, and made for Mor- \nton's Point, the most feasible landing-place. The \nbarges were crowded with British troops of the \n5th, 3Sth, 43d, and 52d battalions of infantry \ntwo companies of grenadiers, and ten of light \ninfantry. These troops were all splendidly ap- \npointed, with glittering firelocks and bayonets, \nbut sadly encumbered, for the hot work before \nthem and the hot sun above them, by their arms \nand ammunition , and it would seem bv the \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 45 \n\nstatement of their own historian, Stedman, that \nthey carried a hundred pounds of provision, \nintended to last for three days. Their regular \nand uniform appearance, with six pieces of ord- \nnance shining in the bows of the leading barges, \npresented an imposing and alarming spectacle to \nour raw soldiery. A part of the regulars that had \nlately arrived, had been retained on board of the \ntransports, on account of the crowded state of \nBoston. A part of these were landed for the first \ntime at Charlestown, and thus the first spot of \nAmerican soil upon which many of them trod, \nbecame to them a grave. The officers were all \nmen of experience and valor: Generals Howe \nand Pigot, Colonels Nesbit, Abercrombie, and \nClarke, Majors Butler, Williams, Bruce, Spend- \nlove, Smelt, Mitchell, Pitcairn, Short, Small, and \nLord Rawdon, were the most distinguished. \nCaptain Addison, related to the author of the \n\" Spectator,\" had arrived in Boston on the day \nbefore the battle, and had then accepted an invi- \ntation to dine with General Burgoyne on the \n17th, when a far different experience awaited \nhim, for he was numbered among the slain. \n\nThis detachment landed at Morton's Point \nabout one o'clock, defended by the shipping, and \nwholly unmolested. They soon discovered an \negregious and provoking act of carelessness on \nthe part of their master of ordnance, in send- \ning over cannon-balls too large for their pieces. \n\n\n46 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\nThey were immediately returned to Boston, and \nwere not replaced in season for the first action. \nAt the same time, General Howe, the commander \nof the detachment, requested of General Gage a \nreinforcement, which he thought to be necessary \nthe moment that he had a fair view of the ele- \nvated and formidable position of the provincials, \nas seen from the Point. \n\nWhile these messages were passing, some of \nthe British troops, stretched at their ease upon \nthe grass, eat in peace their last meal, refreshing \ntheir thirst from large tubs of drink, — a tanta- \nlizing sight to the provincials. About two o'clock \nthe reinforcement landed at Madlin's ship-yard, \nnow the navy-yard. It consisted of the 47th bat- \ntalion of infantry, a battalion of marines, and some \nmore companies of grenadiers and light infantry. \nThe whole number of British troops who engaged \nin the course of the action did not fall short of, \nand probably exceeded, 4,000. In connection \nwith this force, which far surpassed that of the \nprovincials in numbers, and was immeasurably \nsuperior to them in discipline and military appoint- \nments, we are to consider the marines in the ships, \nwhich completely cannonaded three sides of the \nhill, and the six-gun battery on Copp's Hill, as \nengaging in the unequal contest. Contrasting \na British regular with a provincial soldier, we \nare accustomed to ascribe immense advantages \nof discipline to the former. Yet we are to re- \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 47 \n\nmember that an overpowering superiority of \ncharacter and of cause was on the side of the \nlatter. If we could have followed a recruiting \nsergeant of Great Britain at that time, as he \nhunted out from dram-shops and the haunts of \nidleness and vice, the low and vulgar inebriate, \nthe lawless and dissolute spendthrift, seeing how \nwell the sergeant knew where to look for his \nrecruits, we should know how much discipline \ncould do for them, and how much it must leave \nundone. The provincials were not acquainted \nwith the forms and terms of military tactics ; but \nthe}* knew the difference between half-cock and \ndouble-cock, and the more they hated the vermin \nwhich they had been used to hunt with their \nfowling-pieces, the straighter did the bullet speed \nfrom the muzzle. But their superiority consisted \nin the kind of pay which they were to receive, \nnot in pounds and shillings, but in a free land, a \nhappy home, and rulers of their own choice. \n\nWhile the British troops were forming their \nlines, a slight work was constructed by the \nConnecticut troops, sent from the redoubt, under \nCaptain Knowlton, which proved of essential \nservice to the provincials. A rail fence, under \na small part of which a stone wall was piled to \nthe height of about two feet, ran from the road \nwhich crossed the tongue of land between the \nhills, to the bank of the Mystic, with a few apple \ntrees on each side of it. The provincials pulled \n\n\n48 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\nup some other fences near by, and set them in a \nline parallel with this, filling the space between \nwith the fresh mown hay around the ground. \nThe length of this slight defence was about 700 \nfeet. It was about 600 feet in rear of the re- \ndoubt and breastwork, and had it been on a line \nwith them, would have left a space of about \n100 feet between the ends of the earthen and the \nwooden defences. Thus there was an opening \nof about 700 feet on the slope of the hill between \nthe intrenchments and the rail fence, which the \nprovincials had not time to secure. Part of this \nintervening space then, as now, was sloughy, and \nas there were no means of defending it save a \nfew scattered trees, the troops behind the breast- \nwork were exposed to a galling fire from the ene- \nmy, on their third attack, which finally brought \nabout the unfavorable issue of the strife. The \nsix pieces of British artillery were stationed at \nfirst upon Morton's Hill. \n\nAll these preparations, visible as they were to \nthousands upon the neighboring hill-tops, steeples \nand house-roofs, were watched with the intensest \nanxiety. Undoubtedly, the common persuasion \nand fear was, that General Gage would himself \nlead a portion, if not the whole of the residue of \nhis army, upon an attack at some other point in \nthe semi-circle. Roxbury was heavily cannon- \naded, to retain the forces there from proceeding \nto Charlestown. A schooner, with 500 or 600 \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 49 \n\nmen, was directed to the Cambridge shore, but \nwind and tide proved unfavorable. In fear of \nthese movements, great caution was advisable in \nsending reinforcements upon the hill. Captain \nCallender was ordered there with his artillery. \nGardner's, Patterson's, and Doolittle's regiments \nwere stationed at different points between Charles- \ntown Neck and Cambridge. This Neck, though \nfrequently passed by our officers and troops in \nsingle file, was fearfully hazardous during the \nwhole day, as it was raked by a fire of round, \nbar and chain shot, from the Glasgow, and from \ntwo armed gondolas near the shore. The rein- \nforcements arrived from Medford before the en- \ngagement, though General Stark had led them \nvery moderately, insisting that \" one fresh man \nin battle is worth ten fatigued ones.\" General \nPutnam stopped a part of them to unite with a \ndetachment from the redoubt in attempting to \nfortify Bunker's Hill, which was of great con- \nsequence to the provincials in case of a retreat. \nStark, with oaths and encouragements, led on the \nremainder to the rail fence. \n\nIt soon became a matter of importance to the \nprovincials to seek the utmost possible help from \ntheir artillery, but it amounted to very little. A \nfew ineffectual shot had been fired from Gridley's \npieces in the redoubt, against Copp's Hill and the \nshipping, when the pieces were removed and \nplaced with Captain Callender at the space \n5 \n\n\n50 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\nbetween the fence and the breastwork. Here \nthey would have been of some service in defend- \ning our weakest and most exposed point. But \nthe officers and the companies who had them in \ncharge, were wholly ignorant of their manage- \nment ; and, on the plea of having unsuitable car- \ntridges, Callender was drawing his guns off to \nprepare ammunition, when Putnam urged him \nto return. The pieces were fired a few times, \nand soon afterwards were moved by Captain \nFord to the rail fence. \n\nGeneral Pomeroy, at Cambridge, old as he \nwas, was moved like the war-horse at the smell \nof the battle. He begged a horse of General \nWard that he might ride to Charlestown, but on \nreaching the neck, and observing the hot fire \nwhich raked it, he was afraid to risk the borrow- \ned animal. Giving him then in charge to a \nsentry, he walked on to the rail fence, where \nhis well-known form and countenance called forth \nenthusiastic shouts. Colonel Little came up with \nhis regiment, and the men were stationed along \nthe line, from the rail fence on the left to a cart- \nway. There were also reinforcements, of about \n300 troops each, from Brewer's, Nixon's, Wood- \nbridge's, and Doolittle's regiments, detachments \nof which were stationed along the main street in \nCharlestown. Colonel Scammans, who was de- \nprived of his sense and his courage, either by \nconfusion or fear, had been ordered by General \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\n\n51 \n\n\nWard to go where the righting was. He went \nto Lechmere's Point, understanding, as he said, \nthat the enemy were landing there. He was \nadvised to go to the Hill. He chose to under- \nstand the nearest hill, and so he posted himself \nupon Cobble Hill, where the Insane Hospital \nnow stands, and occupied that useless position. \nGeneral Warren arrived just before the action. \nPutnam endeavored to dissuade him from enter- \ning it, and then recommended to him a safe \nplace, and offered to receive his orders. But \nWarren could not be thus wrought upon. He \nsaid he came only as a volunteer, and, instead of \nseeking a place of safety, wished to know where \nthe onset would be most furious. Putnam point- \ned to the redoubt as the place of danger and \nimportance. Prescott there offered to receive \nWarren's orders, but he again said he was happy \nto serve as a volunteer. \n\nThe tune of Yankee Doodle, which afforded \nthe British so much sport as ridiculing the pro- \nvincials, was the tune by which our fathers were \nled on to that contest. Let their example com- \nmend to us this only way of depriving ridicule \nof its sting ; for there is nothing which it so \nmuch annoys men to spend in vain as their scorn. \n\nBefore the engagement commenced, Captain \nWalker, of Chelmsford, led a band of about fifty \nresolute men down into Charlestown to annoy \nthe enemy's left flank. They did great execution, \n\n\n52 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\nand then abandoned their dangerous position, to \nattack the right flank upon Mystic river. Here \nthe captain was wounded and taken prisoner. \nHe died of his wounds in Boston jail. \n\nThe British, in their attack, aimed at two \ndistinct objects : first, to force and carry the re- \ndoubt ; second, to turn the left flank of our troops, \nand thus to cut off their retreat. To accomplish \nthe former, General Pigot, who commanded the \nBritish left wing, displayed under cover of the \neastern slope of the hill, and advanced against \nthe redoubt and breastwork. General Howe led \nthe right wing, which advanced along the shore \nof the Mystic to the rail fence. The artillery \nprepared the way for the infantry, and it was at \nthis time that the mistake of the oversized balls \nwas a great grievance to the enemy, as they had \nbut a few rounds of proper shot. \n\nIt was of vital necessity that every charge of \npowder and ball spent by the Americans, should \ntake effect. There was none for waste. The \nofficers commanded their men to withhold their \nfire till the enemy were within eight rods, and \nwhen they could see the whites of their eyes, to \naim at their waistbands ; also to \" aim at the hand- \nsome coats, and pick off the commanders.\" As \nthe British left wing came within gun-shot, the \nmen in the redoubt could scarcely restrain their \nfire, and a few discharged their pieces. Prescott, \nindignant at this disobedience, vowed instant \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 53 \n\ndeath to any one who should repeat it, and prom- \nised, by the confidence which they reposed in \nhim, to give the command at the proper moment. \nHis Lieutenant Colonel, Robinson, ran round the \ntop of the works and knocked up the muskets. \nWhen the space between the assailants and the \nredoubt was narrowed to the appointed span, the \nword was spoken at the moment ; the deadly \nflashes burst forth, and the green grass was \ncrimsoned with the life-blood of hundreds. The \nfront rank was nearly obliterated, as were its \nsuccessive substitutes, as the Americans were \nwell protected, and were deliberate in their aim. \nThe enemy fell like the tall grass which grew \naround before the practised sweep of the mower. \nGeneral Pigot was obliged to give the word for a \nretreat. Some of the wounded were seen crawl- \ning with the last energies of life from the gory \nheap of the dying and the dead, among whom \nthe officers, by their proportion, far outnumbered \nthe private soldiers. As the wind rolled away \nthe suffocating smoke, and the blasts of the artil- \nlery and the musketry for a moment ceased, the \nawful spectacle, the agonizing yells and shrieks \nof the sufferers, were distracting and piercing. \nPrayers and groans, foul, impious oaths, and fond \ninvocations of the loved and the dear, were min- \ngled into sounds which scarcely seemed of human \nutterance, by the rapturous shout of victory which \nrang from the redoubt. The earth has not a \n6* \n\n\n54 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\nsight or sound more maddening, in its passion or \nits wo, than a battle-field. The fabled pit beneath \nthe earth then opens from its bowels, and covers \nits fair surface with the flames and yells of \ndemon strife. \n\nWhile such was the temporary aspect of the \nfield near the redoubt, General Howe, with the \nright wing, made for the rail fence, where Put- \nnam, assisted by Captain Ford's company, had \nposted the artillery with success. Here, as at the \nredoubt, some of the provincials were tempted \nto discharge their muskets while the advancing \nenemy were destroying a fence which crossed \ntheir path. Putnam, with an oath, threatened to \ncut down with his sword the next offender. The \nword was given when the enemy were within \neight rods. The artillery had already made a \nlane through the column, and now the fowling- \npieces mowed down their victims, especially the \nofficers, with fearful celerity. The assailants \nwere compelled to retreat, leaving behind them \nheaps of the fallen, while some of the flying even \nhurried to their boats. Their artillery had stop- \nped in the slough among the brick-kilns, and \ncould do but little. The regulars did not take \naim, and their shot passed high over the heads \nof the Americans. The trees around were af- \nterwards observed with their trunks unscathed, \nwhile their branches were riddled through and \nthrough. The passionate shout of victory again \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 55 \n\nrang through the American lines, and even the \ncoward was nerved to daring. \n\nNow it was that our troops and our cause suf- \nfered from the want of discipline, and from the \nconfusion apparent in the whole management of \nthe action, originating in the hasty and imperfect \npreparation, and in their ignorance of the pur- \nposes of the enemy. The Neck of land ploughed \nby the engines of death, and clouded by the dust \nthus raised, was an almost insuperable obstacle to \nthe bringing on of reinforcements. Major Grid- \nley, wholly unfitted in spirit and in skill, had been \nput in command of a battalion of infantry in com- \npliment to his father. He lost, and could not \nrecover, his self-possession and courage. Though \nordered to the hill, he advanced towards Charles- \ntown slowly and fearfully ; and though urged by \nColonel Frye to hasten, he was satisfied with the \npoor service of firing three-pounders from Cobble \nHill upon the Glasgow. His Captain, Trevett, \nrefused obedience to such weakness, and ordered \nhis men to follow him to the works. Colonel \nGerrish, with his artillery on Bunker's Hill, \ncould neither be urged nor intimidated by Put- \nnam to bring his pieces to the rail fence. He \nwas unwieldy with corpulence, and overcome \nwith heat and fatigue. His men had been scat- \ntered from the summit of the hill, by the shot \nfrom the Glasgow, which took tremendous effect \nhere, as it was thought to be strongly fortified. \n\n\n56 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\nThe enemy rallied for a second attack. Though \nthey had sorely suffered, and some few of the \nofficers were reluctant to reneAv the fatal effort, \nyet the large body, like the general, would have \nyielded to death in any form of horror, before \nthey would have left the field to those whom they \nhad always represented as cowards. At this \ncrisis four hundred reinforcements came over \nfrom Boston to repair the British loss, and Dr. \nJeffries accompanied them as surgeon. The reg- \nulars again steadily advanced, and with the \ndreadful apathy of feeling induced by a battle- \nfield, they even piled up the bodies of their \nslaughtered comrades as a breastwork for their \nown protection. The artillery was now drawn \nup by the road which divided the tongue of land \non the Mystic from the hill, to within nine hun- \ndred feet of the rail fence. The object was to \nbring it on a line with the redoubt, and to open a \nway for the infantry. It was during this second \nattack that Charlestown was set on fire. Proba- \nbly a double purpose was intended by this act : \nfirst, that the smoke might cover the advance of \nthe enemy, and second, to dislodge some of the \nprovincials, who from the shelter of the houses \nhad annoyed the British left wing. General \nHowe sent over the order to Burgoyne and Clin- \nton to fire the town, and the order was fulfilled \nby carcasses thrown from Copp's Hill, which, \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. ff? \n\naided by some marines who landed from the \nSomerset, completed the work of desolation. \n\nThe Americans were prepared for the renewed \nattack. They had orders to reserve their fire till \nthe enemy were within six rods, and then to take \ndeadly aim. As before, the shot of the enemy \nwas mostly ineffectual, ranging far above the \nheads of the provincials. Still, some of the pri- \nvates fell, and Colonels Brewer, Nixon and Buck- \nminster, and Major Moore, were wounded, the \nlatter mortally, crying out in his death-thirst for \nwater, which could not be obtained nearer than \nthe Neck, whither two of his men went to seek it. \nThe British stood, for a time whose moments \nwere hours, the deadly discharge which was \npoured upon them as they passed the appointed \nline, while whole ranks of officers and men fell \nin heaps. General Howe stood in the thickest \nof the fight, wrought up to a desperate determin- \nation. For a time he was almost alone, his aid- \nde-camps, and many other officers of his staff, \nlying wounded or dead. But though he would \nnot lead a second retreat, he was compelled to \nfollow it, and to hear the repeated shouts of vic- \ntory rise from the patriot band who had weighed \nthe choice between death and slavery. Thus \nthe British were twice fairly and completely \ndriven from the hill. For success up to this \nmoment, the provincials have not had the de- \nserved acknowledgment in the English histories. \n\n\n58 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\nEven Burke (if, as is probable, he wrote th^ \naccount in the Annual Register) refers only once \nto the repulse, and then merely says the regulars \n\" were thrown into some disorder.\" \n\nBut now the fortunes of the day were to be \nreversed, so far, and so far only, as to attach the \nbare name of victory to the side of the foreign \nassailants. The provincials encouraged them- \nselves with the hope that the two repulses which \nhad compelled the regulars to retire with such \nstupendous loss, would deter them from a renewed \nattack. Some of the British officers did indeed \nremonstrate against leading the men to another \nbutchery, but their remonstrance was disdainfully \nrepelled by their comrades. During the second \nattack, a provincial, with incautious loudness of \nspeech, had declared that the ammunition was \nexhausted, and he was overheard by some of the \nregulars. General Clinton, who from Copp's \nHill had witnessed the repeated repulse of his \nMajesty's troops with great mortification, took a \nboat and passed over as a volunteer, bringing \nwith him added reinforcements. A new mode \nof attack was now determined upon. General \nHowe, having discovered that weak point, the \nspace between the breastwork and the rail fence, \nnow led the left wing, and resolved to apply the \nmain strength of the assault against the redoubt \nand the breastwork, particularly to rake the latter \nwith the artillery from the left, while he disguised \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 59 \n\nthis purpose by a feigned show of force at the rail \nfence. The men now divested themselves of \ntheir heavy knapsacks, some of them even of \ntheir coats. They were ordered to stand the fire \nof the provincials, and then to make a resolute \ncharge at the point of the bayonet. The three \nfacts last mentioned, viz., the knowledge of the \nenemy that the provincials lacked ammunition, \nthe encouragement of the presence of General \nClinton, and the discovery of the weak point in \nthe works, may have nerved the British to under- \ntake a third attack. \n\nWhile these hostile preparations were in pro- \ngress, the little band of devoted patriots, exhausted \nalmost to complete prostration by their long and \nunrefreshed toil of the night, and by the bloody \nwork of noon-day, had time to summon their \nremaining energies, to resolve that the last blow \nshould be the heaviest, to think upon the glory \nof their cause and the laurels they should forever \nwear. The few remaining cartridges were dis- \ntributed by Prescott. The small number of men \nwhose muskets were furnished with bayonets, \nstood ready to repel the charge ; and those who \nwere without this defence, as well as without \nammunition, resolved to club their muskets and \nwield their heavy stocks, while the ferocity of \ndespair strung every nerve. Even the loose \nstones of the intrenchments were gladly secured \nas the last stay of an unflinching resolution. \n\n\n60 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\nA body of reinforcements, fresh and resolute, \nand provided with bayonets, might have forced \nthe regulars to a third and final retreat ; but, as \nbefore remarked, unavoidable confusion prevailed \nin the American camp. The Neck of land, the \nonly line of communication, wore a terrible aspect \nto raw recruits, and General Ward was without \nstaff officers to convey his orders. The regiments \nwhich had been stationed along the road to wait \nfurther commands, were overlooked. Colonel \nGardner, though thus left without orders, panting \nto join the strife, led 300 men to Bunker's Hill, \nwhere Putnam first set them upon intrenching, \nbut soon urged them to action at the lines. The \nColonel commanded his men to drop their tools \nand follow. He was leading them to the post of \ndangerous service, when he received a mortal \nwound by a musket-ball in the groin. As he was \nborne oft the field, he commanded his men to \nconquer or die. Deprived of their officer, but few \nof them engaged in the action. His son, a youth \nof nineteen, met him on his way, and, overcome \nwith grief, sought to aid him, but the father com- \nmanded him to march to his duty. Colonel \nScammans remained on Cobble Hill, but a de- \ntachment of Gerrish's regiment, under their \nDanish Adjutant, Ferbiger, rushed toward the \nfence. A few of the Americans occupied two or \nthree houses and barns on the slope of Breed's \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 61 \n\nHill, and annoyed, for a time, the left flank of the \nenemy. \n\nThe artillery of the British effected its mur- \nderous purpose, raking the whole interior of the \nbreastwork, driving its defenders into the redoubt, \nand sending the balls there after them, through \nthe open sally-port. Lieutenant Prescott, a \nnephew of the Colonel, had his arm disabled, \nand was told by his uncle to content himself with \nencouraging his men ; but, having succeeded in \nloading his musket, he was passing the sally-port \nto seek a rest from which to fire it, when he was \nkilled by a cannon-ball. It was evident that the \nintrenchments could no longer be maintained, but \nthe resolution to yield them only in the convul- \nsion of the last eflbrt, nerved every patriot arm. \n\nThe British officers were seen to goad on some \nof their reluctant men with their swords. It was \nfor them now to receive the fire, and to reserve \ntheir own till they could follow it by a thrust of \nthe bayonet. Each shot of the provincials was \ntrue to its aim. Colonel Abercrombie, Majors \nWilliams and Spendlove, fell. General Howe \nwas wounded in the foot. Hand to hand, and \nface to face, were exchanged the last awful hos- \ntilities of that day. Only a ridge of earth divided \nthe grappling combatants, whose feet were slip- \nping upon the gory sand, while they joined in \nthe mortal strife. When the enemy found them- \nselves received with stones, the missiles of a \n6 \n\n\n62 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\nmore ancient warfare, they knew that their work \nwas nearly done, as they now contended with \nunarmed men. Young Richardson, of the Royal \nIrish, was the first who scaled the parapet, and \nhe fell, as did likewise the first rank that mounted \nit, among whom Major Pitcairn, who had shed \nthe first blood at Lexington, was shot by a negro \nsoldier. It was only when the redoubt was \ncrowded with the enemy and the defenders in \none promiscuous throng, and assailants on all \nsides were pouring into it, that Prescott, no less, \nbut even more a hero, when he uttered the reluc- \ntant word, ordered a retreat. A longer trial \nwould have been folly, not courage. Some of \nthe men had splintered their musket-stocks in \nfierce blows, nearly all were defenceless, yet was \nthere that left within them, in a dauntless soul, \nwhich might still help their country at its need. \nPrescott gave the crowning proof of his devoted \nand magnanimous spirit, when he cooled the heat \nof his own brain, and bore the bitter pang in his \nown heart, by commanding an orderly, and still \nresisting retreat. He was the hero of that blood- \ndyed summit, — the midnight leader and guard, \nthe morning sentinel, the orator of the opening \nstrife, the cool and deliberate overseer of the \nwhole struggle, the well-skilled marksman of the \nexact distance at which a shot was certain death : \nhe was the venerable chief in whose bright eye \nand steady nerve all read their duty ; and when \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 63 \n\nconduct, skill, and courage could do no more, he \nwas the merciful deliverer of the remnant. Pres- \ncott was the hero of the day, and wherever its \ntale is told, let him be its chieftain. \n\nThe troops in the redoubt now fought their \npathway through the encircling enemy, turning \ntheir faces towards the foe, while they retreated \nwith backward steps. Gridley, who had planned \nand defended the works, received a wound, and \nwas borne off. Warren was among the last to \nleave the redoubt, and at a short distance from it, \na musket-ball through his head killed him in- \nstantly. When the corpse of that illustrious \npatriot was recognised and identified the next \nmorning by Dr. Jeffries, General Howe thought \nthat this one victim well repaid the loss of num- \nbers of his mercenaries. It is not strange that, \nboth in English and American narratives of that \nday, and in some subsequent notices of it, Warren \nshould have been represented as the commander \nof the provincial forces. His influence and his \npatriotism were equally well known to friend and \nfoe. There is no more delicate task than to \ndivide among many heroes the honors of a battle- \nfield, and the rewards of devoted service. Yet \nthe high-minded will always appreciate the integ- \nrity of the motive which seeks to distinguish \nbetween the places and the modes of service, \nwhere those who alike love their country enjoy \nthe opportunity of securing the laurels of heroism \n\n\n64 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\nand devotion. The council-chamber and the \nforum, and the high place in the public assembly, \noffer to the patriot-statesman the opportunity for \nwinning remembrance and honor to his name ; \nthe battle-field must retain the same high privi- \nlege for the patriot-soldier, for there alone can he \nearn the wreath. Let the chivalry and the mag- \nnanimity of Warren forever fill a brilliant page in \nour history, but let not a partial homage attach to \nhim the honor to which another has a rightful \nclaim. It was no part of his pure purpose, in \nmingling with his brethren on that field, to mo- \nnopolize its honors, and to figure as its hero. It \nis enough that he stood among equals in devo- \ntion and patriotism. Here, then, is his claim, \nwrhich, when fully allowed, leaves the honors of \nthat summit to the leader of the heroic band. \n\nAnd while such was the issue at the redoubt, \nthe left wing, at the rail fence, aided by some \nreinforcements which had arrived too late, was \nmaking a vigorous stand at their defences. But \nthe retreat at the redoubt compelled the resolute \ndefenders to yield with slow and reluctant steps, \nas their flank was opened to the enemy. Putnam \npleaded and cursed; he commanded and implored \nthe scattering bands to rally, and he swore that \nhe would win them the victory. For his foul \nprofanity he made a sincere confession before \nthe church and congregation of which he was a \nmember, after the war. \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 65 \n\nPomeroy likewise implored the men to rally, \nbut in vain. The last resistance at the rail fence \nrestrained the enemy from cutting off the retreat \nof the provincials. Yet the enemy were in no \ncondition to pursue, as they were alike exhausted, \nand were content with the little patch of ground \nwhich they had so dearly purchased. The pro- \nvincials retreated to Cambridge by the Neck, and \nby the Winter Hill road, taking with them only \none of the six pieces of artillery which they had \nbrought to the field. The battle had occupied \nabout two hours, the provincials retreating just \nbefore five o'clock. The British lay on their \narms at Bunker Hill all night, discharging their \npieces against the Americans who were safely \nencamped upon Prospect Hill, at the distance of \na mile. \n\nPrescott repaired to head-quarters to make \nreturn of his trust. He was indignant at the loss \nof the battle, and implored General Ward to com- \nmit to him three fresh regiments, promising with \nthem to win back the day. But he had already \nhonorably accomplished all that his country might \ndemand. He complained bitterly that the rein- \nforcements, which might have given to his tri- \numph the completeness that was needed to make \nit a victory, had failed him. A year afterwards, \nwhen he was in the American camp at New \nYork, he was informed how narrowly he had \nescaped with life. A British sergeant, who was \n6* \n\n\n66 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\nbrought into the camp, on meeting with Prescott \nthere, called him by name. Prescott inquired \nhow or where he had known him. The man \nreplied that he knew him well, and that his \nacquaintance began at the battle in Charlestown. \nPrescott had there been pointed out to him as the \ncommander, and in the first two attacks, he had \nsingled him out and taken a deliberate aim. \nThough his position at each time was so favor- \nable as to convince him the shot would be fatal, \nyet Prescott had been unharmed. On the third \nattack, impelled by the same purpose, he had \ncharged the commander at the point of the \nbayonet, but the strong arm and the sword of \nPrescott thrust aside the weapon, and the baf- \nfled sergeant concluded him to be invulnerable. \nPrescott kindly presented the poor soldier with \na gift of charity to relieve his disappointment. \nThe pierced garments of the hero, preserved in \nhis family, bear witness to the repeated efforts of \nhis foe. \n\nThe number of our troops in the action, includ- \ning the occasional reinforcements, and those who \ncame only to cover the retreat, did not exceed, if \nit reached, 3,000. Of these, 115 were killed and \nmissing, 305 were wounded, and 30 were taken \nprisoners ; making our whole loss 450. Pres- \ncott's regiment suffered most severely. \n\nThe whole British loss was rated by the Pro- \nvincial Congress, on their best information, at \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 67 \n\n1500, but Gage acknowledged only 1054, in- \ncluding 89 officers; 226 being killed, and 828 \nwounded. \n\nLoud and agonizing was the mourning in \nBoston, when the wounded were committed to \nthe crowded hospitals ; and the sympathies of \nthe inhabitants were demanded alike for friends \nand foes. \n\nBut though the sword was lifted against our \nfathers by their own brethren, and in a cause \nwhich we must pronounce to have been unright- \neous and tyrannical, we feel impelled to pay a \njust tribute to the bravery and gallantry of the \nBritish officers and soldiers upon the field. To \nmarch boldly forward, as they did thrice, and \nbare their bosoms to the weapons of desperate \nmen, was a trial of their spirit which allows us to \nwithhold from them no praise or glory which we \ngive to our fathers, save that which belongs to our \nfathers as the champions of the better cause. The \nhighest honor we can bestow upon the heroism \nof the enemy, is, in regretting that the king and \nhis ministers found such devoted servants. \n\nIt is not strange that confusion and disorder \nshould have attended the proceedings of the pro- \nvincials on that dreadful day. Their measures \nwere hastily concerted in anticipation of the occu- \npancy of the Heights by the British ; there was \nno time to plan, no opportunity to deliberate. \nThe Provincial Congress was then sitting at \n\n\n68 BATTLE OV BUNKER HILL. \n\nWatertown, though its President, Dr. Warren, \nwho was also Chairman of the Executive Com- \nmittee of Safety, was in the scene of strife. \nGeneral Ward's Orderly Book does not contain \nany reference to the action of the day. The \nreasonable expectation and fear that the British \nwould make an attack at some other quarter, \nmay explain the apparent remissness of the \nAmerican leaders, in not concentrating all their \nforce upon the action in Charlestown. The \nsevere bombardment of Roxbury, and anxiety for \nthe stores at Watertown, very naturally divided \ntheir attention. It seems likewise to have been \ndifficult, even some days after the battle, to learn \nwith exactness the chief particulars concerning it. \nThe account in Edes' Gazette, which was printed \nat Watertown on the following Monday, is very \nmeagre. Indeed, it would appear, that the death \nof Warren was not then known for certain. \nAmong the resolutions of the Provincial Congress \non Monday, the 19th, we read the following : \n\"Resolved, That three o'clock, P. M., be assigned \nfor the choice of a President of this Congress, in \nthe room of the Hon. Joseph Warren, Esq., sup- \nposed to be killed in the late battle of Bunker \nHill.\" \n\nIn a letter from J. Pitts, dated, Watertown, \nJuly 20, 1775, and addressed to Samuel Adams, \nat Philadelphia, we read the following: \"I find \nthe letters in general from you and the rest of \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 69 \n\nour friends, complain of not having- particular in- \nformation relative to the late battle of Charlestown. \nI do assure you, the particulars, any further than \nwhat I have already wrote you, I have not been \nable to obtain from any one. To be plain, it \nappears to me, there never was more confusion \nand less command. No one appeared to have any \nbut Colonel Prescott, whose bravery can never be \nenough acknowledged and applauded. General \nPutnam was employed in collecting the men, but \nthere were not officers enough to lead them on.\" \n\nMore evidences of this confusion that attended \nthe operations of the day, will present themselves \nto the reader of the Documents which form a part \nof this volume. He will find them to abound in \ndiscrepancies of statement, which, however, will, \nfor the most part, correct and harmonize each \nother. One writer, for instance, says that it was \nknown by the British on the night of the 16th, \nthat the Americans were at work on the Heights. \nOf this statement there is no proof, nor is it prob- \nable ; yet it may have been that a vague report \nof the intention of the Americans had reached \nBoston. Another writer says that the American \nforce amounted to nine thousand. Probably he \nintended in this estimate to include all the pro- \nvincials who were then under arms at Cambridge \nand Roxbury, as well as those at Charlestown. \n\nThe conflagration of the town of Charlestown \nmust have mingled wild and fearful spectacles \n\n\n70 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\nwith the awful scene of blood. The order for the \nincendiary measure was sent over by boat to the \ngenerals on Copp's Hill, on account of the annoy- \ning fire which the Americans, concealed in the \ndwellings, poured in upon the left wing of the \nBritish. The town then contained 289 dwelling- \nhouses, and its population, of 375 families, num- \nbered rather more than 2,000 souls. Of course, \nmany of its inhabitants, especially the women \nand children, had been removed from the town \nduring the night and on the morning of the battle. \nHouseholders were busily engaged in removing \ntheir effects. Many valuable articles were buried \nin the fields, gardens, and cellars, most of which, \nhowever, were discovered by the British in their \nlong occupation of the peninsula, though some of \nthe treasures of crockery and furniture which were \nhere interred, found a safe concealment till after \nthe evacuation of Boston, and are still cherished \nas honored relics by the descendants of their \nowners. Many of the householders and traders \nof Boston, who had removed their effects to \nCharlestown on the commencement of hostilities, \nlikewise lost their all. The newspapers of the \ntime abound in advertisements of losses and \nthefts. Dr. Mather's library was consumed in \nthe conflagration. The American prisoners suf- \nfered great hardships. They were confined in \nthe jail in Boston, during the siege, where several \nof them perished. The survivors were taken to \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL 71 \n\nHalifax by the British on their departure. Some \nfew of them, after incredible trials, succeeded in \nmaking their escape, and returning to their homes \none by one, told their moving tales. It was not, \nhowever, until after the peace, that the remnant \nwas restored. \n\nSuch is but a faint delineation of the action \nwhich has associated so great a degree of interest \nwith the Heights of Charlestown. The intrench- \ning and the defence of Breed's Hill may be \ndescribed as the most important incident in the \nwar of the American Revolution. The whole \nprotracted struggle was decisively influenced by \nthis its opening contest. The battle was fought by \nthe provincials in earnest, with determined spirit, \nwith proud success, though not with the name of \nvictory, and therefore it gave the impulse of a \ngood beginning to the whole conduct of the war. \nIts results will attest its importance. \n\nThe battle accomplished what in all cases of \nstrife and discord is attended with protracted \ndifficulties : it distinguished the two contending \nparties, and brought them to an issue. There \nwere then several links of union between England \nand the Colonies, formed by the various orders, \nclasses, and coteries, then gathered in this neigh- \nborhood, and by their diverse opinions. Some \nof the most worthy and disinterested inhabitants \nof the provinces, and some of the British officers, \nengaged with extreme reluctance in the hostil- \n\n\n72 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\nities. We had among us not only tories and \nrepublicans, the extremes of party, but also timid \nand cautious timeservers and hesitants, and at- \ntached friends to the restricted exercise of royal \nauthority. There were moderate and immoderate \nmen of both parties ; neutral and lukewarm \ndoubters of no party. While reading the jounals \nof that day, we can readily imagine the thousand \nsocial ties and domestic relations, the civilities of \nneighborhood, and the common interest in the \nland across the water, which might well render it \ndifficult for the provincials to make the last appeal \nto blood. Had it not been for the affair at Lex- \nington, it is probable that matters might have \nremained quiet for some time longer, and that \nthe colonists would have wasted many more \nwords of petition upon the ministry. Even after \nthat battle, had the ministry expressed in strong \nterms their disapprobation of Gage's measure, \nand adopted a conciliatory tone, the war might \nhave been then averted. But the affair of the \n17th June at once put a stop to any further halt- \ning between two opinions. \n\nAgain, that action was of primary importance \nfrom the influence which it exercised upon our \nfathers, who, unknown to themselves, had before \nthem a war of protracted length, partaking largely \nof reverse and discouragement. They learned \nthis day what they might do in the confidence \nthat God was on their side, and that their cause \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 73 \n\nwas good. That work of a summer's night was \nworth its price to them. They lacked discipline, \nartillery, bayonets, powder and ball, food, and, — \nthe greatest want of all, — they lacked the deli- \ncious draught of pure, cool water for their labor- \nworn and heat-exhausted frames. They found \nthat desperation would supply the place of disci- \npline ; that the stock of a musket, wielded with \ntrue nerves, would deal a blow as deadly as the \nthrust of a bayonet; and that a heavy stone \nmight level an assailant as well as a charge of \npowder. As for food and water, the hunger they \nwere compelled to bear unrelieved, and they \ncooled their brows only by the thick, heavy drops \nwhich poured before the sun. Yet it was their \nopening combat, and proudly did they bear away \nits laurels, even upon their backs, which the \nfailure of ammunition and of reinforcements com- \npelled them to turn to the enemy. Yes, they did \nshow their backs once to those whose backs they \nhad already seen twice ; and if they retreated \nonce, it was only that they might save their faces \nfor later and bolder opportunities of confronting \nthe foe. It was their opening combat, and it \ndecided the spirit and the hope of all their subse- \nquent campaigns. They had freed themselves \nduring the engagement from all that natural reluct \ntance which they had heretofore felt in turning \ntheir offensive weapons against the breasts of \nformer friends, yes, even of kinsmen. On that \n7 \n\n\n74 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\neminence, the first bright image of Liberty, of a \nfree native land, kindled the eyes of those who \nwere expiring in their gore, and the image passed \nbetween the living and the dying to seal the cov- \nenant, that the hope of the one, or the fate of the \nother, should unite them here or hereafter. It \nwas the report of that battle, which, transmitted \nby swift couriers over the length and breadth of \nthe continent, would everywhere prepare the \nspirit to follow it up with determined resistance \nto every future act of aggression. How can we \nexaggerate the relative importance of this day's \naction ? Did it not in fact open the contest, \ndividing into two parties, not only those deter- \nmined for the ministry or the colony, but likewise \nall timid, hesitating, reluctant neutrals ? It was \ndifficult after this to avoid taking sides. Did it \nnot at once render all reconciliation impossible, \ntill it should offer itself in company with justice \nand liberty ? Did it not echo the gathering cry \nwhich brought together our people from their \nfarms and workshops, to learn the art of war, that \nterrible art, which grows more merciful only as it \nis the more skilfully pursued ? This day, then, \nneeds no rhetoric to magnify it in our revolu- \ntionary annals. After its sun went down, the \nprovincials parted with all fear, hesitation, and \nreluctance. They found that it was easier to \nfight; the awful roar of the death-dealing arms \nassociated itself in their minds with all their \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 75 \n\nwrongs, and all their hopes, and with the sweet \nword of liberty. The pen with which petitions \nwere written had been found to be powerless : \nwords of remonstrance left no impression upon \nthe air. There was but one resource. From the \nvillage homes and farm-houses around, amid the \nencouraging exhortations, as well as the tearful \nprayers of their families, the yeomen took from \ntheir chimney-stacks the familiar and well-proved \nweapons of a life in the woods, and felt, for the \nfirst time, what it was to have a country, and \nresolved for the first time that they would save \ntheir country or be mourned by her. \n\nAnd if further evidence be needed in support \nof the high importance attached to this day's \nconflict, refer to the effect which the announce- \nment of it produced in Great Britain, upon the \nministry and the people. One fact painfully \nevident to the student of our revolutionary history, \nis, that the war was commenced by the ministry, \nand allowed by the people, under the grossest \nmisapprehension of the character and courage of \nthe inhabitants of this province. Parliament was \nin a state of perfect infatuation when it gave ear \nto the speeches that advised the measures of the \nministry, and represented the enforcing of them \nas so easy a work. For though Parliament had \nbeen warned by all the local information of our \nformer Governor, Pownall, by the philosophy of \nBurke, and the tender appeals of Lord Chatham, \n\n\n76 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\nthat conciliatory measures would be the only \nefficient measures, there was either stupidity, fol- \nly or madness in the self-conceited persuasion, \nthat a race of men who had left their native \ncountry to escape oppression, would consent to be \noppressed in a new country, redeemed by them \nfrom a wilderness, made habitable by virtuous \ntoil, and endeared as always free. The last \nthree English governors of this province, and \nthe ministry at home, have represented the Amer- \nican people as wholly under the control of a few \nambitious leaders, demagogues or revolutionists, \nwho, by exciting speeches, spread enthusiasm \namong the multitude, cajoling and flattering them \nwith the enticing word, — liberty. It was alleged \nin Parliament that the people would succumb, \nif their leaders could be silenced. This battle \nproved that a people who showed such a spirit, \nmust be capable of originating some enthusiasm \nin themselves, as well as of being cajoled into it \nby others. They had been represented as cow- \nards, who dared to fire a musket only at a long \ndistance, and from behind a protection ; and the \npeople of England had been promised that one \nregiment of the king's troops should sweep the \nprovincials off the continent. But after this battle \nthe probability of such a result was reduced to \nthis simple rule of three : if so many of his \nMajesty's regiments were necessary to secure the \nsquare feet of ground occupied by Charlestown \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 77 \n\npeninsula, how many would be needed to sweep \nthe continent ? \n\nThe people of England were instructed by this \nday's news to estimate the bravery, the union, \nthe determined purpose of the colonists. It was \ngreatly in favor of our cause, that the unpopu- \nlarity of the war among the mercantile classes of \nEngland, should be increased by such a repre- \nsentation of its progress, as would induce the \npride of the British to listen at last to prudence. \nWhile the ministry nattered the people with \nfables about the pusillanimity and poverty of the \ncolonists, and called for new resources against \nthem, promising that each demand should be the \nlast, only the report of such poor success as at- \ntended their hostilities upon this peninsula, could \nopen the eyes of the British nation to the hope- \nlessness of their measures. \n\nThe account of the battle transmitted by Gen- \neral Gage, accompanied, of course, by numerous \nprivate letters, was received in London, July 25th. \nThe General estimated his loss at 226 killed, and \n828 wounded. The ministry were dismayed, and \nfor a time kept back the official announcement \nfrom the Gazette. It was known, however, that \ngovernment despatches had been received, and in \norder to draw forth their contents, some ingenious \npersons wrote from their imaginations what pur- \nported to be an account of the battle, and pub- \nlished it in the newspapers. By this fictitious \n7# \n\n\n78 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\nstatement, the regulars were said to have been \ndefeated with great slaughter. Thus the admin- \nistration were obliged to prepare their own state- \nment for the Gazette, as soon as possible. Even \nwith a favorable garb thrown around its announce- \nment, the official account shocked and alarmed \nthe people. They wTaited with the utmost anxiety \nfor the representation which the provincials might \ngive of the battle, and to hear the measures of \nthe Congress. They changed their opinion of \nthe colonists when they found that one square \nmile of our territory had cost them more than a \nthousand men. As the news of the engagement \ncirculated in England, it called out popular ex- \npressions which exhibited the general dissatisfac- \ntion with the war. The official publications were \nmade up from the accounts of Gage, Howe, and \nBurgoyne ; they were replied to, even in London, \nwith cutting sarcasm. The report in London \nwas, that General Gage was ordered not to haz- \nard another engagement till he was reinforced, \nthough it was doubted whether the provincials \nwould leave this at his option ; that he was \nordered to depart from Boston, after burning it, \nand to fortify himself upon Rhode Island, whence \nhe might make descents upon the coast ; and that \n1000 stand of arms and 1000 Highlanders had \nbeen sent to Quebec. So high did sympathy for \nthe colonists rise in England, that, on the 23d of \nAugust, the king issued a proclamation against \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL \n\n\n79 \n\n\nall in his realms who should aid, correspond with, \nor favor the rebels. It was found that the reve- \nnue, so unblushingly promised in Parliament, was \nto require a large outlay for its collection in the \ncolonies. Instead of receiving taxes from hence, \nthey were obliged to send regiments of their own \nsubjects, with foreign mercenaries, and coals, \nfagots, vinegar, porter, hay, vegetables, sheep, \noxen, horses, clothing, — to say nothing of muni- \ntions of war, — across 3000 miles of water, and \neven then, to anticipate, as the result proved, \nwith good reason, that some of their richest trans- \nports would fall into the hands of these reluctant \ntax-payers. Some of the Highlanders who were \ninduced to enlist by the representations of recruit- \ning sergeants, were told that they were to take \npossession of some vacant farms in this country, \nthe owners of which had been driven into the \ninterior. They even received certificates that \nwhen the rebellion here was subdued, each of \nthem should have a clear title to two hundred \nacres of land for himself, and fifty acres in addi- \ntion for each member of his family. \n\nBy a resolution of the Provincial Congress at \nWatertown, July 7th, the Committee of Safety \nprepared an account of the engagement on the \n17th June, to be transmitted to Great Britain, for \nthe sake of counteracting the influence of any \nmisrepresentations on the part of General Gage. \nThe account was dated July 25, and sent to \n\n\n80 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\nArthur Lee, at London, who caused it to be pub- \nlished in the papers. But the sympathies and \ncomplaints of the English people were not left to \nbe excited merely by documents sent from this \nside of the water, and answered by well-freighted \ntransports from Britain. The people were made \nto witness some melancholy results of the battle, \nwhich brought its pictures of sorrow to their own \ndoors. On September 14th, a transport, (the \nCharming Nancy,) arrived at Plymouth, having \nleft Boston, August 20th. On board were General \nGage's lady, and 170 sick and wounded officers and \nsoldiers, with 60 widows and children of the slain. \nThe stench of the vessel was intolerable, but the \ncondition of its human cargo was awful. Maimed \nand helpless, ragged and pined with sickness, — \nmany of them hundreds of miles from their home \nin Ireland, — the sufferers, as they were landed \nand begged for charity in the streets, presented a \nmost deplorable and wretched tale of the unnatural \nstrife. Two more vessels, with similar cargoes, \nwhich left Boston at the same time, were daily \nexpected, and more were on their way. Thus \nwas Boston relieved of a part of its helpless vic- \ntims, and thus were the people of England most \npiteously besought to spare the blood of their own \nkinsfolk, rather than to make so fearful a sacrifice \nto national pride, to lust of dominion, and to the \nwealth expected from the taxation of the colonies. \nNor did the conduct of the battle, on the part \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 81 \n\nof the British generals, escape severe scrutiny \nand censure. Plans were stated, and alternatives \nimagined, by which they might have secured a \nnearly bloodless victory. These complaints were \nmade with good reason. A ship of war, some \nfloating batteries, or the Cymetry transport, which \ndrew but little water, might have been towed into \nMystic river, and lying water-borne at low tide, \n(for during the heat of the strife the water was at \nebb,) would have been within musket-shot of our \nleft flank, and have rendered the rail fence use- \nless. The regulars might have landed in the \nrear of the provincials, and thus have surrounded \nthem, have incapacitated the breastwork, cut off \na retreat, and occupied Bunker's Hill. Or, sup- \nposing it was most in accordance with military \nrule and prudence that they should have landed \nas they did, in front, they should not have ad- \nvanced in an extended line, firing at intervals, \nbut, formed into columns, should have rushed \nforward, reserving their fire for the redoubt, and \ncharging with the bayonet. Their first two \nattacks were disastrous to themselves, but harm- \nless to the provincials. The simple truth seems \nto be, that the regular officers had a most despi- \ncable opinion of the provincials, and thought that \nthe smell of powder, the glancing of bright bay- \nonets, and a well deployed line, would frighten \nthem into flight. They were grievously mistaken. \nBut, after ail, when the dear-won victory was \n\n\n82 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\ntheirs, why did they not pursue to Cambridge, \nunder cover of their own ships, especially as, \ntowards and after the close of the battle, Charles- \ntown was filled with British troops who were \nhurrying over from Boston ? \n\nAnother result attending the news of the battle \nin England, was the immediate recall of General \nGage. Just before the arrival of the news, de- \nspatches had been prepared, yet not transmitted \nto him, in which his future operations were \ndirected. But these despatches, when sent, were \naccompanied by another, in which he was directed \nto give them to General Howe, who was to suc- \nceed him in the command, and in which he was \nadvised that it was his Majesty's pleasure that he \nshould immediately return to give information \nand counsel at home. It is likewise a remark- \nable, but a very manifest fact, that the disastrous \ncharacter of this battle, the desperate courage of \nthe provincials, and the hopeless aspect which \nthe designs of the ministry began in consequence \nto wear, completely unmanned General Howe, \ndeprived him of all energy in the conduct of the \nwar, and entailed upon him disgrace. \n\nSuch were the effects produced by this battle \nupon our enemies. They might be indefinitely \nenlarged upon, traced out in British petitions and \naddresses to the throne, in public opposition \nmeetings held throughout the kingdom, in the \nreluctance of the soldiers to enlist in that cause, \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 83 \n\nand the high bounty promised to their services, \nand especially in the increasing- number of the \navowed and secret friends of the colonies in \nEngland. \n\nWhile such were the results of the battle on \nthe other side of the water, its effects upon our \nown army and cause contribute to magnify its \nimportance. We might trace out the influence of \nthat battle through the whole war, might refer \nto the spirit and determination and self-respect \nwhich it infused into the provincials. We might \nfind in every subsequent engagement of the war \nsome individuals who had learned their military \nelements on June 17th. But we will confine our- \nselves to a statement of its immediate results which \nwere favorable to our cause. Many of our offi- \ncers had received their commissions from Great \nBritain, and were in the receipt of half-pay at the \ntime of the battle, which they of course resigned. \n\nThe British took possession of, and strongly \nfortified Bunker and Breed's Hills, and posted \ntheir advanced guards upon the Neck. This \ndivision of their forces between the two penin- \nsulas was in one point of view advantageous to \nthem, as it enlarged their quarters at a season of \nthe year when Boston, crowded as it was, and \nmade unwholesome by impure air, seemed as one \nlarge hospital. The cool heights of Charlestown \nwere a refreshing refuge ; yet they were com- \npelled to a great increase of their labor in defend- \n\n\n84 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\ning their works against an enemy so near to them, \nwho insulted and vexed them, and made them \nfeel the degradation of their position. During the \nensuing inclement winter, the troops in Charles- \ntown were obliged to live in tents, and were \nexposed to great sufferings and to driving snow- \nstorms. Neither did the possession of Charles- \ntown give the enemy any facility in obtaining \nsupplies of fresh provisions, in which the country \nabounded, but of which they had enjoyed little, if \nany, after the battle of Lexington. In this re- \nspect, their condition was trying in the extreme. \nThey could procure no fresh meat, vegetables, \nmilk, or fuel, save what came in by water. The \nprovincials took the live stock and the hay off the \nharbor islands, and intercepted many of the ves- \nsels entering with supplies. In a letter from an \nofficer in Boston to a gentleman in London, dated \nJuly 25th, the writer says, they felt themselves \nworse off than the rebels ; as to numbers, like a \nfew children in a large crowd; that the provin- \ncials daily grew more bold, menacing insolently, \nand leading the regulars to fear that, when the \nshort nights came, the threats would be executed. \nHe adds, \" They know our situation as well as \nwe do ourselves, from the villains that are left in \ntown, who acquaint them with all our proceed- \nings, making signals by night with gunpowder, \nand at day, out of the church steeples. About \nthree weeks ago, three fellows were taken out of \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 85 \n\none of the latter, who confessed that he had been \nso employed for seven days. Another was caught \nlast week swimming over to the rebels, with one \nof their general's passes in his pocket. He will \nbe hanged in a day or two.\" The writer adds \nother instances of the boldness of the rebels, in \nbeating in the advanced guard on the British \nlines at Roxbury and destroying the guard-house, \nand in the pillaging and destruction of the light- \nhouse by some yankees who landed from boats, \nwhile a British ship of war lay becalmed within \na mile. \n\nAnd what a cheering spectacle was set before \nthe eyes of our fathers when the American army, \nintrenching upon all the beautiful and elevated \nhills which bound the semicircle around, con- \nfined their enemy to these two peninsulas. There \nwas no concealing the fact that the ministerial \ntroops felt deeply the degradation of their situ- \nation, and were dispirited by it to a degree that \nweakened their moral and physical energies \nthrough the whole war. From the best infor- \nmation that Washington, on assuming his com- \nmand, July 3d, could obtain, he rated the number \nof the enemy at 11,500, while the provincials \nnumbered 16,000 to 17,000. The sentries of the \nopposing forces stationed upon Charlestown Neck \nwere near enough to converse together. We are \nforcibly reminded of that admirable trait in the \ncharacter of Washington, — a scrupulous attention \n8 \n\n\n36 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\nto minutiae, — as well as of the spirit of patriotism \nwhich sustained us under the war, by several of \nthe \" orders \" issued by our General under these \ncircumstances. He expressly forbade that any \npost of peculiar responsibility, such as that of \nsentry or guard at the advanced lines upon Rox- \nbury or Charlestown Necks, should be committed \nto any other than a native of this country, who \nhad a wife and family in it, and was known to be \nattached to its interests. \" This order is to be \nconsidered as a standing one, and the officers are \nto pay obedience to it at their peril.\" \n\nThe contrast between the health and the food \nof the regulars and of the provincials was ex- \ntremely tantalizing. Hand-bills were printed at \nCambridge, and sent on a favorable wind across \nthe lines into the British camp. On one of \nthese, an address to the British soldiers bears the \nfollowing contrasted bills of fare, in the two \ncamps : — \n\n\nProspect Hill. \n\nI. Seven dollars a month. \nII. Fresh provisions and in \nplenty. \n\nIII. Health. \n\nIV. Freedom, ease, affluence, \n\nand a good farm. \n\n\nBunker's Hill. \n\nI. Threepence a day. \nII. Rotten Salt Pork. \n\nIII. The Scurvy. \n\nIV. Slavery, beggary, and \n\nwant. \n\n\nIn reviewing the whole struggle whose opening \ncontest we have thus commemorated, we have a \nduty to perform as patriots and as Christians ; let \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 87 \n\nus hope that there be no discord in our senti- \nments or purposes as we apply to ourselves those \ntwo epithets. As patriots we would vindicate our \ncountry, but as Christians we must regret the \nwar, the civil strife, the bloody conflict, so utterly \nirreconcilable with the spirit and precepts of our \nreligion. \n\n\nDOCUMENTS \n\nILLUSTRATIVE OF THE BATTLE OF BUNKER'S HILL. \n\n\nPART I. \nENGLISH DOCUMENTS. \n\n\nEXTRACTS FROM THE ORDERLY BOOK OF GENERAL \nHOWE. \n\nThe following extracts embrace all that has \nreference to the engagement : \n\n\" General morning orders, Saturday, June 17, \n1775. The companies of the 35th and 49th, that \nare arrived, to land as soon as the transports can \nget to the wharf, and to encamp on the ground \nmarked out for them on the common. \n\n\"Captain Handfield is appointed to act as assist- \nant to the Deputy Quartermaster General, and is \nto be obeyed as such. \n\n\"The ten eldest companies of grenadiers, and \nthe ten eldest companies of light infantry, (exclu- \nsive of those of the regiments lately landed,) the \n5th and 38th regiments, to parade at half after \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\n\n89 \n\n\neleven o'clock, with their arms, amunition, blan- \nkets, and the provisions ordered to be booked this \nmorning. They will march by files to the Long \nWharf. \n\n\" The 43d and 52d regiments, with the remain- \ning companies of light infantry and grenadiers, to \nparade at the same time, with the same directions, \nand march to the North Battery. The 47th regi- \nment and the 1st battalion of marines will also \nmarch, as above directed, to the North Battery, \nafter the rest are embarked, and be ready to em- \nbark there when ordered. \n\n\" The rest of the troops will be kept in readi- \nness to march at a moment's warning. \n\n\" 1 subaltern, 1 serjeant, 1 corporal, 1 drummer \nand 20 privates, to be left by each corps for the \nsecurity of their respective encampments. \n\n\" Any man who shall quit his rank, on any \npretence, or shall dare to plunder or pillage, will \nbe executed without mercy. \n\n\" The pioneers of the army to parade immedi- \nately, and march to the South Battery, where \nthey will obey such orders as they will receive \nfrom Lieut. Col. Cleveland. \n\n\" The light dragoons, mounted, to be sent im- \nmediately to the lines, where they will attend and \nobey the orders of the officer commanding there. \n\n\" Two more to be sent in like manner to head \nquarters. \n\n\" Signals for the boats, in divisions, moving to \n8* \n\n\n90 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\nthe attack on the rebels, entrenched on the Heights \nof Charlestown : \n\nJune 17, 1775, (viz.) \n\nBlue flag, To advance. \n\nYellow do To lay on oars. \n\nKed do To land. \n\n\"Heights of Charlestown, June 18th, at nine \n\no'clock, morning. — General Howe's Orders. \n\n\" The troops will encamp as soon as the equi- \npage can be brought up. \n\n\" Tents and provisions may be expected when \nthe tide admits of transporting them to this side. \n\n\" The corps to take the duty at the entrenchment \nnear Charlestown Neck alternately. The whole \n(those on the last mentioned duty excepted,) to \nfurnish the third of their numbers for work, with \nofficers and non-commissioned officers in propor- \ntion, and to be relieved every four hours. \n\n\" The parties for work to carry their arms, and \nlodge them securely while on that duty. \n\n\" General Howe expects that all officers will \nexert themselves to prevent the men from strag- \ngling, quitting their companies or platoons, and, \non pain of death no man to be guilty of the shame- \nful and infamous practice of pillaging in the \ndeserted houses. \n\n\" When men are sent for water, not less than \ntwelve, with a non-commissioned officer, to be \nsent on that duty. \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 91 \n\n\"The 47th regiment to continue at the post \nthey now occupy. \n\n\" The soldiers are by no means to cut down \ntrees, unless ordered. \n\n\" General Howe hopes the troops will in every \ninstance show an attention to discipline and reg- \nularity on this ground, equal to the bravery and \nintrepidity, he, with the greatest satisfaction, ob- \nserved they displayed so remarkably yesterday. \nHe takes this opportunity of expressing his public \ntestimony of the gallantry and good conduct of \nthe officers under his command during the action, \nto which he in a great measure ascribes the suc- \ncess of the day. He considers particularly in this \nlight the distinguished efforts of the Generals \nClinton and Pigot. \n\n\" The corps of light infantry will relieve the \ngrenadiers at the advanced entrenchment, this \nevening at seven. \n\n\" When the 52d regiment encamp, an officer \nand twenty men of that corps will remain at the \npost they now occupy. \n\n11 As soon as the ground is marked out for the \nencampment, the several corps will immediately \nmake necessary houses.\" \n\n\" General Orders — Head Quarters. \nBoston, 19th June, 1775. \n\"The Commander-in-Chief returns his most \ngrateful thanks to Major General Howe, for the \n\n\n92 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\nextraordinary exertion of his military abilities on \nthe 17th instant. He returns his thanks also to \nMajor General Clinton, and Brigadier General \nPigot, for the share they took in the success of the \nday, as well as to Lieut. Colonels Nesbitt, Aber- \ncrombie, Gunning and Clarke, Majors Butler, \nWilliams, Bruce, Tupper, Spendlove, Smelt and \nMitchel, and the rest of the officers and soldiers, \nwho, by remarkable efforts of courage and gal- \nlantry, overcame every disadvantage, and drove \nthe rebels from their redoubt and strong holds on \nthe Heights of Charlestown, and gained a com- \npleat victory. \n\n\"June 27, 1775. \n\" The preservation of the few houses left in \nCharlestown (as much as possible) unimpaired, \nbeing an important object, any of the soldiers \ndetected in future in attempting shamefully to \npurloin any part of these buildings, will assu- \nredly be punished most severely. The General \nconsiders such instances of devastation and irreg- \nularity a disgrace to discipline.\" \n\n\nExtract of a letter from General Gage to Lord \nDartmouth : \n\nBoston, June 25, 1775. \n\n11 The success, of which I send your lordship \n\nan account by the present opportunity, was very \n\nnecessary in our present situation, and I wish \n\nmost sincerely that it had not cost us so dear. \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\n\n93 \n\n\nThe number of killed and wounded is greater \nthan our forces can afford to lose. The officers, \nwho were obliged to exert themselves, have suf- \nfered very much, and we have lost some extremely- \ngood officers. The trials we have had, show the \nrebels are not the despicable rabble too many have \nsupposed them to be ; and I find it owing to a \nmilitary spirit, encouraged among them for a few \nyears past, joined with an uncommon degree of \nzeal and enthusiasm, that they are otherwise. \nWhen they find cover they make a good stand ; \nand the country, naturally strong, affords it to \nthem, and they are taught to assist its natural \nstrength by art, for they entrench and raise bat- \nteries. They have fortified all the heights and \npasses around this town, from Dorchester to Med- \nford or Mystick, and it is not impossible for them \nto annoy the Town. \n\n11 Your lordship will perceive that the conquest \nof this country is not easy, and can be effected \nonly by time and perseverance, and strong armies \nattacking it in various quarters, and dividing their \nforces. Confining your operations on this side \nonly is attacking in the strongest part, and you \nhave to cope with vast numbers. It might natu- \nrally be supposed, that troops of the nature of the \nrebel army would return home after such a check \nas they had got ; and I hear many wanted to go \noff, but care has been taken to prevent it; for any \nman that returns home without a pass, is immedi- \n\n\n94 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\nately seized and sent back to his regiment. In \nall their wars against the French, they never \nshowed so much conduct, attention and perseve- \nrance as they do now. I think it my duty to let \nyour lordship know the true situation of affairs, \nthat administration may take measures accord- \ningly. \n\n\" The people's minds are kept so much heated \nand inflamed, that they are always ripe for every- \nthing that is extravagant. Truth is kept from \nthem, and they are too full of prejudices to believe \nit, if laid before them ; and so blind and bigoted, \nthat they cannot see they have exchanged liberty \nfor tyranny. No people were ever governed more \nabsolutely than those of the American Provinces \nnow are, and no reason can be given for their \nsubmission, but that it is a tyranny they have \nerected themselves, as they believe, to avoid great- \ner evils. \n\n\nGeneral Gage to the Earl of Dartmouth. [From \nthe London Gazette.] \n\n\" Whitehall, July 25, 1775. \n\" This morning arrived Captain Chadds, of His \nMajesty's ship Cerberus, with the following letter \nfrom the Hon. Lieut. General Gage, to the Earl \nof Dartmouth, one of His Majesty's principal \nSecretaries of State.\" \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 95 \n\n\" Copy of a letter from the Hon. Lieut. General \n\nGage, to the Earl of Dartmouth, dated Boston, \n\nJune 25, 1775. \n\n\" My Lord : I am to acquaint your lordship of \nan action that happened on the 17th instant, \nbetween his Majesty's troops and a body of the \nrebel forces. \n\n11 An alarm was given at break of day on the \n17th instant, by a firing from the Lively, ship of \nwar ; and advice was soon afterwards received, \nthat the rebels had broke gTound, and were raising \na battery on the heights of the peninsula of \nCharlestown, against the Town of Boston. They \nwere plainly seen at work, and in a few hours a \nbattery of six guns played upon their works. \nPreparations were instantly made for landing a \nbody of men to drive them off, and ten companies \nof grenadiers and ten of light infantry, with the \nfifth, thirty-eighth, forty-third and fifty-second bat- \ntalions made a third line. The rebels upon the \nHeights were perceived to be in great force, and \nstrongly posted — a redoubt, thrown up on the 16th, \nat night, with other works, full of men, defended \nwith cannon, and a large body posted in the hou- \nses in Charlestown, covered their right flank, and \ntheir centre and left were covered by a breastwork, \npart of it cannon proof, which reached from the \nleft of the redoubt, to the Mystic or Medford river. \n\" This appearance of the rebels' strength, and \nthe large columns seen pouring in to their assist- \n\n\n96 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\nance, occasioned an application for the troops to \nbe reinforced with some companies of light infan- \ntry and grenadiers, the forty-seventh battalion, \nand the first battalion of marines ; the whole, when \nin conjunction, making a body of something above \ntwo thousand men. These troops advanced, formed \nin two lines, and the attack began by a sharp \ncannonade from our field pieces and howitzers ; the \nlines advancing slowly, and frequently halting to \ngive time for the artillery to fire. The light infan- \ntry was directed to force the left point of the \nbreastwork, to take the rebel line in flank, and the \ngrenadiers to attack in front, supported by the fifth \nand fifty-second battalions. These orders were \nexecuted with perseverance, under a heavy fire \nfrom the vast numbers of the rebels ; and not- \nwithstanding various impediments before the troops \ncould reach the works, (and though the left, under \nBrigadier General Pigot, who engaged also with \nthe rebels at Charlestown, which at a critical mo- \nment was set on fire,) the Brigadier pursued his \npoint, and carried the redoubt. The rebels were \nthen forced from other strong holds, and pursued \ntill they were drove clear off the peninsula, leaving \nfive pieces of cannon behind them. \n\n\" The loss the rebels sustained must have been \nconsiderable, from the great numbers they carried \noff during the time of the action, and buried in \nholes, since discovered, exclusive of what they \nsuffered by the shipping and boats. Near one \nhundred were buried the next day after, and \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 97 \n\nthirty found wounded in the field, three of whom \nare since dead. \n\n\" I enclose your lordship a return of the killed \nand wounded of His Majesty's troops. \n\n\" This action has shown the superiority of the \nKing's troops, who, under every disadvantage, \nattacked and defeated above three times their \nnumber, strongly posted, and covered by breast- \nworks. \n\n\" The conduct of Major General Howe was \nconspicuous on this occasion, and his example \nspirited the troops, in which Major General Clin- \nton assisted, who followed the reinforcement. \nAnd in justice to Brigadier General Pigot, I am \nto add, that the success of the day must, in a \ngreat measure, be attributed to his firmness and \ngallantry. \n\n\" Lieutenant Colonels Nesbit, Abercrombie, \nClarke ; Majors Butler, Williams, Bruce, Spend- \nlove, Smelt, Mitchell, Pitcairn, and Short, ex- \nerted themselves remarkably; and the valor of \nthe British officers and soldiers in general was at \nno time more conspicuous than in this action. \n\" I have the honor to be, &c, \n\n\"Thomas Gage.\" \n\n[Then follows the return with the names of \nthe officers, non-commissioned officers, and pri- \nvates, of the different corps, killed and wounded : \nsubjoined is the ensuing summary.] \n9 \n\n\n98 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. \n\n\" Total, — one Lieutenant Colonel, two Majors, \nseven Captains, nine Lieutenants, fifteen Ser- \ngeants, one Drummer, one hundred and ninety- \none rank and file, killed ; three Majors, twenty- \nseven Captains, thirty-two Lieutenants, eight \nEnsigns, twenty Sergeants, twelve Drummers, \nseven hundred and six rank and file, wounded.\" \n\n[The above summary was not strictly accurate, \nnor complete. Of course, very many of the \nwounded died soon after this account was written. \nThe whole number of the killed and wounded \nwas afterwards estimated by the British at 1054. \nSome of their men were missing after the battle, \nwho were supposed to have deserted to the \nAmericans.] \n\n\n\" Observations on the government account of the \nlate action near Charlestown.\" [From the Op- \nposition journals.] \n\n\" London, August 1, 1775. \n\n\" There are two sorts of persons who always \npersevere uniformly, and without shame, in one \nunvaried line of conduct, regardless of the con- \ntempt and detestation of mankind. The sorts I \nmean are the thorough virtuous, and the thorough \nscoundrel. \n\n\" To one of these classes most evidently belong \nthe ministers, who settled the account which they \nhave given us in last Tuesday's Gazette. \n\n\nBATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 99 \n\n\" The action near Boston, happened on the \n' 17th of June,' yet General Gage's letter is dated \neight days after, on the ' 25th of June.' \n\n\" By this letter it appears that it has cost one \nthousand and sixty-four of the troops, killed and \nwounded, to destroy a redoubt thrown up only \nthe overnight, i. e., on the 16th of June. \n\n\" The loss of the provincials, the letter says, \n' must have been considerable ;' yet eight days \nafter the action, the General, though completely \nvictorious, can tell us only of ' one hundred ' \nburied, and ' thirty' wounded. \n\n\" But ' they had carried off great numbers dur- \ning the time of the action.' Did they so ? That is \nno great sign of flight, confusion, and defeat. \n\n\"But 'they buried them in holes.' Really! \nwhy, are our soldiers buried in the air ? \n\n\" But ' the King's troops were under every \ndisadvantage.' So truly it seems; for in the \nsame letter we are told ' that they had a propor- \ntion of field artillery, and landed on the peninsula \nwithout opposition, and formed as soon as landed, \nunder the protection of some ships of war, armed \nvessels, and boats, by whose fire the rebels were \nkept within their works.' \n\n\" But ' this action has shown the superiority of \nthe King's troops.' Has it, indeed? How? Why \nthey (with a proportion of field artillery, and with \nthe assistance of ships, armed vessels, and boats, \nand with the encouragement of certain and speedy \n\nP* o /I c% \"- \n\n\n2 1 197f \n\n\n","title":"Sketches of Bunker Hill battle and monument : with illustrative documents","updated_at":"2026-09-05T09:59:19.686346Z","urn":"urn:lemay:boston:document:sketches-of-bunker-hill-battle-and-monument-with-illustrative-documents","version":1,"withdrawn_reason":null},"urn":"urn:lemay:boston:document:sketches-of-bunker-hill-battle-and-monument-with-illustrative-documents","version_history":[{"change_note":"accessioned from the Internet Archive, item sketchesofbunker00elli","changed_by":"archive-ingest 0.1.0","recorded_at":"2026-09-05T09:59:19.979437Z","version":1}]}