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 The Bunker Hill Monument standing proudly over the roof-tops of Charlestown outside Boston, marks the place of the first great battle of the American Revolution.
Well actually it doesn’t. Breed’s Hill is where the monument stands marking the place of the first great battle of the American Revolution. Bunker Hill lies a few miles away and is significant in name only. This little historic anomaly comes from the last minute decision of the American soldiers to choose Breed’s Hill rather than Bunker Hill on which to build their outpost.
It was here that around a thousand colonial soldiers took on the King’s army and although they ultimately lost, the colonials’ bravery in holding out against the odds added fuel to the fervour of the revolution.
By June 1775, following the skirmish at Lexington and Concord, New England was preparing for war. Local recruits were signing up for the ‘New England Army’, while British reinforcements were arriving in Boston. On the night of June 16th a detachment of New England soldiers set up a small redoubt on Breed’s Hill overlooking Charlestown. When the British awoke the following morning they were none to pleased to find the enemy had a strategic advantage and so they marched on the patriot soldiers.
Despite being ill equipped for the ensuing battle the New England soldiers held out against the British onslaught. It was here that Colonel William Prescott, to conserve precious gunpowder, gave the famous order to his American soldiers not to fire, ‘til you see the whites of their eyes’. The British ordered the fire bombing of Charlestown Village during the battle and took the hill after the American’s ran out of gunpowder. But it was seen as a moral victory by the colonials who lost 441 men compared with 1,054 British troops as it shown the New England Army that they could stand up to the British.
The scene of the battle is marked by a 221-foot granite obelisk surrounded by a small park. The monument contains statues of the American heroes of the battle while at the top of the shaft is an observatory. Bunker Hill is officially the final destination on Boston’s Freedom Trail. Across from the monument is the Bunker Hill Museum, where an interpretive exhibition outlines the events of June 17th 1775.
Location:
Monument Square, Charlestown.
Opening Times:
Open daily: 9am-4.30pm
Admission Free
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