Or so Abigail Adams wrote to husband John the day after the Battle of Bunker Hill, which was fought on this date in 1775. The first major battle of the American Revolutionary War, it was fought more than a year before the Declaration of Independence.
After the action at Lexington and Concord in April (Paul Revere’s ride), the reinforced British were camped in Boston. The Massachusetts Committee of Safety decided to contain the British by occupying the heights of Charlestown north of Boston (and Dorchester south of it). The militiamen, however, did not have artillery to defend the heights once occupied.
By the morning of June 17, some 1,200 Americans were entrenched on Breed’s Hill in Charlestown — not Bunker Hill, which would have been a better choice. Reinforcements increased the number to 1,500 by afternoon. They were bombarded by British cannon shooting uphill and without much effect. Some 2,200 British troops attacked the fortified position around 3:30 — uphill, carrying 125 pound knapsacks. The first two assaults were thrown back, but the third succeeded as American gun powder ran out.
Though the British took the hill, they suffered more than 1,000 casualties — “The dead lay as thick as sheep in a fold.” American losses were less than 500.
The Battle of Bunker Hill encouraged the colonies. It proved that American forces could inflict heavy losses on the British.
An American officer, William Prescott, is said to have ordered during the battle, “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes.”
The Massachusetts Historical Society has an excellent web site relating to the Battle of Bunker Hill.