The first major battle of the American war for independence was fought on June 17th 1775, more than a year before the Declaration of Independence.
After the action at Lexington and Concord in April (Paul Revere’s ride, the shot heard ’round the world), 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 before the Redcoats did. The militiamen, however, did not yet 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 the higher Bunker Hill, which might 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. At around 3:30 some 2,200 British troops attacked the fortified position — 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 field.” 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. Washington assumed command in July and there was no major action again in Massachusetts.
An American officer, William Prescott, is said to have ordered during the battle, “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes.”