Battle of Bunker Hill

The Battle of Bunker Hill is one of the most consequential engagements of the Revolutionary War, despite being a British victory. On the night of June 16, American commanders learned the British planned to occupy the hills surrounding Boston. Colonel William Prescott led 1,200 men onto the Charlestown Peninsula and built a substantial earthen redoubt on Breed's Hill rather than the higher Bunker Hill. Working through the night, they also constructed breastworks extending toward the Mystic River.

When dawn revealed the fortifications, British General William Howe was furious. He assembled 2,300 regulars and launched a frontal assault. The first two British attacks were repulsed with devastating losses. The American defenders held their fire until the British were at extremely close range — giving rise to the famous order to 'not fire until you see the whites of their eyes.' British officers fell in appalling numbers. The third assault succeeded only because the Americans ran out of ammunition. Many defenders were bayoneted retreating across the peninsula's neck.

British casualties exceeded 1,050 — over 40% of the attacking force. No battle in the French and Indian War had produced such losses. American casualties numbered about 440, including Dr. Joseph Warren, president of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, killed in the final assault. Despite being a British victory, the battle proved that American militia could stand against professional soldiers in open battle, discouraged British commanders from ever again launching frontal assaults against fortified American positions, and inspired colonists across the continent.

General Howe was so shaken by the casualties that historians argue the battle permanently affected his willingness to pursue aggressive offensive operations. Congress, sobered by the scale of the fighting, committed to raising a proper army with professional training. George Washington arrived in Cambridge two weeks after Bunker Hill to take command of what became the Continental Army.