FREE ESSAY ON BUNKER HILL

BUNKER HILL

The battle on Breed's Hill, wrongly named the Battle of Bunker Hill, changed the course of
the American Revolution. This battle was the first large-scale engagement and also one of
the bloodiest battles of the American Revolution. It was held on June 17, 1775 in
Charlestown (now part of Boston), Massachusetts. 
The prior battle to this one would be the at Lexington and Concorde which sort of started
it all. This battle took place April 19, 1775. After the battle at Concorde British
troops decided to give up and stop fighting and marched back. Meanwhile the Americans
continuously made hit and run attacks on the retreating forces. This heightened the heat
between the rebels and the British. Later, 5 days before the battle at Breeds Hill,
General Thomas Gage would declare martial law. Stating to give pardon to anyone who would
lay down their arms and pledge himself to King George. He did this to avoid further
uprisings and armed conflict. Unfortunately, this had the opposite effect and upset many
of the colonists. Thus, adding to the flame and making the battle almost imminent.
On June 16, 1775 the Americans became aware of the British plan to take control of Bunker
and Breed's Hills. So the rebels decided to invade the area before the British in a hope
to fortify it and be prepared for the Redcoats. Colonel William Prescott and 1,200 men,
mostly from Massachusetts, moved in to the peninsula with the mission to fortify Bunker
Hill. Two ours upon arriving they realized that they needed to fortify Breed's Hill and
fall back on Bunker Hill if necessary. During the night of the sixteenth Colonel Prescott
gave them the orders to Dig, and dig hard. Trying to get the soldiers to fortify Breed's
Hill as best as possible. If they learned anything from that night they learned that a
Yankee soldier, at this stage of war, was a great digger.
The night's work turned out to be tactically genius. Between those ours of midnight and
first light the troops dug up a square frame on the hill. Each side being about 45 yards.
They also fortified an area running northeast from the hill about halfway to the water. A
quarter of a mile behind that, they continued the barricade along a stone wall and rail
fence that went the rest of the way down the shore. Breed's Hill was now tactically
secure and was ready for battle. 
The next day when the British discovered this fortification they became infuriated. The
boat Lively opened fire upon the hill. Joined in by the Glasgow and Somerset these three
ships made much noise and did minimal to no damage. The British finally realized that the
American position was not as completely stupid as it looked some eight hours later. Sir
William Howe received tactical information from Gage on commands of operation. With this
and 1,200 men Howe landed on the peninsula. 
Throughout that day the American forces had been reinforced to about 1,500 troops. The
British grew to about 2,500 that would actually partake in the battle. The stage was now
set for one of the bloodiest battles of the Revolutionary War. The British could have
easily taken over the hills by surrounding them but they wanted to show them who was boss
so they decided on a head on battle. They realized faults in their plan where the rebels
fortified the areas well, however the British paid no attention to it. They had no reason
to stop and think twice from their past experiences with the rebel forces. So far they
had shown no great ability to shoot and these men behind low stone walls or rails surely
would be nothing to think twice about. British brought some light cannons for some direct
artillery support but foolishly brought the wrong size ammunition, but no one expected to
use them anyway so they remained there useless. This type of thinking was part of why the
British had such severe casualties.
When it was obvious the battle was going to begin the officers were extremely nervous on
the American side. Many of the officers paced back and forth in the trenches behind their
men. They had a serious problem to face... a very low ammunition supply. The officers
ordered the soldiers to hold their fire and to make sure that they made every shot count.
Wisely adding directions to aim low because soldiers tended to aim high downhill and to
look for the men with the gold gorgets(officers). Colonel Prescott gave the famous orders
Don't one of you fire until you see the whites of their eyes. This was to make sure that
the men didn't fire prematurely and waste ammunition on bad shots. Instead to wait until
the British troops were close enough to get a good shot almost at point blank.
At three o'clock that afternoon the British finally advanced towards Breed's Hill. The
light infantry along the shoreline made first contact. The British cane within fifty
yards of the area, held by Colonel John Stark and his New Hampshire troops, until Stark
gave the order to fire. The first column was completely blown away and the next two
emerged and met the same fate. On the left, Pigot shared the same fate. In the center the
grenadiers finally reached the redoubt in some confusion after getting mixed up from
crossing some earlier fences. Then when they approached within about fifty yards they
prepared to fire contrary to orders and then Prescott instructed to open fire. The
British tried to stand their ground but was devastated and rolled back downhill. Within
those few starting moments a total of 96 lives were taken on the British side. 
Howe wasted no time and prepared for a second attack within fifteen minutes. The second
strike met the same fate as the first. The rebels held their fire until the last moment
and then completely decimated the British lines. The British troops were once again
forced to retreat.
After the second strike the British learned their grave mistake. They really meant
business and took all possible precautions. The soldiers stripped off their packs filled
with over a hundred pounds of useless equipment. Sir Henry Clinton came from Boston to
organize stragglers around the beach to fight with them. The British got another regiment
to add to their army with some companies of marines. And those useless artillery guns had
gotten their proper ammunition. They were determined to do it the right way this time.
The Patriots however held the opposite fate. They had done everything correctly until the
third strike. Many troops refused to march from exhaustion or fear. The biggest problem
was that their small supply of ammunition was now gone.
The third attack started off similar to the first two. The British advanced very close to
the American defense until the patriots opened fire. The British sustained heavy losses
again however they were determined to break through and the did. The fire from the rebels
started to diminish and the British finally broke through. The men were helpless with out
ammunition. Some fought back with rocks, fists, teeth, feet, and clubbed muskets as best
they could. However, the rebels knew that they were defeated and retreated to Bunker
Hill. The totally exhausted British tried to go after the rebels but could not pursue
them.
So the British won. Right? Technically speaking the British had won the battle because
they gained the area in their possession. However, the patriots sustained far less
casualties compared to the British. The Americans sustained about 30% casualties out of
their 1,500 troops 1/3 of which were killed and 2/3 wounded. So 450 men were wounded and
135 killed. The British on the other hand sustained almost 50% casualties out of their
2,500 troops. There were 925 wounded and 225 killed. If you compare the numbers the
evidence clearly shows that the patriots had succeeded in hurting the British army. 
The Battle of Bunker Hill was definitely a wake-up call for Britain. This predicated that
the Revolutionary War would be a long, close one. The fact that the battle was almost won
by the rebels rose the spirit in other Americans that they might actually have a chance
at this rebellion. Also proving to Britain that the Americans were not afraid to fight
for their freedom and that they could be vicious at times. General Henry Clinton wisely
said after the battle It is such a dear victory, another such would have ruined us.