Name
Breed's Hill - Bunker Hill
By Jane Runyon
In April of 1775, the
"shot heard ‘round the
world" started the
Revolutionary War. The
Massachusetts militia was
able to push the British
army back to Boston from
Lexington and Concord.
The British commanders
had convinced themselves
that it would take only a
small battle or two to convince the rebellious colonists to stop their
foolishness and welcome British rule. How wrong they were!
In June of 1775, the Second Continental Congress appointed
George Washington to command the Continental Army. Two days
later, the British and colonials were engaged in the first major battle
of the war. The British realized the importance of the city of Boston
to the colonists. The city itself was on a peninsula in Boston Harbor.
Across the Charles River, just across from Boston, were two hills on
another peninsula. The colonists feared that the British would be
able to capture Boston and take control of the harbor there. The
colonists believed that they could take control of the two hills across
the river and keep the British from doing just that. The two hills
were named Breed's Hill and Bunker Hill.
On the night of June 15, 1775, members of the Massachusetts
militia very quietly moved to take control of these two hills. During
the night they were able to dig trenches and pile dirt into walls to
protect themselves. The job they did that night was nothing short of
a miracle. When the British troops woke up the next morning and
saw the well-fortified hills, they were astounded. These builders
were the same men the British couldn't get to build camps for them.
The British had decided that all Americans were lazy. The job they
did that night was not what would be done by lazy men.
The British made a very big mistake at this time. A peninsula is
an area of land surrounded on three sides by water. It is attached to
the mainland by a narrow neck of land. If the British had gone to
this neck of land and taken control of it, it would have isolated the
Americans and cut off any means of escape. Instead, they decided to
attack the American forces head on. The English got into boats and
sailed directly to the bottom of the two hills. Each British soldier
that started up Bunker Hill carried a full knapsack, a blanket, and
ammunition. That added up to 125 pounds of equipment for each
man.
The British had no idea what they were going to find when they
reached the colonists. If they had known the truth, they would not
have been so hasty. You see, the colonists had worked hard to set up
their fortifications, but they had very little ammunition to defend it.
Their resources were so low that their commanders told them to
shoot only when they were absolutely sure of their target. History
says they were told, "Don't shoot 'til you see the whites of their eyes."
And that's exactly what they did. As the British soldiers stormed up
the side of the first hill, the colonial militia held their fire. Can you
imagine how hard that must have been? Soldiers with rifles and
bayonets were running at them full speed. The waiting paid off,
however. The militia was able to kill a great many of the first British
soldiers to come their way. The second wave of English didn't fare
much better. It didn't take long before all was quiet again. The
gunfire had stopped. The British soldiers were at the top of Breed's
Hill and the American militia was gone. What happened? The
militia had run out of ammunition and retreated. The British had
taken the hills, but it cost them dearly.
When the bodies were cleared off the battlefield, the British had
228 dead and 826 wounded. That meant that four out of every ten
soldiers that had started the battle were now out of commission.
Ninety-two of the dead were officers. That's one-fourth of all the
officers who were killed in the entire war. General Howe and
General Gage may have won this small battle in Boston, but it cost
them almost half of the soldiers they had. They hadn't put an end to
the rebellion. As a matter of fact, it gave more hope and confidence
to the Continental army.
Name
Breed's Hill - Bunker Hill
Questions
5. What caused the colonists to lose at Bunker Hill?
A. Lack of ammunition
B. Lack of leadership
C. Lack of fortification
D. Lack of men
6. Which would be better for hand to hand combat, a bayonet or a
rifle?
1. The first shots of the Revolutionary War were fired at Bunker
Hill.
A. True
B. False
2. What lay across the harbor from Breed's Hill?
A. New York
B. Boston
C. Charlestown
D. Philadelphia
7. Why is the British victory at Breed's Hill considered a loss for
them?
3. The British thought the Americans were lazy. Why?
4. Why was the British attack on Bunker Hill a mistake?
8. Who was the commander of the American Continental army?
A. General Washington
B. General Howe
C. General Gage
D. Major Pitcairn
How did soldiers during the Revolutionary War defend themselves?
What were their weapons like? What type of defensive structures did
they have?
Name
Have you ever heard the saying, "They won the battle but lost the
war" used? What does it mean?