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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
Date
Breed's Hill - Bunker Hill
Questions
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. Charlestown
B. Boston
C. Philadelphia
D. New York
3. The British thought the Americans were lazy. Why?
4. Why was the British attack on Bunker Hill a mistake?
5. What caused the colonists to lose at Bunker Hill?
A. Lack of leadership
B. Lack of men
C. Lack of ammunition
D. Lack of fortification
6. Which would be better for hand to hand combat, a bayonet or a rifle?
7. Why is the British victory at Breed's Hill considered a loss for them?
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8. Who was the commander of the American Continental army?
A. General Washington
B. General Gage
C. General Howe
D. Major Pitcairn
Have you ever heard the saying, "They won the battle but lost the war" used? What does it mean?
How did soldiers during the Revolutionary War defend themselves? What were their weapons like? What type
of defensive structures did they have?