Evening star., 1925-05-31

| Nutil SDille Ol MS Ol1ltSIS urged ina
their men be relieved, he promptly re-
piled that the men who had raised
the works We're best able to defend
them. already they had learned TO de
| SpiSe the fire of the enemy; they had
the merit of the labor and should have
the honor of the victory"
= =
THROUGHOUT the forenoon the
| troops. in spite of their fatigue
caused by marching. working and
| watching all night. and by their hay-
| ing. had practically no refreshments
for "A hours, continued 70 prepare for
an attack which it had become APP
parent the British We're about to
| launch.
| Gen. Gage had held a council of
war and mapped out plan OF action.
About noon, at the time when the
Americans were anXiously awaiting re-
! Inducements and refreshments which
| never came. the first British troops
left Boston. While they We're crossing
| the bay the men-ot-war increased
| their cannonade of the American po-
| sition. The fire was not returned and
| the forces of the crown were landed
on the Charlestown shore without op-
| position.
News of the advance OF the British
! spread quickly behind the American
lines. When it reached Cambridge
the alarm bells were rung, drums beat
the call TO arms, and preparations
were hastily made 10 oppose the at
, tack. Several regiments set out for
LBunker Hill. but, for various reasons,
| most OF them failed to reach the scene
in time to participate in the battle.
In Boston. too. the departure of the
| regulars aroused the populace. The
| people crowded to the housetops.
! steeples. trees and every other lofty
! place from which could he obtained n
view of the hill that was soon to be.
come the scene of one OF the most inn
/ portant battles ever fought on Ameri-
can soil These spectators far out
numbered both armies, and formed an
! unusual and important part of the
panorama of the battlefield. Daniel
Webster is credited with the following
| comment on them:
"In other battles the recollection of
| wives and children has been used as
an excitement to animate the war
| rior'S breast and nerve his arm. Here
was not a mere recollection, but an
actual presence of them. and other
dear connections, hanging on the out
skirts of the battle, anxious and agi-
tated, feeling almost as if wounded
themselves by every blow of the
enemy, and putting forth. as 1t were,
their own strength and all the energy
of their throbbing bosoms into every
gallant effort of their warning
friends"
Before such an audience the entire
battle was fought. 1t began about 3
o'clock in the afternoon. BY that time
the British had landed 5000 troops
under the command of Gen. William
Howe on the 'Charlestown side of the
bay. This force included several of
The oldest companies of grenadiers
and light infantry in America, troops
that had often put to rout the best
! battalions of France. They were
calmly awaited by the inexperienced
colonial soldiers on Breeds Hill.
| In order to prevent a flank attack,
Col. Prescott had distributed his men.
Some had been left in their newly
built redoubt, which was about s
rods square The rest were stationed
in line behind stone walls, rail fences
| and similar breastworks, between the
| crest of the hill and the Mystic River.
| Some of the troops were resentful that
there was still no sign of the promised
reinforcements, but the presence of
Or. Joseph Warren, president Of the
Continental Congress; Gen. Pomeroy,
Gen. Putnam and other prominent
patriots on the field, inspired and
cheered most of them.
| x x X x
1.-THE British had succeeded in bring
ing over some field pieces at flood
tide, and these began bombardment
of the American works as the infantry
moved to the attack. The advance was
made in two columns, one under the
command of Gen. Howe. which ap-
preached the weakest point in the
American defense. the sector behind q
rail fence: the other, led by Gen. Pigot
had as its objective the storming of
the debout Both of the columns con.
sisted of three well separated lines
similar to the waves employed in
modern trench warfare.
The Americans had been ordered to
withhold their fire until the enemy
was within easy range. Don't fire till
you see the whites of their eyes" and
similar injunctionS were passed along
the lines. With few exceptions, these
commands were obeyed, and when the
volleys were finally discharged they
abruptly halted the British advance
! For some minutes the English at
tempted to hold their ground, but the
provincials were protected by their
breastworks ad suffered little, while
their craftsmanship was so deadly
that the Red Coats were forced to
withdraw.
| This momentary victory gave Col
Prescott and his men renewed courage
and awakened new confidence in
their ranks. American volunteers had
Idispersed a detachment of British reg.
ulars and felt that they were ready to
do it again. The hoped-for reinforce.
ments still failed to arrive in numbers
of any consequence.
The attention of the participants
was, about this time, diverted by a
huge column of smoke in the south.
west. Charlestown had been set on
fire by a party of British marines
Most of the buildings of the town were
wooden, and the flames spread rapidly
sending up clouds of dense black
smoke. The effect of the fire was mora