Battle of Bunker Hill The Battle of Bunker Hill took place on June 17 , 1775 , mostly on and around Breed ' s Hill , during the Siege of Boston early in the American Revolutionary War . The battle is named after the adjacent Bunker Hill , which was peripherally involved in the battle and was the original objective of both colonial and British troops , and is occasionally referred to as the " Battle of Breed ' s Hill . " On June 13 , 1775 , the leaders of the colonial forces besieging Boston learned that the British generals were planning to send troops out from the city to occupy the unoccupied hills surrounding the city . In response to this intelligence , 1 , 200 colonial troops under the command of William Prescott stealthily occupied Bunker Hill and Breed ' s Hill , constructed an earthen redoubt on Breed ' s Hill , and built lightly fortified lines across most of the Charlestown Peninsula . When the British were alerted to the presence of the new position the next day , they mounted an attack against them . After two assaults on the colonial lines were repulsed with significant British casualties , the British finally captured the positions on the third assault , after the defenders in the redoubt ran out of ammunition . The colonial forces retreated to Cambridge over Bunker Hill , suffering their most significant losses on Bunker Hill . While the result was a victory for the British , they suffered heavy losses : over 800 wounded and 226 killed , including a notably large number of officers . The battle is seen as an example of a Pyrrhic victory , because the immediate gain ( the capture of Bunker Hill ) was modest and did not significantly change the state of the siege , while the cost ( the loss of nearly a third of the deployed forces ) was high . Meanwhile , colonial forces were able to retreat and regroup in good order having suffered fewer casualties . Furthermore , the battle demonstrated that relatively inexperienced colonial forces were willing and able to stand up to regular army troops in a pitched battle . Geography . Boston , situated on a peninsula , was largely protected from close approach by the expanses of water surrounding it , which were dominated by British warships . In the aftermath of the battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19 , 1775 , the colonial militia , a force of about 15 , 000 men had surrounded the town , and effectively besieged it . Under the command of Artemas Ward , they controlled the only land access to Boston itself ( the Roxbury Neck ) , but , lacking a navy , were unable to control or even contest British domination of the waters of the harbor . The British troops , a force of about 6 , 000 under the command of General Thomas Gage , occupied the city , and were able to be resupplied and reinforced by sea . They were thus able to remain in Boston indefinitely . However , the land across the water from Boston contained a number of hills , which could be used to advantage . If the militia could obtain enough artillery pieces , these could be placed on the hills and used to bombard the city until the occupying army evacuated it or surrendered . It was with this in mind that the Knox Expedition , led by Henry Knox , later transported cannon from Fort Ticonderoga to the Boston area . The Charlestown Peninsula , lying to the north of Boston , started from a short , narrow isthmus ( known as the Charlestown Neck ) at its northwest , extending about southeastward into Boston Harbor . Bunker Hill , with an elevation of , lay at the northern end of the peninsula . Breed ' s Hill , at a height of , was more southerly and nearer to Boston . The town of Charlestown occupied flats at the southern end of the peninsula . At its closest approach , less than separated the Charlestown Peninsula from the Boston Peninsula , where Copp ' s Hill was at about the same height as Breed ' s Hill . While the British retreat from Concord had ended in Charlestown , General Gage , rather than immediately fortifying the hills on the peninsula , had withdrawn those troops to Boston the day after that battle , turning the entire Charlestown Peninsula into a no man ' s land . British planning . Throughout May , in response to orders from Gage requesting support , the British received reinforcements , until they reached a strength of about 6 , 000 men . On May 25 , three generals arrived on : William Howe , John Burgoyne , and Henry Clinton . Gage began planning with them to break out of the city , finalizing a plan on June 12 . This plan began with the taking of the Dorchester Neck , fortifying the Dorchester Heights , and then marching on the colonial forces stationed in Roxbury . Once the southern flank had been secured , the Charlestown heights would be taken , and the forces in Cambridge driven away . The attack was set for June 18 . On June 13 , the Massachusetts Provincial Congress was notified , by express messenger from the in Exeter , New Hampshire , that a New Hampshire gentleman " of undoubted veracity " had , while visiting Boston , overheard the British commanders making plans to capture Dorchester and Charlestown . On June 15 , the Massachusetts Committee of Safety decided that additional defenses needed to be erected . General Ward directed General Israel Putnam to set up defenses on the Charlestown Peninsula , specifically on Bunker Hill . Prelude to battle . Fortification of Breed ' s Hill . On the night of June 16 , colonial Colonel William Prescott led about 1 , 200 men onto the peninsula in order to set up positions from which artillery fire could be directed into Boston . This force was made up of men from the regiments of Prescott , Putnam ( the unit was commanded by Thomas Knowlton ) , James Frye , and Ebenezer Bridge . At first , Putnam , Prescott , and their engineer , Captain Richard Gridley , disagreed as to where they should locate their defense . Some work was performed on Bunker Hill , but Breed ' s Hill was closer to Boston and viewed as being more defensible . Arguably against orders , they decided to build their primary redoubt there . Prescott and his men , using Gridley ' s outline , began digging a square fortification about on a side with ditches and earthen walls . The walls of the redoubt were about high , with a wooden platform inside on which men could stand and fire over the walls . The works on Breed ' s Hill did not go unnoticed by the British . General Clinton , out on reconnaissance that night , was aware of them , and tried to convince Gage and Howe that they needed to prepare to attack the position at daylight . British sentries were also aware of the activity , but most apparently did not think it cause for alarm . Then , in the early predawn , around 4 : 00 am , a sentry on board spotted the new fortification , and notified her captain . " Lively " opened fire , temporarily halting the colonists ' work . Aboard his flagship , Admiral Samuel Graves awoke , irritated by the gunfire that he had not ordered . He stopped it , only to have General Gage countermand his decision when he became fully aware of the situation in the morning . He ordered all 128 guns in the harbor , as well as batteries atop Copp ' s Hill in Boston , to fire on the colonial position , which had relatively little effect . The rising sun also alerted Prescott to a significant problem with the location of the redoubt – it could easily be flanked on either side . He promptly ordered his men to begin constructing a breastwork running down the hill to the east , deciding he did not have the manpower to also build additional defenses to the west of the redoubt . British preparations . When the British generals met to discuss their options , General Clinton , who had urged an attack as early as possible , preferred an attack beginning from the Charlestown Neck that would cut off the colonists ' retreat , reducing the process of capturing the new redoubt to one of starving out its occupants . However , he was outvoted by the other three generals . Howe , who was the senior officer present and would lead the assault , was of the opinion that the hill was " open and easy of ascent and in short would be easily carried . " General Burgoyne concurred , arguing that the " untrained rabble " would be no match for their " trained troops " . Orders were then issued to prepare the expedition . When General Gage surveyed the works from Boston with his staff , Loyalist Abijah Willard recognized his brother - in - law Colonel Prescott . " Will he fight ? " asked Gage . " < nowiki > [ A ] < / nowiki > s to his men , I cannot answer for them ; " replied Willard , " but Colonel Prescott will fight you to the gates of hell . " Prescott lived up to Willard ' s word , but his men were not so resolute . When the colonists suffered their first casualty , Asa Pollard of Billerica , a young private killed by cannon fire , Prescott gave orders to bury the man quickly and quietly , but a large group of men gave him a solemn funeral instead , with several deserting shortly thereafter . It took almost six hours for the British to organize an infantry force and to gather up and inspect the men on parade . General Howe was to lead the major assault , drive around the colonial left flank , and take them from the rear . Brigadier General Robert Pigot on the British left flank would lead the direct assault on the redoubt , and Major John Pitcairn led the flank or reserve force . It took several trips in longboats to transport Howe ' s initial forces ( consisting of about 1 , 500 men ) to the eastern corner of the peninsula , known as Moulton ' s Point . By 2 pm , Howe ' s chosen force had landed . However , while crossing the river , Howe noted the large number of colonial troops on top of Bunker Hill . Believing these to be reinforcements , he immediately sent a message to Gage , requesting additional troops . He then ordered some of the light infantry to take a forward position along the eastern side of the peninsula , alerting the colonists to his intended course of action . The troops then sat down to eat while they waited for the reinforcements . Colonists reinforce their positions . Prescott , seeing the British preparations , called for reinforcements . Among the reinforcements were Joseph Warren , the popular young leader of the Massachusetts Committee of Safety , and Seth Pomeroy , an aging Massachusetts militia leader . Both of these men held commissions of rank , but chose to serve as infantry . Prescott ordered the Connecticut men under Captain Knowlton to defend the left flank , where they used a crude dirt wall as a breastwork , and topped it with fence rails and hay . They also constructed three small v - shaped trenches between this dirt wall and Prescott ' s breastwork . Troops that arrived to reinforce this flank position included about 200 men from the 1st and 3rd New Hampshire regiments , under Colonels John Stark and James Reed . Stark ' s men , who did not arrive until after Howe landed his forces ( and thus filled a gap in the defense that Howe could have taken advantage of , had he pressed his attack sooner ) , took positions along the breastwork on the northern end of the colonial position . When low tide opened a gap along the Mystic River to the north , they quickly extended the fence with a short stone wall to the water ' s edge . Colonel Stark placed a stake about in front of the fence and ordered that no one fire until the regulars passed it . Just prior to the action , further reinforcements arrived , including portions of Massachusetts regiments of Colonels Brewer , Nixon , Woodbridge , Little , and Major Moore , as well as Callender ' s company of artillery . Behind the colonial lines , confusion reigned . Many units sent toward the action stopped before crossing the Charlestown Neck from Cambridge , which was under constant fire from gun batteries to the south . Others reached Bunker Hill , but then , uncertain about where to go from there , milled around . One commentator wrote of the scene that " it appears to me there never was more confusion and less command . " While General Putnam was on the scene attempting to direct affairs , unit commanders often misunderstood or disobeyed orders . Assault . By 3 pm , the British reinforcements , which included the 47th Foot and the 1st Marines , had arrived , and the British were ready to march . Brigadier General Pigot ' s force , gathering just south of Charlestown village , were taking casualties from sniper fire , and Howe asked Admiral Graves for assistance in clearing out the snipers . Graves , who had planned for such a possibility , ordered incendiary shot fired into the village , and then sent a landing party to set fire to the town . The smoke billowing from Charlestown lent an almost surreal backdrop to the fighting , as the winds were such that the smoke was kept from the field of battle . Pigot , commanding the 5th , 38th , 43rd , 47th , and 52nd regiments , as well as Major Pitcairn ' s Marines , were to feint an assault on the redoubt . However , they continued to be harried by snipers in Charlestown , and Pigot , when he saw what happened to Howe ' s advance , ordered a retreat . General Howe led the light infantry companies and grenadiers in the assault on the American left flank , expecting an easy effort against Stark ' s recently arrived troops . His light infantry were set along the narrow beach , in column , in order to turn the far left flank of the colonial position . The grenadiers were deployed in the middle . They lined up four deep and several hundred across . As the regulars closed , John Simpson , a New Hampshire man , prematurely fired , drawing an ineffective volley of return fire from the regulars . When the regulars finally closed within range , both sides opened fire . The colonists inflicted heavy casualties on the regulars , using the fence to steady and aim their muskets , and benefit from a modicum of cover . With this devastating barrage of musket fire , the regulars retreated in disarray , and the militia held their ground . The regulars reformed on the field and marched out again . This time , Pigot was not to feint ; he was to assault the redoubt , possibly without the assistance of Howe ' s force . Howe , instead of marching against Stark ' s position along the beach , marched instead against Knowlton ' s position along the rail fence . The outcome of the second attack was much the same as the first . One British observer wrote , " Most of our Grenadiers and Light - infantry , the moment of presenting themselves lost three - fourths , and many nine - tenths , of their men . Some had only eight or nine men a company left . . . " Pigot did not fare any better in his attack on the redoubt , and again ordered a retreat . Meanwhile , in the rear of the colonial forces , confusion continued to reign . General Putnam tried , with only limited success , to send additional troops from Bunker Hill to Breed ' s Hill to support the men in the redoubt and along the defensive lines . The British rear was also in some disarray . Wounded soldiers that were mobile had made their way to the landing areas , and were being ferried back to Boston , and the wounded lying on the field of battle were the source of moans and cries of pain . General Howe , deciding that he would try again , sent word to General Clinton in Boston for additional troops . Clinton , who had watched the first two attacks , sent about 400 men from the 2nd Marines and the 63rd Foot , and then followed himself to help rally the troops . In addition to the new reserves , he also convinced about 200 of the wounded to form up for the third attack . During the interval between the second and third assaults , General Putnam continued trying to direct troops toward the action . Some companies , and leaderless groups of men , moved toward the action ; others retreated . John Chester , a Connecticut captain , seeing an entire company in retreat , ordered his company to aim muskets at that company to halt its retreat ; they turned about and headed back to the battlefield . The third assault , concentrated on the redoubt ( with only a feint on the colonists ' flank ) , was successful , although the colonists again poured musket fire into the British ranks , and it cost the life of Major Pitcairn . The defenders had run out of ammunition , reducing the battle to close combat . The British had the advantage once they entered the redoubt , as their troops were equipped with bayonet s on their muskets while most of the colonists were not . Colonel Prescott , one of the last colonists to leave the redoubt , parried bayonet thrusts with his normally ceremonial sabre . It is during the retreat from the redoubt that Joseph Warren was killed . The retreat of much of the colonial forces from the peninsula was made possible in part by the controlled retreat of the forces along the rail fence , led by John Stark and Thomas Knowlton , which prevented the encirclement of the hill . Their disciplined retreat , described by Burgoyne as " no flight ; it was even covered with bravery and military skill " , was so effective that most of the wounded were saved ; most of the prisoners taken by the British were mortally wounded . General Putnam attempted to reform the troops on Bunker Hill ; however the flight of the colonial forces was so rapid that artillery pieces and entrenching tools had to be abandoned . The colonists suffered most of their casualties during the retreat on Bunker Hill . By 5 pm , the colonists had retreated over the Charlestown Neck to fortified positions in Cambridge , and the British were in control of the peninsula . Aftermath . The British had taken the ground but at a great loss ; they had suffered 1 , 054 casualties ( 226 dead and 828 wounded ) , with a disproportionate number of these officers . The casualty count was the highest suffered by the British in any single encounter during the entire war . General Clinton , echoing Pyrrhus of Epirus , remarked in his diary that " A few more such victories would have shortly put an end to British dominion in America . " British dead and wounded included 100 commissioned officers , a significant portion of the British officer corps in North America . Much of General Howe ' s field staff was among the casualties . Major Pitcairn had been killed , and Lieutenant Colonel James Abercrombie fatally wounded . General Gage , in his report after the battle , reported the following officer casualties ( listing lieutenants and above by name ) : The colonial losses were about 450 , of whom 140 were killed . Most of the colonial losses came during the withdrawal . Major Andrew McClary was technically the highest ranking colonial officer to die in the battle ; he was hit by cannon fire on Charlestown neck , the last person to be killed in the battle . He was later commemorated by the dedication of Fort McClary in Kittery , Maine . A serious loss to the Patriot cause , however , was the death of Dr . Joseph Warren . He was the President of Massachusetts ' Provincial Congress , and he had been appointed a Major General on June 14 . His commission had not yet taken effect when he served as a volunteer private three days later at Bunker Hill . Only thirty men were captured by the British , most of them with grievous wounds ; twenty died while held prisoner . The colonials also lost numerous shovels and other entrenching tools , as well as five out of the six cannon they had brought to the peninsula . Political consequences . When news of the battle spread through the colonies , it was reported as a colonial loss , as the ground had been taken by the enemy , and significant casualties were incurred . George Washington , who was on his way to Boston as the new commander of the Continental Army , received news of the battle while in New York City . The report , which included casualty figures that were somewhat inaccurate , gave Washington hope that his army might prevail in the conflict . The Massachusetts Committee of Safety , seeking to repeat the sort of propaganda victory it won following the battles at Lexington and Concord , commissioned a report of the battle to send to England . Their report , however , did not reach England before Gage ' s official account arrived on July 20 . His report unsurprisingly caused friction and argument between the Tories and the Whig s , but the casualty counts alarmed the military establishment , and forced many to rethink their views of colonial military capability . King George ' s attitude toward the colonies hardened , and the news may have contributed to his rejection of the Continental Congress ' Olive Branch Petition , the last substantive political attempt at reconciliation . Sir James Adolphus Oughton , part of the Tory majority , wrote to Lord Dartmouth of the colonies , " the sooner they are made to Taste Distress the sooner will [ Crown control over them ] be produced , and the Effusion of Blood be put a stop to . " This hardening of the British position also led to a hardening of previously weak support for the rebellion , especially in the southern colonies , in favor of independence . Gage ' s report had a more direct effect on his own career . His dismissal from office was decided just three days after his report was received , although General Howe did not replace him until October 1775 . Gage wrote another report to the British Cabinet , in which he repeated earlier warnings that " a large army must at length be employed to reduce these people " , that would require " the hiring of foreign troops . " Analysis . Much has been written in the wake of this battle over how it was conducted . Both sides made strategic and tactical missteps which could have altered the outcome of the battle . While hindsight often gives a biased view , some things seem to be apparent after the battle that might reasonably have been within the reach of the command of the day . Colonial faults . The colonial forces , while nominally under the overall command of General Ward , with General Putnam leading in the field , often acted quite independently . This was evident in the opening page of the drama , when a tactical decision was made that had strategic implications . Colonel Prescott and his staff , apparently in contravention of orders , decided to fortify Breed ' s Hill rather than Bunker Hill . The fortification of Breed ' s Hill was more provocative ; it would have put offensive artillery closer to Boston . It also exposed the forces there to the possibility of being trapped , as they probably could not properly defend against attempts by the British to land troops and take control of Charlestown Neck . If the British had taken that step , they might have had a victory with many fewer casualties . While the front lines of the colonial forces were generally well managed , the scene behind them , especially once the action began , was significantly disorganized , due at least in part to a poor chain of command . Only some of the militias operated directly under Ward ' s and Putnam ' s authority , and some commanders also disobeyed orders , staying at Bunker Hill rather than joining in the defense on the third British assault . Several officers were subjected to court martial and cashiered . Colonel Prescott was of the opinion that the third assault would have been repulsed , had his forces in the redoubt been reinforced with either more men , or more supplies of ammunition and powder . British faults . The British leadership , for its part , was slow to act once the works on Breed ' s Hill were spotted . It was 2 pm when the troops were ready for the assault , roughly ten hours after the " Lively " first opened fire . This leisurely pace gave the colonial forces time to reinforce the flanking positions that had been poorly defended . Gage and Howe decided that a frontal assault on the works would be a simple matter , when an encircling move ( gaining control of Charlestown Neck ) , would have given them a more resounding victory . ( This move would not have been without risks of its own , as the colonists could have made holding the Neck expensive with fire from the high ground in Cambridge . ) But the British leadership was excessively optimistic , believing that " two regiments were sufficient to beat the strength of the province . " Once in the field , Howe , rather than focusing on the redoubt , opted ( twice ) to dilute the force attacking the redoubt with a flanking maneuver against the colonial left . It was only with the third attack , when the flank attack was merely a feint , and the main force ( now also reinforced with additional reserves ) was squarely targeted at the redoubt , that the attack succeeded . Following the taking of the peninsula , the British arguably had a tactical advantage that they could have used to press into Cambridge . General Clinton proposed this to Howe ; having just led three assaults with grievous casualties , he declined the idea . Howe was eventually recognized by the colonial military leaders to be a tentative decision - maker , to his detriment ; in the aftermath of the Battle of Long Island , he again had tactical advantages that might have delivered Washington ' s army into his hands , but again refused to act . " The whites of their eyes " . The famous order " Don ' t fire until you see the whites of their eyes " was popularized in stories about the battle of Bunker Hill . It is uncertain as to who said it there , since various histories , including eyewitness accounts , attribute it to Putnam , Stark , Prescott , or Gridley , and it may have been said first by one , and repeated by the others . It was also not an original statement . It was used by General James Wolfe on the Plains of Abraham , when his troops defeated Montcalm ' s army on September 13 , 1759 . The earliest similar quote came from the Battle of Dettingen on June 27 , 1743 , where Lieutenant - Colonel Sir Andrew Agnew of Lochnaw warned his Regiment , the Royal Scots Fusiliers , not to fire until they could " see the white of their e ' en . " The phrase was also used by Prince Charles of Prussia in 1745 , and repeated in 1755 by Frederick the Great , and may have been mentioned in histories the colonial military leaders were familiar with . Whether or not it was actually said in this battle , it was clear that the colonial military leadership were regularly reminding their troops to hold their fire until the moment when it would have the greatest effect , especially in situations where their ammunition would be limited . Notable participants . A significant number of notable people fought in this battle . Henry Dearborn and William Eustis , for example , went on to distinguished military and political careers ; both served in Congress , the Cabinet , and in diplomatic posts . Others , like John Brooks , Henry Burbeck , Christian Febiger , Thomas Knowlton , and John Stark , became well known for later actions in the war . Stark became known as the " Hero of Bennington " for his role in the 1777 Battle of Bennington . Free African - Americans also fought in the battle ; notable examples include Barzillai Lew , Salem Poor , and Peter Salem ( the leadership would not allow slaves to fight , as this was anathema to the very idea of the freedom for which they were fighting ) . Another notable participant was Daniel Shays , who later became famous for his army of protest in Shays ' Rebellion . Israel Potter was immortalized in " Israel Potter : His Fifty Years of Exile " , a novel by Herman Melville . Colonel John Paterson commanded the Massachusetts First Militia , served in Shays ' Rebellion , and became a congressman from New York . Lt . Col . Seth Read , who served under John Paterson at Bunker Hill , went on to settle Geneva , New York and Erie , Pennsylvania , and was said to have been instrumental in the phrase " E pluribus unum " being added to U . S . coins . George Claghorn of the Massachusetts militia was shot in the knee at Bunker Hill and went on after the war to become the master builder of the USS " Constitution " , " " Old Ironsides " " , which is the oldest naval vessel in the world that is still commissioned and afloat . Commemorations . John Trumbull ' s painting , " The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker Hill " , while an idealized and inaccurate depiction of Warren ' s death , shows a number of participants in the battle . John Small , a British officer who was among those storming the redoubt , was a friend of Israel Putnam ' s and an acquaintance of Trumbull . He is depicted holding Warren and preventing a redcoat from bayoneting him . The Bunker Hill Monument is an obelisk that stands high on Breed ' s Hill . On June 17 , 1825 , the fiftieth anniversary of the battle , the cornerstone of the monument was laid by the Marquis de Lafayette and an address delivered by Daniel Webster . ( When Lafayette died , he was buried next to his wife at the " Cimetière de Picpus " under soil from Bunker Hill , which his son Georges sprinkled upon him . ) The Leonard P . Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge was specifically designed to evoke this monument . There is also a statue of William Prescott showing him calming his men down . The National Park Service operates a museum dedicated to the battle near the monument , which is part of the Boston National Historical Park . A cyclorama of the battle was added in 2007 when the museum was renovated . In nearby Cambridge , a small granite monument just north of Harvard Yard bears this inscription : " Here assembled on the night of June 16 , 1775 , 1200 Continental troops under command of General Prescott . After prayer by President Langdon , they marched to Bunker Hill . " See footnote for picture . ( Samuel Langdon , a Congregational minister , was Harvard ' s 11th president . ) Another small monument nearby marks the location of the Committee of Safety , which had become the Patriots ' provisional government as Tories left Cambridge . These monuments are on the lawn to the west of Harvard ' s Littaeur Center , which is itself the west of Harvard ' s huge Science Center . See footnote for map . Bunker Hill Day , observed every June 17 , is a legal holiday in Suffolk County , Massachusetts ( which includes the city of Boston ) , as well as Somerville in Middlesex County . Prospect Hill , site of colonial fortifications overlooking the Charlestown neck , is now located in Somerville , which was previously part of Charlestown . State institutions in Massachusetts ( such as public institutions of higher education ) located in Boston also celebrate the holiday . However , the state ' s FY2011 budget requires all state and municipal offices in Suffolk County be open on Bunker Hill Day and Evacuation Day . On June 16 and 17 , 1875 , the centennial of the battle was celebrated with a military parade and a reception featuring notable speakers , among them General William Tecumseh Sherman and Vice President Henry Wilson . It was attended by dignitaries from across the country . Celebratory events also marked the sesquicentennial ( 150th anniversary ) in 1925 and the bicentennial in 1975 . References . Major sources . Most of the information about the battle itself in this article comes from the following sources . Minor sources . Specific facts not necessarily covered by the major sources come from the following sources . Commemorations . Various commemorations of the battle are described in the following sources .