Bunker Hill Mall

The events on Bunker Hill were part of the Siege of Boston, which lasted from April 19, 1775, until March 17, 1776. The Siege of Boston was part of the American Revolutionary War, which lasted from 1775 until 1783. It is unclear as to when the day was first officially observed, however records show that it was observed in the United States as far back as 1863.The Charlestown Peninsula is north of the Charles River and south of the Mystic River and extends about one mile (1.6 kilometers) into Boston Harbor. There are two hills on Charlestown Peninsula: Bunker Hill in the north; and Breed’s Hill in the south. On June 16, 1775, Colonel William Prescott and around 1,500 soldiers moved into the area and started to build a fortification on Breed’s Hill. In the early hours of the next morning, they were spotted by a British Navy ship. The British attacked and conquered the peninsula, but about 1500 people died in the battle.

A range of events are organized, usually at historic sites and museums. Examples include: re-enactments of historical events; displays on Native American life; performances of live music; and demonstrations of colonial cooking and crafts. Many events are held on a weekend close to June 1, so families can attend.On the Sunday before or on June 17, a large parade is held in Charlestown, Massachusetts, to celebrate Bunker Hill Day and to commemorate the Battle of Bunker Hill. Various groups take part in the parade including: local marching bands and other musical groups; current and past military personnel; re-enactment groups, especially those connected to the Siege of Boston; sports groups; fire trucks; police motorcycles; and floats sponsored by local businesses. Many people also visit re-enactments of battles and other events from the American Revolutionary War or visit the Bunker Hill Monument or other historic sites on the Boston Freedom Trail.

Before 2010, Bunker Hill Day was a state holiday in Suffolk County in Massachusetts. Today, it is a local observance, so shops, schools, and offices have normal opening hours.Parents’ Day is celebrated in the United States on the fourth Sunday of July each year to recognize and promote parenting as a crucial part of families and the wider community.

Bunker Hill Day marks the anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill, also known as the Battle of Breed’s Hill. This battle, which occurred on June 17, 1775, was part of the Siege of Boston, which took place during the American Revolutionary War. While we diligently research and update our holiday dates, some of the information in the table above may be preliminary. If you find an error, please let us know. Evacuation Day in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, commemorates the first major American military victory in the Revolutionary War, which saw the British troops evacuate Boston.The Flag of New England and the Flag of Bunker Hill are also associated with the Battle of Bunker Hill. The Flag of New England is a red rectangle. There is a white square containing an image of a tree on the upper part of the flag, which is hung closest to the flag pole. The Flag of Bunker Hill consists of a dark blue rectangle, again with a white square on the upper part of the flag, which is hung closest to the flag pole. The white square contains an image of Saint George’s cross, which is a symbol of England. A tree is depicted in one of the upper quarters of the Saint George’s cross.

50 years after the battle, the Marquis De Lafayette set the cornerstone of what would become a lasting monument and tribute to the memory of the Battle of Bunker Hill. The ambitious project to construct a 221-foot tall obelisk built entirely from quarried granite took over seventeen years to complete. Dedicated in 1843, the Monument stands prominently atop Breed’s Hill. Marking the site where Provincial forces constructed an earthen fort, or “redoubt,” prior to the battle, this site remains the focal point of the battle’s memory. On June 17, 1775, New England soldiers faced the British army for the first time in a pitched battle. Popularly known as “The Battle of Bunker Hill,” bloody fighting took place throughout a hilly landscape of fenced pastures that were situated across the Charles River from Boston. Though the British forces claimed the field, the casualties inflicted by the Provincial solders from Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire were staggering. Of the some 2,400 British soldiers and Marines engaged, some 1,000 were wounded or killed. Learn about the history of the site at the Bunker Hill Museum. Here, park staff are available to answer questions and there are restrooms open to the public. Additionally, explore views from the top of the monument through 360 degree Live Webcams. For more information to help you prepare for your visit to the park, see Know Before You Go.

Once more the British push up the hill, stepping over the bodies of their dead and wounded comrades who lay “as thick as sheep in a fold,” and again they receive another patriot volley. Finally, on the third try –and just when the patriots run out of powder and shot—the British succeed in breaking through the patriot works. Intense hand-to-hand fighting occurs inside the fortification. The British are victorious but at a cost. At some point in the struggle, a “black soldier named Salem” is credited with killing British Maj. John Pitcairn, the officer despised for allegedly ordering his men to fire on patriots during the battle of Lexington and Concord weeks earlier.There is much lore and contradictory anecdotal material about the death of Maj. John Pitcairn at Bunker Hill, but no air-tight evidence about who actually fired the fatal shot—or shots—that killed him. His death was celebrated by the patriots, who vilified him for ordering his Redcoats to fire on the Lexington militia during the Battle of Lexington and Concord, so there was great interest in discovering the hero responsible for his demise. In 1787, Dr. Jeremy Belknap, founder of the Massachusetts Historical Society, attributed the deed to “a negro man belonging to Groton.” Samuel Swett, writing a study of the fight in 1818, recounted that Pitcairn exclaimed “the day is ours,” when “a black soldier named Salem, shot him through and he fell.” Swett later added that “a contribution was made in the army for Salem and he was presented to George Washington as having slain Pitcairn.”

British victory. The battle was a tactical victory for the British, but it was a sobering experience. The British sustained twice as many casualties as the Americans and lost many officers. After the engagement, the patriots retreated and returned to their lines outside the perimeter of Boston.

June 17. On this sultry afternoon, Gage and his commanders order British regulars and grenadiers to move across Boston Harbor and disembark in lower Charlestown, where Gage will force the rabble’s hand with an assault. As the British move into position, the fatigued but spirited defenders are on the alert inside their hastily built fortifications.In 1775, the Americans marched past Bunker Hill and fortified Breed’s Hill instead. No one knows why they chose a position on the lower hill, but that is where the militias constructed their fort in Charlestown before the battle on June 17. Confusion about the name of the hill where the battle occurred goes back to the battle itself. Colonel William Prescott’s orders were to fortify Bunker’s Hill, but he chose Breed’s Hill instead. A detailed map of the battle prepared by British Army Lt. Page further compounded the problem by reversing the names of the two hills. Over time, everyone forgot about Breed’s Hill, and the famous battle became known by the name of its steeper neighbor.J. L. Bell, writing in the Journal of the American Revolution, cites the above sources when considering the Salem issue, but he also includes British versions of the account, which differ from those by Americans. Writing only four days after the battle, Lt. John Waller, adjutant of the first Marines battalion, remembered Pitcairn death’s as occurring before he climbed the fortification on Breed’s Hill where his men “received very heavy and severe Fire from the Enemy” for “”Ten Minutes or a near Quarter Hour.” In the chaos of the moment, Bell observes, Pitcairn may have been hit by multiple shots from various patriot muskets. Among the heroic African American soldiers fighting with the Americans at the Battle of Bunker Hill, one or more may have fired on Pitcairn. Or maybe none did. Americans may have skewed or simplified what actually occurred on Breed’s Hill, and the killing of an arrogant British officer by a disenfranchised black man made for a good story.

In 1826, Emory Washburn, writing in the Worcester Magazine and Historical Journal, claimed that a man from his town shot the major at Bunker Hill and his name was Peter Salem. Peter Salem crops up again in 1847 in William Barry’s history of Framingham, the place of Salem’s supposed death. The only problem is that there was another Salem at Bunker Hill—Salem Poor. On December 5, 1775 thirteen colonial offers—including William Prescott, commander at Breed’s Hill—sent a petition to the Massachusetts General Court asking for recognition for “A Negro Man called Salem Poor” who “in the late Battle of Charlestown, behaved like an Experienced officer, as Well as an Excellent Soldier.” Could this man be the “black soldier named Salem”? We don’t know. Perhaps the identities of the two “Salems”—Peter and Poor—merged over time into one man who killed an evil British officer.

Fifty years after the battle, the Marquis De Lafayette set the cornerstone of what would become a lasting monument and tribute to the memory of the Battle of Bunker Hill. It took more than 17 years to complete the 221-foot granite obelisk that now stands at the top of Breed’s Hill, marking the site where patriot forces constructed an earthen fort prior to the British attack.By early 1775 tensions between Britain and her colonies had escalated. The colonists began to mobilize for war, while the British Army secured gunpowder and cannon in anticipation of an uprising. On April 19, it all came to a head in the Massachusetts towns of Lexington and Concord. After that historic engagement, the British retreated to their camp in Boston, and local militias prepared for future British attacks. Militiamen marched to defend Boston, some from as far away as Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and what is now the state of Vermont.

Though defeated, the Patriots are not demoralized. Those who choose to stay and keep the British bottled up in Boston become the nucleus of the Continental Army. The task of transforming the mob into a fighting force falls on the shoulders of Virginian George Washington, who assumes command in Cambridge, Massachusetts, within two weeks of the erroneously named Battle of Bunker Hill.“Our three generals,” a British officer wrote of his commanders in Boston, “expected rather to punish a mob than fight with troops that would look them in the face.” The King’s troops count 282 dead and another 800 wounded. Patriot casualties are less than half of the British total. British General Sir Henry Clinton is appalled at the carnage, calling it “a dear bought victory.” Badly depleted, the British abandon plans to seize another high point near the city and ultimately evacuate Boston.

Led by Gen. William Howe, King George’s troops climb Breed’s Hill in perfect battle formation. Legend has it that as they advance, American officer William Prescott cautions his men not to waste their powder, exclaiming “don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes.” When British troops near the redoubt, the patriots unleash a withering volley, creating an absolute slaughter. One patriot remarks afterward, “They advanced toward us in order to swallow us up, but they found a choaky[sic] mouthful of us.” It is a veritable bloodbath as the British retreat back to their lines. Howe’s advance was stopped by a deadly volley from a body of Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts troops, some detached by Prescott, others sent to the front when the British movement to attack became known. They had posted themselves behind a rail fence hastily stuffed with grass, hay, and brush and pluckily held their fire until the British were very near. Popular history attributes this restraint to a command that the colonials not shoot at the advancing redcoats “until you see the whites of their eyes,” but this is almost certainly apocryphal. Pigot too was at first checked by a heavy fire from the redoubt and adjacent breastwork. However, on the second or third advance, he overwhelmed the redoubt and forced the surviving defenders, many of whom had exhausted their ammunition and were without bayonets, to flee. Their retreat was covered by the men at the fence, who now also retreated, and by New England reinforcements, spurred to the front by Gen. Israel Putnam of Connecticut. On learning that the New Englanders had occupied Breed’s Hill, Gage sent over a detachment of 2,300 or more troops under Maj. Gen. William Howe, with Brig. Gen. Robert Pigot, second in command, to dislodge or capture the colonists. The British, landing without opposition under protection of British artillery fire, were divided into two wings. The left under Pigot would attack the redoubt from the southeast, while the right under Howe would attempt to get behind the fort and breastwork by marching northward along the bank of the Mystic.

On the evening of June 16 about 800 Massachusetts and 200 Connecticut troops, under the command of Col. William Prescott of Massachusetts, were detached to carry out the project. By some error, never explained, Prescott fortified Breed’s Hill, which, though nearer Boston than Bunker’s, not only was lower but could be more easily surrounded by the British. Prescott and his men had completed a redoubt (dirt fort) on the top of Breed’s Hill (now commonly called Bunker Hill) by the time they were discovered by the British at daybreak on the 17th. Despite a cannonade from British men-of-war in the harbour and from a battery on Copp’s Hill in north Boston, the colonists were able to further strengthen their position during the morning by building a breastwork about 100 yards (roughly 90 metres) long running northward down the slope of the hill toward the Mystic River.There were two obvious points from which Boston was vulnerable to artillery fire. One was Dorchester Heights, southeast of Boston, at that time confined to a peninsula extending into Boston Harbor from the south. The other consisted of two high hills—Bunker’s and Breed’s—on the Charlestown Peninsula, about a quarter of a mile across the Charles River from the north shore of Boston. As early as May 12 the Massachusetts Committee of Public Safety had recommended fortifying Bunker’s Hill, but nothing had come of the proposal. By the middle of June, upon hearing that Gage was about to occupy this hill (he was, in fact, planning first to occupy Dorchester Heights), the committee and a council of war from among the higher officers of the besieging forces decided to act.

Within two months after the Battles of Lexington and Concord (April 19, 1775), more than 15,000 troops from Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island had assembled in the vicinity of Boston. The goal of this force was to prevent the 5,000 or more British troops stationed there under Gen. Thomas Gage from making further sallies and perhaps, when enough heavy artillery and ammunition had been collected, to drive them from the city. Gen. Artemas Ward, commander in chief of the Massachusetts troops, served as the senior New England officer.The casualties, particularly for the British, were extremely heavy in proportion to the number of troops engaged. About 450 Americans were killed, wounded, or captured. The number of British killed or wounded totaled 1,054, including 89 officers. Among the Americans who were killed was Gen. Joseph Warren of Massachusetts, who had entered the redoubt as a volunteer. The Bunker Hill Monument, a 221-foot (67-metre) granite obelisk, marks the site on Breed’s Hill where most of the fighting took place.One important lesson of the battle from the American standpoint was that the disparate militia forces lacked organization and discipline. Many officers and men held back when sent to reinforce the troops at Breed’s Hill, and Washington immediately took steps to correct these defects. Washington was encouraged by the general tenacity displayed by the colonials, however. Had the American volunteers been easily driven from their fortified position on Breed’s Hill by the troops of George III, resistance to the British government conceivably would have died out in North America through the colonists’ lack of confidence. The heavy losses inflicted on the British in the Battle of Bunker Hill reassured the colonists that the odds against them were not so overwhelming as to deny the prospect of ultimate success. The relatively inexperienced colonists could indeed fight on par with the mighty redcoats of the British army.

By early afternoon Howe felt he had enough soldiers to launch his assault. As the British forces began their advance, the cannonade from Copp’s Hill and British warships ceased. In line formation, the two wings had to negotiate fences and other obstacles as they slowly neared the Provincial line. The men from Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire were ordered to hold their fire until the enemy drew so close that their musket fire would have its most devastating effect. It was at this time, legend claims, that one of the commanding officers from the colonies ordered: “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes!”

In July, General George Washington arrived in Cambridge to assume command of a new Continental Army and direct the ongoing campaign at Boston. General Gage was eventually recalled to London to answer for the outcome of the battle. General Howe, the field commander at Bunker Hill, assumed command. Howe was unwilling to repeat another disaster he witnessed first-hand at Bunker Hill, and Washington lacked the supplies to mount any offensive. Thus the siege of Boston stalled into a stalemate. It would not be until the March of 1776 that the siege came to an end. After acquiring over fifty pieces of artillery from Fort Ticonderoga during the winter, General Washington ordered men to fortify Dorchester Heights to the south of Boston overnight. This position proved even more formidable than the one at Charlestown, and Howe ultimately decided to evacuate Boston entirely. The event at Dorchester Heights ended the campaign at Boston, but the war would continue for another seven long years.By June, the British Army received expected reinforcements and the commander, General Thomas Gage, was under pressure to break out of Boston and end the colonial uprising. The British commanders agreed on a strategy to claim the heights to the north and south of Boston as locations from where they could launch final crushing blows to the rebellion. Details of these plans leaked, and the Massachusetts Provincial government learned of the British plans. Deciding to claim the hills first, a detachment of approximately 1,000 Massachusetts and Connecticut soldiers were ordered to march to “Bunker Hill” in Charlestown on the night of June 16, 1775.

Colonel William Prescott and General Israel Putnam were the ranking officers in the expedition to Charlestown, however Prescott, being from Massachusetts, commanded the majority of the men. For generations many have argued over who ultimately chose where to fortify a position on the lower, more centrally located hill known today as “Breed’s Hill,” rather than the higher prominence known today as “Bunker Hill.” But on that night, construction began sometime around midnight as hundreds of men with pickaxes and shovels constructed a fort atop the lower hill overlooking the settlement of Charlestown and the beaches along the Harbor.Join Ranger Patrick for our concluding installment in our three-part series about the Battle of Bunker Hill and its aftermath. Learn about how the British were eventually forced to evacuate Boston on March 17th, 1776.

The musket fire proved devastating when the advancing British came into range. The pasture that was supposed to be the avenue for a flanking attack became a pen of slaughter. On the hill, fire from both the redoubt and from buildings at the edge of the abandoned settlement of Charlestown harassed the feint attack as well. At one point Prescott ordered his men to cease fire. Uncertain whether the colonists had fled the redoubt, British units marched closer, only to receive another heavy volley of fire. Meanwhile, British gunners trained their cannon on the abandoned town and set the buildings ablaze with red-hot heated cannonballs to drive out skirmishers at the edge of town

Howe was forced to order a withdrawal when all momentum was lost. After regrouping his forces and incorporating reinforcements, a final assault marched to the left of the redoubt rather than the right. As the British forces increased pressure upon the redoubt, men inside were exhausted and running desperately low on ammunition. As British soldiers and Marines mounted the walls, they engaged with bayonets in a bloody melee inside the redoubt. Any colonist able to flee ran as the British pursued. The British forces gave chase as far as the next hill—today’s Bunker Hill. Survivors and forces that never engaged regrouped on the mainland on hills opposite Bunker Hill. Both sides awaited a counter-assault or follow-up attack. Neither came.At dawn, lookouts on British warship and sentries in Boston quickly noticed the new redoubt constructed within cannon-range of the North End of Boston. Early cannon-fire upon the fortification quickly awoke the town and countryside. By mid-morning, General Gage had decided to assemble troops and mount an attack to clear this threat. While a cannonade from both British ships and Copp’s Hill began to bombard the area of the redoubt, Prescott ordered his men to continue to expand the fort and dig in for an eventual assault. As the day progressed, units received conflicting orders whether to stay or reinforce the men under Prescott. Because Charlestown was a peninsula, it was very risky to send too many men to a place that could easily be cut off by a successful British attack. Yet with some 2,400 British solders, officers, and Marines assembling in Boston for transport to Charlestown, Prescott’s numbers dwindled from men fleeing the scene under the cannonade.The battle lasted for no more than two hours. Yet the results were horrifying. Over 1,000 British soldiers, officers, and Marines were killed or wounded. Many of the wounded would die over the next days, weeks, and months from their wounds. Of the roughly 1,400 to 1,800 provincial soldiers directly engaged at Charlestown, some 300-500 were killed, wounded, or captured. Among the dead at Bunker Hill was the Patriot leader Joseph Warren. Warren, a physician turned political activist, had become the preeminent leadership figure in the revolutionary Massachusetts government. A commission as a Major General had just been approved for Warren, however he fought and died as a foot soldier inside the redoubt during the battle. His death proved to be a serious blow to the cause. Many mourned his death as the death of a heroic martyr.

We’re thrilled to provide a growing selection of educational resources to help you commemorate Bunker Hill Day 2023. Below are some suggestions we recommend you check out:

Bunker Hill Day is a holiday celebrated annually on June 17th in the state of Massachusetts, United States, to commemorate the Battle of Bunker Hill, which took place on June 17, 1775, during the American Revolutionary War.Bunker Hill Day was previously a statewide holiday in certain parts of Massachusetts until 2009. Nowadays, it is only observed locally. Nevertheless, Massachusetts still commemorates the battle through various events.To honor the lives lost during the battle, the Bunker Hill Monument was constructed on Breed’s Hill between 1825 and 1843. The monument, a 221-foot obelisk, was among the first in the United States and serves as a reminder of the events that occurred at Bunker Hill. Additionally, a statue of Dr. John Warren, a heroic figure who perished in the battle, stands at the monument site.

Bunker Hill Day is commemorated annually on the same date as the original battle, which occurred on Saturday, June 17, 1775. Bunker Hill Day 2023 will fall on Friday, June 17th.The Battle of Bunker Hill played a crucial role in the American Revolutionary War. Although the British Army claimed the territory, their triumph was a Pyrrhic one, as the losses they suffered outweighed any gains made. The Battle of Bunker Hill saw the highest number of British casualties of any battle in the war. It was widely believed that similar struggles would have hastened the end of the British occupation of America before 1783. Historic places and museums, such as the monument on Breed’s Hill, organize historical events and re-enactments that locals can enjoy. On the Sunday nearest to Bunker Hill Day, a parade takes place in Charlestown, Massachusetts, to celebrate the holiday and honor its significance in the United States’ independence fight. This parade is a popular attraction in Charlestown, featuring local groups such as marching bands, sports teams, and first responders. In some parts of Massachusetts, the day is marked with parades, reenactments of the battle, and other commemorative events. In the city of Boston, a large parade takes place in the Charlestown neighborhood, which includes military units, marching bands, and historical re-enactors. These events often occur on the weekend closest to the battle’s anniversary, and many people also visit different sites on the Boston Freedom Trail.

Today, the Battle of Bunker Hill is recognized as a pivotal moment in the American Revolutionary War, leading to the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and ultimately resulting in America’s triumph in the war in 1783.Although the British won the battle, the Americans fought bravely and inflicted heavy casualties on the British. The battle was a significant event during the Siege of Boston, during the first phase of the Revolutionary War, and marked a turning point that proved Americans were capable of standing up to the British army.

However, by the end of the engagement, the casualties of the Battle of Bunker Hill were high: Patriot gunfire had cut down some 1,000 enemy troops, with more than 200 killed and more than 800 wounded. More than 100 Americans perished, while more than 300 others were wounded.The British won the so-called Battle of Bunker Hill, and the Bunker Hill area—plus Breed’s Hill and the Charlestown Peninsula—fell firmly under British control.

The first monument on Breed’s Hill, installed in 1794, was a wooden pillar dedicated to Doctor Joseph Warren, a leader of the American troops who died in the fighting. It was later decided to install a more permanent memorial.

The last of the Americans left on the hill avoided being captured by the British because Peter Salem, a Black soldier, shot and mortally wounded Major John Pitcairn, the British commanding officer leading the final charge up the hill.Despite losing their strategic positions, the battle was a significant morale-builder for the inexperienced Americans, convincing them that patriotic dedication could overcome superior British military might. Additionally, the high price of victory at the Battle of Bunker Hill made the British realize that the war with the colonies would be long, tough and costly.

As the British Army advanced in columns against the Americans, Prescott, in an effort to conserve the Americans’ limited supply of ammunition, reportedly told his men, “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes!” When the Redcoats were within several dozen yards, the Americans let loose with a lethal barrage of musket fire, throwing the British into retreat.We strive for accuracy and fairness. But if you see something that doesn’t look right, click here to contact us! HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate.

The completed Bunker Hill Monument—a 221-foot-tall granite obelisk—was erected in 1843 as a memorial to those who died in the Battle of Bunker Hill. The monument is located on Breed’s Hill, where most of the fighting took place.

After re-forming their lines, the British attacked again, with much the same result. Prescott’s men were now low on ammunition, though, and when the Redcoats went up the hill for a third time, they reached the redoubts and engaged the Americans in hand-to-hand combat. The outnumbered and outgunned Americans were forced to retreat.On June 17, 1825—50 years after the Battle of Bunker Hill—the cornerstone was laid for the Bunker Hill Monument. In attendance were some 40 veterans from the original battle, and another 190 from the Revolutionary War. The ceremony was led by General Marquis de Lafayette and statesman Daniel Webster.

On June 17, some 2,200 British forces under the command of Major General William Howe and Brigadier General Robert Pigot landed on the Charlestown Peninsula, then marched to Breed’s Hill.

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Please confirm your credit card information to continue using BLDUP. Once it is updated you can continue to use BLDUP without interruptions. You will not be charged unless your account is overdue. Thank you.At the Charlestown Neighborhood Council (CNC) on Tuesday, President Tom Cunha and Member Tera Lally said residents should take note of the comment period ending March 1 and let their opinions be known.