Bunker Hill and Breed’s Hill

• At night, Patriots dug trenches into Breed’s Hill.

• To fortify hill• By morning soldiers and trenches were

covered• Had little gunpowder• Weren’t well trained• Made every shot count by waiting until

they “saw the white’s of their eyes”

The Battle of Bunker Hill

• Took place on June 17, 1775, as part of the Siege of Boston during the American Revolutionary War.

• General Israel Putnam was in charge of the revolutionary forces, while Major-General William Howe commanded the British forces.

• Although the battle is known as "Bunker Hill", most of the fighting actually took place on the nearby Breed's Hill.

British Victory?

• British suffered more than 1000 casualties.

• On their third assault, the British forces overran the revolutionaries' fortified earthworks on Breed's and Bunker Hill.

• Afterwards, British General Henry Clinton remarked in his diary that "A few more such victories would have surely put an end to British dominion in America."

• Demonstrated that the Americans were willing to stand up to a pitched battle.