Celebrate America250: Bunker Hill

June 17, 1775. In the Battle of Bunker Hill, the British seized Bunker and Breed's Hills on the Charlestown peninsula north of Boston, killing 140 and wounding 310 of the patriots defending the hills, and victoriously driving the colonial army off the field of battle. Why is this not the story of the Battle of Bunker Hill that we are told? It is all true, after all.

Gen. Artemus Ward and his United Colonial Army had been besieging Boston for about two months. Because the British resupply by sea was harassed by American privateers and because the patriots drove most British foraging parties back within their lines, the British soldiers in Boston were on short rations. And Gen. Gage needed to act to suppress the rebellion, as he had been instructed. So he decided to break out of Boston on June 18 and ordered his troops to seize the unoccupied Charlestown Heights on a peninsula to the north of Boston and the Dorchester Heights on a peninsula to the southeast. This would give the British commanding ground and allow them to break out.

Instead, the colonials found out about the intended attack from a spy and occupied Bunker and Breed's Hills on the night of June 16-17. They quickly built fortifications and occupied some rail fence lines. The short story of the battle is that about 3,000 British soldiers made three frontal assaults on positions defended by 2,400 patriots. After the third frontal assault, the patriots, running out of ammunition, withdrew from the fortifications. The patriots suffered about 450 casualties, while the British suffered 1,054, including 19 commissioned officers killed and about 80 officers wounded. The British were victorious and the patriots suffered a bloody retreat.

But the Revolutionary War did not end here, even though the patriots lost the first major battle of the war. The British were stunned by the losses that they took; in fact, it was the bloodiest battle of the war for them. They realized that they would need more men and that they could not expect to carry patriot positions by mere frontal assault. Gen. Gage was relieved of his command in July once his after-action report reached London, but no replacement was appointed until October 1775. By the time Gen. William Howe was appointed as his replacement, it was winter and the campaigning season was over. Gen. Howe would prove to be a tentative commander, so he was not a good replacement for the disgraced Gage.

On the American side, the battle showed the need for training and discipline. The Americans had maintained excellent firing discipline, only shooting when the British soldiers approached closely ("fire when you can see the whites of their eyes"). But the colonial troops were ill-disciplined in other ways, with well over half deserting before and during the battle. The American forces would likely have repelled the third British assault if there had been an organized delivery of powder and ammunition to their combat positions. Although the patriots inflicted a disaster on the British, they still missed an opportunity to retain control of Charlestown.

Gen. Washington was traveling from Philadelphia to Boston to take command of the army when he heard the news of the battle in New York City. He was encouraged by the casualties inflicted on the British, which led him to believe that the Americans could prevail in the conflict.

Although the British won the Battle of Bunker Hill, their morale was shaken, and their command structure had to be reorganized. In contrast, the American loss encouraged them, instilling confidence that they could inflict serious casualties on the British and that, in the future, they could win battles with a little better organization and discipline. The British wondered what had hit them during the disastrous retreat after the Battle of Concord and at the Battle of Bunker Hill. By contrast, the Americans saw in their loss an opportunity that they could grasp with training and organization.

That is why Massachusetts celebrates the "loss" of the Battle of Bunker Hill with an official holiday, parades, and speakers.