Why is Bunker Hill so famous?
Bunker Hill was a battle of the American Revolutionary War that took place on June 17, 1775 during the Siege of Boston. It is considered by some to be the bloodiest battle of the American Revolutionary War. General Israel Putnam was in charge of the revolutionary forces. Colonel William Prescott was second in charge. Prescott is known as the officer who said: “Don’t shoot until you see the whites of their eyes!” Although the battle is known as “Bunker Hill”, most of the fighting did not take place there, occurring on Breed’s Hill nearby. On their third assault British forces under Major General William Howe overran the revolutionaries’ fortified earthworks on Breed’s and Bunker Hill. The battle was a Pyrrhic victory for the British who suffered more than 1000 casualties. Howe’s immediate objective was achieved, but the attack demonstrated the American will to stand in pitched battle and did not change the status of the siege. After the battle, British General Henry Clinton remarked in
