Breed's Hill: The Battle Of Bunker Hill

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June 17,1775. Patriots withstood two charges by professional British soldiers on Breed and Bunker Hills. Colonel William Prescott led the colonial troops while General William Howe led the British soldiers. These brave Americans fought hard, but lost o the well-equipped British soldiers. The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought for many reasons. This battle is an extension of the battles of Lexington and Concord, which was fought a few years ago on April 1775. British soldiers are in Boston to enforce the Intolerable Acts, which angered the colonists. Both sides want possession of Breed and Bunker hills for different reasons. The Americans want the land because they wanted to drive the British away from Charlestown, yet the British didn’t…show more content…
Colonel William Prescott led 1500 colonial men on top of Breed’s Hill to defend it. The Americans built an earthen fort that was 160 feet long and 80 feet wide at the top of Breed’s Hill. The British marched up the hill 4 deep and several hundred across. The Americans knew they were low on ammunition, so Colonel William Prescott gave a command to the colonists that was vital to their performance, “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes!” The first assault made by the British was met with overpowering firepower. The British troops were being shot one after the next and were commanded by Howe to fall back. They marched back out for their second attack and the same result as the first assault occurred. As the third attack raged on, the colonists slowly ran out of ammunition and the British won possession of both Breed and Bunker hills, yet they won with heavy losses. After the battle was over, British General Clinton admitted, “A few such victories would surely put an end to British dominion in America.” He was right because this battle had cost Britain a lot of lives and money. Although 140 of the American soldiers were killed and 310 were wounded, this was nothing compared to the 226 of the British soldiers that were dead and the 828 that were

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