06/17/2026
On This Day in 1775 - The Battle of Bunker Hill
The British were growing increasingly concerned with the growing rebellion, and British General Thomas Gage wanted to quash it as soon as possible. He was uneasy with the growing numbers of militiamen gathering in the woods outside of Boston. The patriots move to a hill called Breed’s Hill, practically inviting the British to attack them. And they do. The strategic position gives the Americans the upper hand at first. While it is unable to be confirmed, the infamous “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes” is rumored to have been said by American William Prescott in an order to conserve ammunition. The onslaught proves devastating for the British, with 1,054 casualties. The Americans keep up the constant barrage until they run out of ammunition, giving the British their opening. On their third attempt at advancing up the hill, while stepping over the bodies of their fallen comrades, the British finally break through the American lines. Hand to hand combat is initiated, driving the Americans back, but not before taking a few more British soldiers with them.
A Black soldier, only known as Salem, is credited with killing British Major John Pitcairn, who had become despised for the role he had played two months earlier at Lexington and Concord. While the Battle of Bunker Hill was a tactical British victory for securing the high ground from the colonists, the British lost more than double the men. George Washington arrived two weeks later to begin whipping this militia into a full-fledged Continental Army. While this battle is wrongly named, seeing as they actually fought on Breed’s Hill, this battle proved that even an untrained group of American patriots could be a very real threat to a global superpower.
