Prelude toThe Battle of Bunker Hill June 17 1775
MA Committeee of Safety Debates Whether to Occupy Charleston Hieghts
Nov 19, 2008
The last stop on the British escape route from the Battles of Lexington and Concord was Charlestown. They threw up hasty fortifications but a few days later General Thomas Gage decided he was spread out too thin and withdrew over the Charles River into Boston. It was the first of many tragic mistakes by the Commander in Chief of Britain’s American Forces. Two months later, the British high Command, now augmented by General’s William Howe, Henry Clinton and John Burgoyne, decided they actually did need to occupy the heights of Charlestown. Two hills dominated the peninsula, which was only attached to the mainland by the Charlestown Neck and became an island when the neck was covered by water at high tide. They were Bunker’s Hill at an elevation of 105’ above sea level and Breed’s Hill at 70’ but about 700 yards closer to Boston.
Massachusetts Council of Safety Responds
Unfortunately for the British Army, the patriot intelligence network was still quite strong. The Committee of Safety had been debating whether to preemptively take the heights as long as Gage’s staff had. On Thursday, June 15sources confirmed that the British would begin operations on Sunday, June 18. Immediately the Rebels mad plans to take Charlestown first. There was some dispute as to whether to fortify Bunker Hill or Breed’s Hill. General Israel Putnam favored Breed’s as he felt it would provoke more of a response because it was closer. General Artemus Ward, wary of the mission altogether, favored Bunker Hill. History shows that Putnam won out. All night on the June 16, Rebel shovels and pick axes flew. At dawn on the 17th, The British Ship Lively woke up all of Boston when she fired on the newly discovered Rebel redoubt on Breed’s Hill.
British Council of War
In a hastily gathered council of war, General Henry Clinton proposed to circle the east side of Charleston on the Mystic River and land troops on the Neck to cut off any chance of retreat. This common sense plan was overruled by General Gage with the support of General Howe. They both favored a full frontal assault. This revealed an extreme disrespect for the Rebel’s military abilities which would be short lived. Gages political reason for this stand was that he felt if the government would show great firepower and overwhelming force he could bring the rebellion to an end. His personal reasons came from being accused of showing weakness by London.
The Rebel Defenses
While the British generals were waiting for favorable tides to begin their operation, the Rebels had another 6-8 hours to shore up their defenses. They added a breastwork on the east side of the main redoubt. Well to the rear of the redoubt they established a fence line made of pickets, posts and straw that led down to the beach. The only defense between the breastwork and the fence were 3 small V shaped entrenchments called fletches. When Colonel John Stark and his regiment arrived as reinforcements they extended the fence line with a rock wall across the beach to the waters edge. The Americans were now as ready as they would ever be for the coming assault!
Read about the Battle of Bunker Hill here!
Sources
Patriot Battles, How the War of Independence was Fought by Michael Stephenson, 2007, Harper Collins
The War for American Independence by Samuel B. Griffiths II, 1976, University of Illinois
The Spirit of Seventy-Six by Henry Commager and Richard Morris, 2002, Castle Books
The War of the Revolution by Christopher Ward, 1952, MacMillan Company
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