The birth of America. When colonies would become states. To me the real birth date occured on June 17th 1775. People call it the battle of Bunker Hill. I call it the battle of Breeds Hill, since all the fighting centered around this high point. The militias made up of farmers and tradesmen were told to dig trenches on top of Bunker Hill. When they got there the men saw that there was a closer hill that was facing the city of Boston. The hill was not as high as Bunker Hill but a better commanding view of the British occupying Boston. As they looked down to the river they saw Charlestown to their right at waters edge. This was the perfect spot. They disobeyed orders and dug their trenches atop the hill, all night long of June 16 th. The free thinking colonists were in control, using strong initiative, they set the tone and course of Saturday's battle with the British whose troops were called (the regulars). So it wasn't the British are comming the British are comming, more like the regulars are coming. A little after 4 am a British warship notices the breast work atop Breeds Hill. And begins to shell it with cannon fire. Other warships would lob cannonballs atop the hill. It was quite ineffective. The regulars would have to ferry troops to the Charlestown peninsula from Boston proper. The troops assembled along the shore line and planned their assault on a high fortified position. Good luck with that! I would not want to be a regular on this Saturday. Eventhough Britian was the number 1 military power of the world. They looked down on the colonists as country bumpkins, flash the glint of a bayonet and watch them scatter like rabbits. Not today. Today would change everything. The world would tilt upside down. Down the rabbit hole they went.
From the top of the breast work a fence trailed down to the river at an acute angle. A lot of rebels set up behind the entire fence line. As the regulars prepared their assault on the uphill breast work. The rebels were cautioned to hold their fire until they saw the whites of their eyes. The rebs did not have enough musket balls. They had to wait for them to get close since the musket was not that accurate. The regulars in their woolen red coats were quite the sight as they traipsed uphill in a single assault line. Back on the fence line the rebs let go all at once. The red coats fell where they stood cut down like wheat. Gray smoke filtered up to the breast work. The still standing red coats beat a hasty retreat down the hill. Leaving behind their dead and and injured. Curses filled the field of battle. The redcoats reassembled and repeated their attack the same way. This time Charlestown was burning. Smoke from the town was wafting across the hill. Bagpipes, fifes and drums poured up to the breast work. The second charge was again met with a cicle of lead from the fence line with the same result. Down the hill they ran. They prepared for the third wave up the hill. No sound military judgement here. Now, the rebs were very low on musket balls and reduced to using stones and nails for projectiles.. The redcoats finally reached the breast work. It was now hand to hand fighting.
Joseph Warren fell inside the breast work. The firebrand who was recently made a general. When he first arrived at Bunker Hill they asked him what were his orders.. he said I'm not a real general I'm a doctor. I just want to serve. So what do you want to do? Help the rebs atop Breeds Hill. So be it, he dug trenches with the men all night long. He had 4 kids and died at about 34 yrs of age. Probably not the best personal choice for him and his family. He lived for the cause and gave his life for it. A 1 in a million type of guy. The British knew who he was. One of the commissioned officers went back to Breeds Hill the next day to take out his rage against this man by digging him up and making doubly sure he was dead.
The British could not believe what had befallen on them. So many casualties and the officers suffered the same fate as their men. Never before had the number 1 military in the world suffered such staggering losses in 1 day of fighting.
After this battle the British knew, they were in for it. George Wasington would shortly take command of the army. The British would soon leave Boston. More troops were called up from England, as well as mercenaries from Hessia (present day Germany). The British would hence forth in the future engagements with the rebs be way more cautious. Which hurt their future war efforts. This battle also pushed the colonists off the fence, now they had to choose what side to back. Many families were divided on this issue. Things became a mess very quickly.
This battle in my opinion helped the world in defeating pure evil in the form of Hitler. Without US intervention , Germany would have won. And what a truly horrible place this world would have become. God Bless America, and may she continue to shine her light upon the world!
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