We’re halfway through our theme week on Misnomers! Today we’re going back to American history class, talking about the Battle of Bunker Hill, fought on June 17, 1775. It was an important battle during the American Revolutionary War but wasn’t fought at Bunker Hill! It was actually fought on nearby Breeds Hill.
At the time, Boston was situated on a peninsula. British warships dominated the waters surrounding the city. After the battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, the colonial militia surrounded Boston and besieged it, controlling the only land access into the city. However, they couldn’t compete with the British Navy, and a force of about 6,000 British troops occupied the city, able to be resupplied and reinforced by sea.
However, the land across the water from Boston contained several unoccupied hills that could be used to advantage. Artillery could be set up on the hill to bombard the city until the British evacuated it or surrendered. On June 13, 1775, leaders of the colonial forces learned that the British were planning on sending their troops from the city to fortify the hills, giving them complete control of Boston Harbor. So 1,200 colonial troops, under the command of William Prescott, were commanded to build a fort on Bunker Hill, near the peninsula’s northern shore.
Under cover of night, the Americans marched right past Bunker Hill and fortified Breeds Hill instead. No one really knows why, whether Prescott did it intentionally or just couldn’t find the right hill in the dark. Nevertheless, militia men worked through the night to dig a trench surrounded by 6-foot dirt walls. The next morning, the British mounted an attack against them. On their 3rd assault, the colonists ran out of ammunition and retreated, leaving the British in control of the peninsula.
While the British were victorious, they suffered many more casualties than the Americans. Nearly half of their estimated 2,400 troops were killed or wounded, many of them officers. The Americans lost just 450 of their 1,200 troops. The battle also showed that the inexperienced militia could stand up to army troops in battle and discouraged the British from further frontal attacks against well-defended front lines.
The vast majority of action happened on Breeds Hill, but the name “Battle of Bunker Hill” is what stuck. It’s theorized that the reason for the misnomer is that Bunker Hill was a “well known public place” while the smaller Breeds Hill was a less recognizable landmark.
Fifty years after the battle, the cornerstone of the Bunker Hill Monument was laid at Breeds Hill. Today, “Bunker Hill Day” is a major holiday celebrated in Boston each year. Learn more here.