Battle of Bunker Hill June 17 1775 the Battle of Bunker Hill which took place on June 17 1775 was the first time New England soldiers faced the British Army in a pitched battle during the American Revolution fought outside of Boston on the Charlestown Peninsula the battle itself took place in large part on breeds Hill rather than nearby Bunker Hill the landscape was hilly and comprised of fenced pastures situated across the Charles River from Boston an area which would provide strategic advantage for the New England soldiers when war broke out in April 1775 Boston remained a focal point for the British and colonial forces two months after the battles of Lexington and Concord more than 15,000 colonial troops had laid siege to the British held port of Boston but it had quickly become apparent to the rebels that they had insufficient forces to storm the Battlement of the well defended city occupied by more than 5,000 British troops and to make matters worse the British could send reinforcements into Boston without any form of interruption as the British Navy was the biggest and best in the world whereas the colonial American Navy was near non-existent the British commander of the city General Thomas Gage was confident they could easily hold out until the relief force could arrive to relieve them but to be vigilant general gage planned to occupy the hills around Boston in order to deny the rebels the opportunity to place artillery there therefore denying the enemy the chance to bombard both the city and the harbor into submission by June 1775 British troops received their orders to claim the north and south of Boston which they saw to be of significant strategic advantage these plans were subsequently leaked in the Massachusetts Provincial Government in the hopes of gaining an upper hand ordered a detachment of over 1,000 men to fortify both the strategically important Bunker Hill and neighboring breeds Hill that overlooked the harbor at Boston owing to their strategic position from which artillery fire could penetrate the city breeds Hill and Bunker Hill became a stronghold for the colonial forces led by Colonel William Prescott nearly 1000 colonial militiamen fortified breeds Hill which was closer to Boston than Bunker Hill were only minor defenses were built it's unknown if Prescott ignored orders to fortify the original target of Bunker Hill or was simply ignorant of the geography there his bunker Hill was the better option being higher and more defensible the rebels worked frantically through the night fortifying their position hastily constructing a small temporary earthen redoubt with six foot high walls and at the northern part of their defenses they had even placed a stake about 100 feet in front of their line with the orders that once any British troops moved past it they were to open fire with their improved position it was the hope that the provincial forces could compel the British troops to leave and evacuate their ships the colonists were without a real navy and the presence of the British Navy posed a serious threat when British Major General William Howe and Brigadier General Robert Pickett heard about the conus effort they made their way toward breeds Hill with roughly 2,300 troops it was not until just before sunrise the next day that the British saw what was truly going on general gage was shocked to find a large and well-organized enemy force now controlling the high ground above Boston Harbor fighting was initiated by the British Royal Navy's 20 gun post ship HMS lively and their coastal batteries consisting of 128 guns the first assault by the British proved unsuccessful despite the superior naval power of the British most of the cannon fire fell short and was therefore largely ineffective in bombarding the colonial emplacements it had however managed to scare many of Prescott's men who fled the battlefield in fear but soon it became apparent that the bombardment was having little effect and it was just wasting valuable ammunition so next it was decided to quickly organize an attack on the colonists troops position fearing that they would place heavy cannons there any time soon after much deliberation on whether or not to attempt to starve out the enemy forces at breeds Bunker Hill by cutting them off from the mainland British General Thomas Gage decided instead on a swift frontal attack during this time Prescott's men continued to fortify their position expanding therefore they're preparing for a frontal assault at midday that by General William Howe British troops began to launch their assault the attacking British forces consisted of companies of regular light infantry grenadiers Zand Royal Navy Marines they firmly believed that they were facing ill-disciplined irregular part-time militia which would be no match for their professional and well-trained British troops British forces hoped to outflank their enemies by using the initial wave of attack as a feint and to send their second wave of men to march to the right of the enemy's position their force surrounding the resistance inside the redoubt the colonial forces were outnumbered and inexperienced but managed to deter the British forces initial attack many American soldiers at the beginning of the Revolutionary War were embattled farmers and untrained in battle however the leadership of the colonial forces proved effective it is said Colonel Prescott had his men conserve their ammunition instructing them don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes mother Prescott actually said this or not one major obstacle facing the British was the landscape at all grass leading up to the enemy's redoubt covered much of the hazardous terrain and obstacles that would hinder General William house attack to make matters worse for the British with Hampshire Colonel John stark brought additional reinforcements the British marched in line formation negotiating fences and other obstacles in their way as they approached the colonial forces line on their way there they were harassed constantly by enemy sniper fire from Charleston their arrival was met with a fierce flood of musket fire that initially caused the British to retreat reportedly many of the militiamen had experience on the frontier and many of stars' reinforcements were described as crack shots who could bring down a swirl from a high branch or stop a partridge in flight one contemporary account that British were described as having been mowed down as if by the sudden sweep of a scythe the British responded to their defeat by shelling the village of Charleston destroying many homes they hoped that the fire caused by the shelling might provide a smokescreen to disguise their second advance the second assault by the British was no less successful his British soldiers struggle to march up the hill towards the colonists stronghold and a light breeze had scattered their smokescreen they were once again picked off by colonial Musketeers and the British line was broken despite these initial victories the colonists lacked the initiative to restock on troops and ammunition the British were unsure whether or not to renew their attack afraid of another bloody defeat however General Howe observed that to be forced to give up Boston wood gentlemen would be very disagreeable to all for their third assault British troops were allowed to shed their heavy packs facilitating their movement up the hill they made their way to the redoubt where American militiamen shot what remaining ammunition they had third assault by the British and late afternoon met with much more success though they had to charge over the numerous dead bodies from the previous assaults once the British had broken through boodles hand-to-hand combat ensued it was quickly over as general gages well-trained British troops used their bayonets and Sabres to great effect against the colonial troops who had no such weapons though the rebels suffered heavy casualties while retreating they felt back in good order and avoided being encircled despite it being a victory for the British having taken the rebel-held position and capturing or destroying the five of six cannons the enemy had already brought up onto the hills it was nevertheless a bittersweet victory ultimately the British won the so-called Battle of Bunker Hill the American casualties were around 450 soldiers while the British casualties amounted to around 1,000 significantly the British lost a large number of irreplaceable officers including a leftenant Colonel two majors and seven captains despite their victory they suffered heavy losses and acknowledged how formidable their opponents were General Howe lost all of his staff as casualties during the battle later said that the success is - dearly bought Bunker Hill generally considered a Pyrrhic victory an accomplishment negated by casualties and the overall toll of the battle prompted the British to change their battle tactics these events forced the British to consider the possibility of a long drawn-out war against the American colonists and a direct response to the Battle of Bunker Hill the British King George the third signed the proclamation of rebellion this formally declared what the colonists were doing was treason and that the rebellion would be suppressed by any means necessary you