Jul 3, 2026 · 1 hr 13 min · 10 segments
I try my best to resist Romanticism and hagiography when discussing American history. It is vital to discuss history honestly, with warts and all. But, this season is really putting me to the test…
In the aftermath of the Battle of Lexington and Concord, the British were stuck in Boston as patriot militias throughout New England gathered around the city.
And as the British took over Dorchester Heights, south of Boston, the Americans looked to prevent the British from taking the northern hills and reinforcing the city.
So, on June 15th, General Israel Putnam ordered Colonel William Prescott to fortify Bunker Hill, with a force of some thousand men to slow any British advance.
These men were not trained soldiers.
They were a ragtag group with no uniform nor a single type of musket.
But they were all determined.
Throughout the night of the 16th, these men worked to dig trenches and build walls to defend the hill.
As the sun rose on June 17th, the British were shocked to see these defenses put up so quickly and started to shell the defenses from ships in the Charles River and from Copse Hill in Boston.
Now, the cannons were not able to rise up enough to actually hit anything, so the damage was not extensive.
But the few deaths that did happen and the endless noise was unsettling for the defending militiamen.
After realizing that they could not destroy this from afar, the British knew that they would have to land to drive the Patriots off the hill.
By the time the British landed at Moulton Point east of the American fortifications, with some 2,200 men later in that afternoon, the Americans had already dug in further.
There was no fighting at first, though, as the British landed and formed three lines to prepare for the attack.
Rather than make these lines vertical and thus concentrate the attack at specific points, they were made horizontally.
This would be a grave mistake.
As the British marched towards the American fortifications, a vast wall of red overcoat slowly got bigger and bigger in the Patriots' eyes.
The American generals implored the defenders to wait until the British line had gotten within 50 yards.
It is here that the apocryphal line, do not fire until you see the whites of their eyes, was later said to have been commanded.
It's likely that no one actually said that.
Whether or not these words were spoken, the first shots were fired when the dense British line was within range of the muskets.
The onslaught was instant and brutal.
This assault drove the British back, but they reformed quickly.
The defenses continued to hold, but ammunition and gunpowder was running low after the second assault.
In the aftermath of the Battle of Lexington and Concord, the British were stuck in Boston as patriot militias throughout New England gathered around the city.
And as the British took over Dorchester Heights, south of Boston, the Americans looked to prevent the British from taking the northern hills and reinforcing the city.
So, on June 15th, General Israel Putnam ordered Colonel William Prescott to fortify Bunker Hill, with a force of some thousand men to slow any British advance.
These men were not trained soldiers.
They were a ragtag group with no uniform nor a single type of musket.
But they were all determined.
Throughout the night of the 16th, these men worked to dig trenches and build walls to defend the hill.
As the sun rose on June 17th, the British were shocked to see these defenses put up so quickly and started to shell the defenses from ships in the Charles River and from Copse Hill in Boston.
Now, the cannons were not able to rise up enough to actually hit anything, so the damage was not extensive.
But the few deaths that did happen and the endless noise was unsettling for the defending militiamen.
After realizing that they could not destroy this from afar, the British knew that they would have to land to drive the Patriots off the hill.
By the time the British landed at Moulton Point east of the American fortifications, with some 2,200 men later in that afternoon, the Americans had already dug in further.
There was no fighting at first, though, as the British landed and formed three lines to prepare for the attack.
Rather than make these lines vertical and thus concentrate the attack at specific points, they were made horizontally.
This would be a grave mistake.
As the British marched towards the American fortifications, a vast wall of red overcoat slowly got bigger and bigger in the Patriots' eyes.
The American generals implored the defenders to wait until the British line had gotten within 50 yards.
It is here that the apocryphal line, do not fire until you see the whites of their eyes, was later said to have been commanded.
It's likely that no one actually said that.
Whether or not these words were spoken, the first shots were fired when the dense British line was within range of the muskets.
The onslaught was instant and brutal.
This assault drove the British back, but they reformed quickly.
The defenses continued to hold, but ammunition and gunpowder was running low after the second assault.
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