![]() ![]() When the sun rose on the morning of June 17, 1775, British commander-in-chief Thomas Gage determined that given the proximity of the patriot stronghold he had no choice but to order an assault. ![]() Instead of going with Bunker Hill on the northern portion of the Charlestown peninsula, Prescott’s men built their fort almost a half-mile to the south on Breed’s Hill-right in the figurative face of the British army, just a half mile across the harbor in Boston. But for reasons that are still unclear today, the New Englanders commanded by Colonel William Prescott built their earthen stronghold on the wrong hill. In order to prevent the British from attacking American forces stationed in Cambridge, Massachusetts, about 1,200 soldiers would, under the cover of darkness, build a fortification on a rise of land known as Bunker Hill. ![]() The original plan had seemed simple enough. "The Battle of Bunker Hill" painting by John Trumbull. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |