by Gregory Johnson, 18 June 2025
Midnight, June 17th, 1775. Leading around a thousand militia, Colonel William Prescott has his troops start constructing a redoubt on the top of Breed’s Hill outside of Charlestown. The American forces want to fortify the high ground outside of Charlestown to prevent the counter the expected British breakout attack on Dorchester and Charlestown. Bunker and Breed’s Hill sit upon a peninsula across from Boston Harbor and offer a prime spot for placing artillery to fire upon British ships and transports in Boston Harbor.
The British hear the sounds of digging coming from across the Mystic River and hold a council of war to decide what to do. It is agreed by all the British generals except British Commander in Chief Thomas Gage that there should be an immediate attach upon the Charlestown peninsula. The British run into several delays in getting their forces ready and across the river. In the mean time, several British ships begin firing at the American forces digging on the summit of Breed’s Hill.
The redoubt is nearly finished by sunrise. Prescott realizes his forces cannot hold the redoubt alone. He sends a courier back to Cambridge to get reinforcements. One of the main problems with the American forces is there is no central command structure. General Israel Putnam and his forces are still on Bunker Hill and will not come down to help Prescott.
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The British begin landing their forces at Morton’s Point. There are not enough boats to get all of the troops over in one wave, so the attack is delayed until the second group of troops can be ferried over. This give the American’s precious time to strengthen their defenses.
Captain Thomas Knowlton leading a force of about 200 Connecticut militia sees a flaw in the placement of the redoubt and instead of joining Prescott in the redoubt, he takes his forces to the left flank and starts building a rail fence to cover a British flank attack.
Colonel John Stark of New Hampshire arrives on the field and notices that the defenses Knowlton are building are not long enough to completely cover the left flank. Stark has his men build a stone wall that extends the defense down to the beach right up to the water.
General William Howe commanded the British forces. His plan of attack was to have General Pigot perform a demonstration of force in front the to the left of the redoubt while Howe sent his Grenadiers against the rail fence set up by Knowlton and the Welsh Fusiliers and Light Infantry would attack along the beach and flank the American forces.
A few troops of American militia had stationed themselves in abandoned buildings on the edge of Charlestown and were now harassing the left flank of General Pigot. General Howe gave orders to Admiral Graves to level the town. British ships opened fire with “hot shot” which ignited the building in the town spreading fire quickly from building to building.
At around 3pm the British lines advanced. It was hard going as the hay in the fields had been cut but not removed which hid obstructions slowing down the advance. On the left flank, Stark has his men in a three-rank line. He had placed a marker fifty paces from the stone wall. When the Welsh Fusiliers and Light Infantry crossed that mark, the New Hampshire troops erupted with a “wall of fire” tearing through the front British ranks. The three rank firing deployment kept of a steady rate of fire tearing through the British ranks. Howe led the Grenadiers himself from the front of the line. They received the same punishing fire as the Light infantry to their right stopping them in their tracks. Some companies suffered 80 to 90 percent casualties. The Grenadier attacked halted, then both the Grenadiers and Light infantry retreated.
At the redoubt, General Pigot’s men advanced. Colonel Prescott ordered his men to hold until the very last minute to fire. At about 15 years, the redoubt erupted in musket fire. The infantry suffered the same fate as the Grenadiers and Light Infantry, driving them back down the hill 150 yards. Howe and Pigot reorganized their forces with reinforcements arriving from Botson. This time they changed their plan of attack.
Howe formed his men into attach columns. Pigot to the Grenadiers and move them around the right of the redoubt while the infantry formed a fontal assault. Prescott estimated he only had about 150 men left, they were nearly out of powder, and no American musket was equipped with bayonets.
The final assault surged forward. In stead of stopping to fire, the British charged with the bayonet. Again, Prescott had his men hold their fire until the last moment. A wall of musket fire erupted in the face of the British front ranks. The second rank kept charging past the fallen and went over the top of the redoubt. American forces that ran out of powder threw rocks at the enemy. Inside the redoubt, a fierce hand-to-hand battle ensued. Dr. Joseph Warren, a high-ranking Patriot, had joined the soldiers in the redoubt as a volunteer took a shot underneath his left eye the killed in instantly. Prescott ordered what was left of his forces to fight their way out of the redoubt and retreat.
Their retreat was skillfully covered by Colonel John Start and his New Hampshire troops allowing the retreating American militia to safely retreat back to Cambridge. Bunker Hill is considered a British victory, but it came at a huge cost. The American’s lost 115 killed and 305 wounded of which most of those were during their retreat. The British lost 1,054 killed and wounded out of about 2,200 involved in the battle.
Interested in gaming the battle? Try one of these games
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Revolution Road – Compass Games
Revolution Road is an area movement CDG game that is perfect for the seasoned wargamer as well as the beginner. The rules are easy to learn. The counter density is low and the game plays quickly. Revolution Road comes with two scenarios, Concord and Bunker Hill. The Bunker Hill game is challenging. The American player has to set their troops to cover the advance of increasing numbers of British. I really enjoyed playing this game and found myself playing two or three games in a row to figure out why I was getting beaten so easily. |
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Command Magazine – Bunker Hill
This is a classic hex and counter game with some interesting mechanics. Units expend command points to move and fire during their turn. A unit could move then fire, fire then move, or move, fire, and move if they had enough points. Firing costs 6 points. Most units have a command point value of 12. Stacking is allowed but only the top unit may fire. There are a number of scenarios including the historical setup. One alternative scenario has the British landing in Charlestown instead of at Morton’s Point. Bunker Hill is a bit more complex the Revolution Road, but the general mechanics will be easy to pick up for the seasoned wargamer. |
Sources
- Bunker Hill A City, A Siege, A Revolution – Nathaniel Philbrick – Penguin Group 2013
- With Fired and Sword – James L Nelson – Thomas Dunne Books 2011
- American Battle Field Trust
- Command Magazine – Issue 32/Jan-Feb 1995 – Bunker Hill – XTR Corporation 1995
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