Bunker Hill Day

Bunker Hill Day

June 17

Observed primarily in Boston, Mass., Bunker Hill Day commemorates the Revolutionary War battle of June 1775 between 2,200 British troops under the leadership of General William Howe and half that number of Americans under Colonel William Prescott. In fact, Breed's Hill was fortified, not nearby Bunker Hill, and that is where the British attacked the rebels three times, eventually driving them out of their hastily constructed barricade, but only after losing more than 1,000 men. The American revolutionaries, who had exhausted their small store of ammunition, ended up fighting the British bayonets with the butts of their muskets.
Although the Americans were driven from their fortification and lost some 450 men, the battle boosted their confidence and has always been looked upon as one of the great heroic battles of the American Revolution. A 221-foot granite obelisk in Charlestown, just north of Boston, marks the site of the battle on Breed's Hill, which itself is only 87 feet high. This day is sometimes referred to as Boston's Fourth of July .

CONTACTS:
Boston National Historic Park
Charlestown Navy Yard
Downtown Visitor Ctr.
Boston, MA 02129
617-242-5642; fax: 617-242-6006
www.nps.gov
The Freedom Trail Foundation
99 Chauncy St., Ste. 401
Boston, MA 02111
617-357-8300; fax: 617-357-8303
www.thefreedomtrail.org

SOURCES:
AmerBkDays-2000, p. 454
AnnivHol-2000, p. 101
BkDays-1864, vol. I, p. 790
DictDays-1988, p. 16

Celebration day: Jun 17