Battle of Bunker Hill

(noun)

Occurred on June 17, 1775, mostly on and around Breed's Hill, during the Siege of Boston early in the American Revolutionary War.

Related Terms

Examples of Battle of Bunker Hill in the following topics:

  • The Battle of Bunker Hill

    • The Battle of Bunker Hill, though technically a loss for the Continental Army, signified the relative strength of the colonial forces.
    • The Battle of Bunker Hill took place on June 17, 1775, following the Battles of Lexington and Concord.
    • The Battle of Bunker Hill took place mostly on and around Breed's Hill during the Siege of Boston early in the American Revolutionary War.
    • This painting illustrates the death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker Hill.
    • Discuss the significance of the Battle of Bunker Hill for the future course of the Revolutionary War

  • State Constitutions

    • Following the Battle of Bunker Hill in June 1775, Patriots had gained control of most of Massachusetts.
    • They had also elected conventions and "legislatures" that existed outside of any currently established legal framework.
    • For example, the radical provisions of Pennsylvania's constitution lasted only 14 years.
    • Even with the Articles of Confederation, the central government's power was quite limited.
    • The Declaration of Rights and Plan of Government for the State of New Hampshire.

  • Pursuing Both War and Peace

    • However, a small faction of delegates, led by John Adams, argued that war was inevitable.
    • The rejection of the "olive branch" polarized the issue in the minds of many colonists who realized that from that point forward, the choice was between full independence or full submission to British rule.
    • In August 1775, upon learning of the Battle of Bunker Hill, King George III issued a Proclamation for Suppressing Rebellion and Sedition.
    • On October 26, 1775, King George III expanded on the Proclamation of Rebellion in his Speech from the Throne at the opening of Parliament.
    • The king insisted that rebellion was being fomented by a "desperate conspiracy" of leaders whose claims of allegiance to him were not genuine.

  • Fighting for Liberty

    • The Battle of Bunker Hill also had African American soldiers, fighting along the side of the white Patriots.
    • During the course of the war, about one fifth of the northern army consisted of black males.
    • At the Siege of Yorktown in 1781, Baron Closen, a German officer in the French Royal Deux-Ponts Regiment, estimated the American army to be comprised of about one quarter black males.
    • In May 1775, the Massachusetts Committee of Safety stopped the enlistment of slaves in the armies of the colony.
    • The northern delegates were aware of how brave the blacks had been in the Massachusetts battles and opposed the notion.

  • Conclusion: The Fight for Independence

    • The petition followed the Battle of Bunker Hill in which the British suffered massive casualties.
    • Livingston of New York, and Roger Sherman of Connecticut.
    • The Patriot victory at the Battle of Saratoga, a major turning point in the war, effectively ended the British military presence in the North.
    • The siege of Yorktown by combined French and American forces in the autumn of 1781 was the decisive battle of the American Revolutionary War.
    • The British underestimated the strength of the French fleet and in early September were defeated by de Grasse in the Battle of the Chesapeake, after which they were forced to fall back to New York.

  • The Decimation of the Great Bison Herds and the Fight for the Black Hills

    • The Black Hills War of 1876-7 was a series of battles and negotiations between the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and the United States.
    • The Great Sioux War of 1876, also known as the Black Hills War, was a series of battles and negotiations which occurred between 1876 and 1877, involving the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne, against the United States.
    • Prospectors, motivated by the economic panic of 1873, began to trickle into the Black Hills in violation of the Fort Laramie Treaty.
    • Major battles for the Black Hills included the Battle of the Rosebud, Battle of the Little Bighorn, Battle of Slim Butte, and the Fort Robinson Massacre.
    • However, the most renowned, as well as the most brutal of the battles over the Black Hills, is the massacre which took place at Wounded Knee.

  • Okinawa and Iwo Jima

    • The battle of Iwo Jima ("Operation Detachment") in February 1945 was one of the bloodiest battles fought by the Americans in the Pacific War.
    • From early 1944 until the days leading up to the invasion, Kuribayashi transformed the island into a massive network of bunkers, hidden guns, and 11 miles of underground tunnels.
    • The network of bunkers and pillboxes greatly favored the defender.
    • As soon as the Marines pushed inland to a line of enemy bunkers, they came under devastating machine gun and artillery fire which cut down many of the men.
    • This view is explained by Victor Davis Hanson in his book Ripples of Battle:

  • The Battle of Bull Run

    • The Battle of Bull Run, the first major battle of the Civil War, demonstrated to the public that the conflict would not be resolved quickly or easily.
    • The First Battle of Bull Run, called the "Battle of First Manassas" by the Confederacy, was fought on July 21, 1861, in Prince William County, Virginia, near the city of Manassas.
    • McDowell's ambitious plan for a surprise attack on Beauregard's left flank met with initial success; however, the Confederates made a successful stand at Henry House Hill reinforced by Brigadier General Joseph E.
    • Johnston arrived from the Shenandoah Valley by railroad and the course of the battle quickly changed.
    • This figure shows the direction of Union attack and Confederate reinforcement at the First Battle of Bull Run.

  • The Battle of Gettysburg

    • On the second day of battle, most of both armies had assembled.
    • On the Union right, demonstrations escalated into full-scale assaults on Culp's Hill and Cemetery Hill.
    • On the third day of battle, July 3, fighting resumed on Culp's Hill.
    • The Battle of Gettysburg, PA.
    • Overview map of the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg, July 3, 1863.

  • The Second Bull Run and the Battle of Antietam

    • Following victory in the Second Battle of Bull Run, Lee unsuccessfully attempted to invade the North in the Battle of Antietam.
    • John Pope's Army of Virginia, and a battle of much larger scale and numbers than the First Battle of Bull Run (First Manassas) fought in 1861 on the same ground.
    • Hill's division arrived from Harpers Ferry and launched a surprise counterattack, driving back Burnside and ending the battle.
    • Union Defense of Chin Ridge at the Second Battle of Bull Run
    • Analyze the Second Battle of Bull Run and the Battle of Antietam