Description Of The Battle Of Bunker Hill
The Revolutionary War was one of the first full scale wars the New World had ever seen. It was caused by the British raising taxes in the emerging colonies that would someday be known as America. People in America were opposed to the sharp incline on all goods because they felt they were being taxed without representation. Britain was raising taxes because they had just finished fighting the French and Indian War, which had cost them astronomical amounts of money. The first real battle of the Revolution happened at the Massachusetts towns of Lexington and Concord. While the British Redcoats were on their way to seize the munitions that were being held at armories in the two towns, a ragtag group of radical Americans known as the Sons of Liberty attacked the British and because of their advantage in knowing the land around them, managed to strike the British many times, and, in the end, win the first battle of the revolution. One of the next key skirmishes in the Revolution was the Battle of Bunker Hill. This battle was fought in the center of Boston, at a small hill known as Breed’s hill. Bunker Hill was actually a few blocks away from Breed’s, making this battle’s name a misnomer. The
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British started their attack of the Americans by surrounding the hill, trapping them on top of it. The enemy set up camp all around the hill, and when they awoke the next morning were surprised at what they saw. The Americans had stayed up all night reinforcing all around the hill. The British started pushing up the hill to take the colonists. The Americans had their supply lines cut off when the British originally surrounded them, meaning that they were low on ammunition. To compensate for this, the American general Prescott told his troops the famous quote, “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes!” This tactic managed to save ammunition and stop the British. The British tried pushing up the hill twice more, the second being ineffective and the third finally succeeding, only because the Americans finally ran out of ammunition. The British won the battle, but many more victories like that would not win them a war. The successes at Lexington and Bunker Hill may have hurt the Americans more than it helped them. This is because it made them so confident in their power they believed that they would be able to end this war very quickly. However, the British sent more experienced troops into America instead of the inexperienced ones that had been at the battle of Lexington and Concord. These new troops, including mercenaries from other countries, would prove to be much more formidable than the previous ones and would stomp the weaker Americans into the ground for the next few battles. Some of these battles include the Battle of Kemp’s Landing, Battle of Quebec, Battle of Long Island, and the Battle of Fort Washington. Later on in the war, Washington's forces were being chased by German mercenaries called Hessians. No matter how quickly Washington tried to move, the Hessians were right behind his forces. Eventually, on a bleak winter day, Washington’s forces set up camp on one side of the Delaware River while the Hessians set up on the other side. Later that night, which just so happened to be Christmas night, many of the Hessians proceeded to get drunk and go to sleep without a watchman, seeing as they thought the Americans were doing the same. However, Washington had mobilized his forces and stealthily crossed the river. They surround the Hussian camp and captured all of them, which struck a decisive win for the Americans. Only two Americans died by falling into the freezing waters, while thousands of Hessians were captured. After the crossing of the Delaware, the battles in the war were a lot less significant. Both sides won and lost some, but nobody really got an upper hand on the other. However, there was action going on in the other countries of the world, Benjamin Franklin was currently in France attempting to get an alliance signed with them. However, France wanted America to prove themselves and show that they could win in order for France to seal the deal. America had no real way of doing this at the time, so they just had to wait to get a real victory. Back in America, Britain was attempting to end the war once and for all by sending one of their best generals called Burgoyne to divide Massachusetts off from the rest of the US. However, to do this he would have to cut through a deep forest, and whenever he would lay his camp down to rest, American rebels would surround his forces and cut trees down all around them to slow them down. Eventually, Burgoyne's army made it out of the woods and engaged in battle with an American general, called Gates, where they clashed to fight the Battle of Saratoga. It looked like the Americans were going to lose when suddenly, a new American general by the name of Benedict Arnold attacked the British, which resulted in Gates and his forces being saved and Burgoyne surrendering.
This decisive and crushing victory against the British was enough for the French to send an armada to battle the British and several war leaders as well as troops to help the Americans. One of the men who was sent to help the Americans was Marquis de Lafayette, a young French nobleman. General George Washington grew very attached to this young man and eventually, Lafayette became a sort of son to Washington. Another man sent to help the Americans was a Prussian war leader called Baron von Steuben. He was not really a Baron, he simply donned the name to gain more respect from his troops.
A freezing winter was falling over the war, and both armies set up camp to try to outlast the winter. Washington’s forces set up in a valley in Pennsylvania, which was known as Valley Forge. This encampment would prove to be almost as difficult as a battle for the American soldiers, seeing as they had almost no food and had nearly no way to stay warm. About 2,000 of the total 11,000 men were lost to the freezing cold, starvation, and diseases. A key figure in Valley Forge was the aforementioned Baron von Steuben, who was the soldiers’ trainer and commander. He was very strict and seemed to show no mercy. Many men even plotted ways to kill Steuben. However, this was all part of the baron’s plan. He meant to make the men hate him so much their fires of rage would keep them warm at night, and because of von Steuben's ways, many more soldiers than would be expected lived through the cold winter.
Earlier in the war, the British had conquered most of the Southern states, so their base of operations was in Virginia. The British in the South were led by General Cornwallis, who used skillful tactics to crush previous enemies of the crown. However, the guerilla tactics that the Southerners were using were a lot harder to handle for Cornwallis. Guerilla tactics are when a small group of soldiers, usually 5-10, attack an area and then run, to regroup and escape stalemates. Some prominent guerilla leaders for the Revolutionary War were Francis Marion, also called the Swamp Fox, and Daniel Morgan.
Eventually Cornwallis's forces were pushed back onto the Yorktown peninsula.
This is where the Battle of Yorktown, which was also the final battle of the Revolution would happen. Cornwallis knew he was pinned down and had no way to escape other than the sea, so he sent for the British Navy to save them. At the same time, however, Washington had sent for the French navy to blockade the British ships. This caused a race between France and Britain to see who could make it to Yorktown first, and in the end, by some miracle, France made it there first, successfully blockading the British ships out of Yorktown. Cornwallis was trapped, and Washington's forces finally managed to break the British lines and capture Yorktown. This forced Cornwallis to surrender, thus ending the
war.
In conclusion, the Revolutionary War was the first time America had shown resistance, and in a David and Goliath style of way, took down the biggest and strongest nation in the world. The war will always be remembered because we won our independence and proved bigger is not always better. If the war had not gone in our favor, then we might still be under the rule of a monarchy. That is why the revolution was so important.
History.com Staff. “American Revolution History.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2009, www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/american-revolution-history.
“The American Revolutionary War.” The, www.myrevolutionarywar.com/
Wallace, Willard M. “American Revolution.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 20 Sept. 2017, www.britannica.com/event/American-Revolution
“Revolutionary War.” Civil War Trust, Civil War Trust, www.civilwar.org/learn/revolutionary-war.]
British started their attack of the Americans by surrounding the hill, trapping them on top of it. The enemy set up camp all around the hill, and when they awoke the next morning were surprised at what they saw. The Americans had stayed up all night reinforcing all around the hill. The British started pushing up the hill to take the colonists. The Americans had their supply lines cut off when the British originally surrounded them, meaning that they were low on ammunition. To compensate for this, the American general Prescott told his troops the famous quote, “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes!” This tactic managed to save ammunition and stop the British. The British tried pushing up the hill twice more, the second being ineffective and the third finally succeeding, only because the Americans finally ran out of ammunition. The British won the battle, but many more victories like that would not win them a war. The successes at Lexington and Bunker Hill may have hurt the Americans more than it helped them. This is because it made them so confident in their power they believed that they would be able to end this war very quickly. However, the British sent more experienced troops into America instead of the inexperienced ones that had been at the battle of Lexington and Concord. These new troops, including mercenaries from other countries, would prove to be much more formidable than the previous ones and would stomp the weaker Americans into the ground for the next few battles. Some of these battles include the Battle of Kemp’s Landing, Battle of Quebec, Battle of Long Island, and the Battle of Fort Washington. Later on in the war, Washington's forces were being chased by German mercenaries called Hessians. No matter how quickly Washington tried to move, the Hessians were right behind his forces. Eventually, on a bleak winter day, Washington’s forces set up camp on one side of the Delaware River while the Hessians set up on the other side. Later that night, which just so happened to be Christmas night, many of the Hessians proceeded to get drunk and go to sleep without a watchman, seeing as they thought the Americans were doing the same. However, Washington had mobilized his forces and stealthily crossed the river. They surround the Hussian camp and captured all of them, which struck a decisive win for the Americans. Only two Americans died by falling into the freezing waters, while thousands of Hessians were captured. After the crossing of the Delaware, the battles in the war were a lot less significant. Both sides won and lost some, but nobody really got an upper hand on the other. However, there was action going on in the other countries of the world, Benjamin Franklin was currently in France attempting to get an alliance signed with them. However, France wanted America to prove themselves and show that they could win in order for France to seal the deal. America had no real way of doing this at the time, so they just had to wait to get a real victory. Back in America, Britain was attempting to end the war once and for all by sending one of their best generals called Burgoyne to divide Massachusetts off from the rest of the US. However, to do this he would have to cut through a deep forest, and whenever he would lay his camp down to rest, American rebels would surround his forces and cut trees down all around them to slow them down. Eventually, Burgoyne's army made it out of the woods and engaged in battle with an American general, called Gates, where they clashed to fight the Battle of Saratoga. It looked like the Americans were going to lose when suddenly, a new American general by the name of Benedict Arnold attacked the British, which resulted in Gates and his forces being saved and Burgoyne surrendering.
This decisive and crushing victory against the British was enough for the French to send an armada to battle the British and several war leaders as well as troops to help the Americans. One of the men who was sent to help the Americans was Marquis de Lafayette, a young French nobleman. General George Washington grew very attached to this young man and eventually, Lafayette became a sort of son to Washington. Another man sent to help the Americans was a Prussian war leader called Baron von Steuben. He was not really a Baron, he simply donned the name to gain more respect from his troops.
A freezing winter was falling over the war, and both armies set up camp to try to outlast the winter. Washington’s forces set up in a valley in Pennsylvania, which was known as Valley Forge. This encampment would prove to be almost as difficult as a battle for the American soldiers, seeing as they had almost no food and had nearly no way to stay warm. About 2,000 of the total 11,000 men were lost to the freezing cold, starvation, and diseases. A key figure in Valley Forge was the aforementioned Baron von Steuben, who was the soldiers’ trainer and commander. He was very strict and seemed to show no mercy. Many men even plotted ways to kill Steuben. However, this was all part of the baron’s plan. He meant to make the men hate him so much their fires of rage would keep them warm at night, and because of von Steuben's ways, many more soldiers than would be expected lived through the cold winter.
Earlier in the war, the British had conquered most of the Southern states, so their base of operations was in Virginia. The British in the South were led by General Cornwallis, who used skillful tactics to crush previous enemies of the crown. However, the guerilla tactics that the Southerners were using were a lot harder to handle for Cornwallis. Guerilla tactics are when a small group of soldiers, usually 5-10, attack an area and then run, to regroup and escape stalemates. Some prominent guerilla leaders for the Revolutionary War were Francis Marion, also called the Swamp Fox, and Daniel Morgan.
Eventually Cornwallis's forces were pushed back onto the Yorktown peninsula.
This is where the Battle of Yorktown, which was also the final battle of the Revolution would happen. Cornwallis knew he was pinned down and had no way to escape other than the sea, so he sent for the British Navy to save them. At the same time, however, Washington had sent for the French navy to blockade the British ships. This caused a race between France and Britain to see who could make it to Yorktown first, and in the end, by some miracle, France made it there first, successfully blockading the British ships out of Yorktown. Cornwallis was trapped, and Washington's forces finally managed to break the British lines and capture Yorktown. This forced Cornwallis to surrender, thus ending the
war.
In conclusion, the Revolutionary War was the first time America had shown resistance, and in a David and Goliath style of way, took down the biggest and strongest nation in the world. The war will always be remembered because we won our independence and proved bigger is not always better. If the war had not gone in our favor, then we might still be under the rule of a monarchy. That is why the revolution was so important.
History.com Staff. “American Revolution History.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2009, www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/american-revolution-history.
“The American Revolutionary War.” The, www.myrevolutionarywar.com/
Wallace, Willard M. “American Revolution.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 20 Sept. 2017, www.britannica.com/event/American-Revolution
“Revolutionary War.” Civil War Trust, Civil War Trust, www.civilwar.org/learn/revolutionary-war.]