Knowra Battle of Bunker Hill Battle of Bunker Hill The Battle of Bunker Hill was an early major battle of the American Revolutionary War, fought near Boston on June 17, 1775. British forces captured the heights but suffered heavy casualties.
Breed's Hill : A hill in Charlestown, Massachusetts, where most of the Battle of Bunker Hill was fought. Patriot forces built their main redoubt on this hill, not on nearby Bunker Hill.
Siege of Boston : The prolonged military blockade of British-held Boston by American forces from 1775 to 1776. Bunker Hill was fought during the siege, as both sides contested the approaches to Boston.
William Howe : A British general who commanded the assault on the American position at Breed's Hill. Howe led the costly infantry attacks that ultimately captured the heights.
Casualties of the Battle of Bunker Hill : The killed, wounded, and missing among British and American forces at Bunker Hill. British losses were unusually high for a battlefield victory and shocked military observers.
Redoubt : A temporary fortification, usually enclosed, built to defend troops from attack. The American earthwork on Breed's Hill formed the battle's principal defensive position.
American Revolutionary War : The conflict in which thirteen British North American colonies won independence from Great Britain. Bunker Hill became one of the war's first major engagements.
Israel Putnam : A Connecticut-born American general who served in the Revolutionary War and was present at Bunker Hill. Putnam helped direct the colonial defense, though accounts differ over his precise role.
Continental Army : The army established by the Second Continental Congress in 1775 to fight British forces. The battle demonstrated that colonial forces could withstand regular British infantry attacks.
Charlestown : A historic town on a peninsula north of Boston, now part of the city of Boston. British troops advanced across Charlestown's peninsula to attack the American position.
Boston : A Massachusetts port city that served as a center of resistance and British military occupation in 1775. Control of Boston and its harbor shaped the strategic stakes of the battle.
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