Bunker Hill`s Battle Essay Example For Students

Bunker Hill`s Battle Essay The sounds of muskets being fired, its ammunition ricocheting off rocksand splintering trees are heard all around. The pungent smell of gun powderstings the nose, and its taste makes the mouth dry and sticky. The battle isstill young, but blood soaked uniforms and dead or dying men can already beseen, causing the fear of death to enter many of the soldiers minds. It isremembered that freedom is what the fight is for, so we must continue to gainindependence. The battle has been going on for a short time now, although visionis already obscured from all the smoke and dust in the air. It is becomingincreasingly difficult to breathe, with all of these air borne substancesentering my lungs. People are still being struck by musket balls for the criesof agony rise above the many guns explosions. This is how the battle to beknown as Bunker Hill began. On June 17, 1775 the Battle of Bunker Hill tookplace. It is one of the most important colonial victories in the U.S. War forIndependence. Fough t during the Siege of Boston, it lent considerableencouragement to the revolutionary cause. This battle made both sides realizethat this was not going to be a matter decided on by one quick and decisivebattle. The battle of Bunker Hill was not just an event that happened overnight. The battle was the result of struggle and hostility between Great Britain andthe colonies for many years. Many of the oppressive feelings came as a result ofBritish laws and restrictions placed on them. It would not be true to say thatthe battle was the beginning of the fight for independence. It is necessary tosee that this was not a rash decision that occurred because of one dispute, butrather that the feelings for the British had been getting worse for a long timeand were finally released. Perhaps two of the most notable injustices, asperceived by the colonists, were the Stamp Act and the Intolerable Acts. TheStamp Act was passed by the British Parliament to raise money for repaying itswar debt from the French and Indian War. The Act levied a tax on printed matterof all kinds including newspapers, advertisements, playing cards, and legaldocuments. The British government was expecting protest as result of the tax butthe level of outcry they received. The colonists were so angry bec ause they hadno voice in Parliament which passed the law, thus came the famous cry, Notaxation without representation! The colonists would protest these lawswith the Boston Tea Party. The British responded to this open act of rebellionby imposing the Intolerable Acts, four laws designed to punish Boston and therest of Massachusetts while strengthening British control over all the colonies. These were not the only incidents that caused unrest to exist between the twocountries. There had been friction between British soldiers and colonists forsome time because of the Quartering Act, a law which required townspeople tohouse soldiers. This unrest and tension resulted in the Boston Massacre, anevent that resulted in colonists death and both sides being more untrusting ofeach other. These feelings of discontent and the growing fear of an uprisingwould lead the British to proceed to Lexington and Concord and destroy colonialmilitary supplies. This left the colonists with the feeling of hatred and totalmalice towards the British. Because of these incidents neither side trusted theother, and had concerns that the opposition would launch an attack upon them. When the British planned to occupy Dorchester Heights on the Boston Peninsula,the colonists became alarmed at the build up of British troops off of the coast. Triangular trade EssayAlthough the British technically won the battle because they took control of thehill, they suffered too many losses to fully benefit from it. The British hadsuffered more than one thousand casualties out of the 2,300 or so who fought. While the colonists only suffered 400 to 600 casualties from an estimated 2,500to 4,000 men. Besides having fewer deaths than the British, the colonistsbelieve they had won in other ways as well. The Americans had proved tothemselves, and the rest of the world that they could stand up to the Britisharmy in traditional warfare. And only a few days later, George Washington wouldlead a group of men up to Dorchester Heights, aiming their cannons at theBritish, and then watched the Red Coats retreat from the hill. So even thoughthe British had won the battle, it was a short lived victory since the coloniststook control of the hill again, but this time with more soldiers to defend it. The Battle of Bunker Hill was important for a variety of reasons. The first onebeing that it was the first battle of the Revolutionary War, and because of thefierce fighting that defined the battle it foreshadowed that it was going to bea long, close war. Another important event that came from the battle was that itallowed the American troops to know that the British army was not invincible,and that they could defeat the British in traditional warfare. The lossesexperienced on the British side also helped to bolster the colonists confidence. So it came to be that the Battle of Bunker Hill would be the foundation that thecolonists would look back to for the many battles that occurred during theAmerican Revolution. The first being that the British suffered heavy losses andwould no longer convinced of a victory when they went to battle the colonists. Fifty years after the battle a movement began to rise in the young United Statesto create a memorial to the battle atop Breeds Hill. So, the Bunker HillMemorial Association was formed and they bought fifteen acres of land atop ofBreeds Hill. Then in 1825 the cornerstone to the monument was laid. Chronologyof the battle Time AMERICANS BRITISH midnight Colonists begin construction offortifications on Breeds Hill 4am British warships fire on the newly discoveredfortification 2pm American reinforcements arrive; rail fence constructionBegins. British soldiers land on Moultons point 3:30pm First battle is repulsedat the rail fence 4pm Second assault is repulsed at flashes and at redoubt4:30pm Colonists withdraw. Final assault succeeds at redoubt 5:30pm End ofbattle. Bibliography1. http://www.wpi.edu/Academics/Depts/MilSci/BTSI/hill/hill.html2. http://www.greeceny.com/arm/welch/bunker.htm3. http://www.bit-net.com/~ddillaby/bunker_hill.html 4. http://www.nps.gov/bost/bunkhill.htm 5. Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 1996