CHAPTER V.
BUNKER'S HILL.
The excitement caused by the news of the fight at Concord was intenseand, as it spread through the colonies, the men everywhere rushed toarms. The fray at Lexington was represented as a wanton outrage, andthe fact wholly ignored that the colonists concerned in it were drawnup in arms to oppose the passage of the king's troops, who weremarching on their legitimate duty of seizing arms and ammunitioncollected for the purpose of warring against the king. The colonialorators and newspaper writers affirmed then, as they have affirmedsince, that, up to the day of Lexington, no one had a thought offiring a shot against the Government. A more barefaced misstatementwas never made. Men do not carry off cannon by scores, and accumulateeverywhere great stores of warlike ammunition, without a thought offighting. The colonists commenced the war by assembling in arms tooppose the progress of British troops obeying the orders of theGovernment. It matters not a whit on which side the first shot wasfired. American troops have, many times since that event, fired uponrioters in the streets, under circumstances no stronger than thosewhich brought on the fight at Lexington.
From all parts of New England the militia and volunteers poured in,and in three days after the fight, twenty thousand armed men wereencamped between the rivers Mystic and Roxburgh, thus besiegingBoston. They at once set to work throwing up formidable earthworks,the English troops remaining within their intrenchments across theneck of land joining Boston with the mainland.
The streets of Boston were crowded with an excited populace whenCaptain Wilson and his party rode into it at two in the morning. Noone thought of going to bed, and all were excited to the last degreeat the news of the battle. All sorts of reports prevailed. On thecolonial side it was affirmed that the British, in their retreat, hadshot down women and children; while the soldiers affirmed that thecolonists had scalped many of their number who fell in the fight. Thelatter statement was officially made by Lord Percy in his report ofthe engagement.
Captain Wilson rode direct to the house of his wife's friends. Theywere still up, and were delighted to see Mary Wilson, for suchexaggerated reports had been received of the fight that they werealarmed for her safety. They belonged to the moderate party, who sawthat there were faults on both sides and regretted bitterly both theobstinacy of the English Parliament in attempting to coerce thecolonists and the determination of the latter to oppose, by force ofarms, the legitimate rights of the mother country.
Until the morning the events of the preceding day were talked over; afew hours' repose was then taken, after which Captain Wilson went tothe headquarters of General Gage and offered his services. AlthoughBoston was the headquarters of the disaffected party, no less thantwo hundred men came forward as volunteers in the king's service, andCaptain Wilson was at once appointed to the command of a company offifty men. Before leaving the army he had taken part in severalexpeditions against the Indians, and his knowledge of forest warfarerendered him a valuable acquisition. Boston was but poorlyprovisioned, and, as upon the day when the news of Lexington reachedNew York two vessels laden with flour for the use of the troops atBoston were seized by the colonists and many other supplies cut off,the danger of the place being starved out was considerable. GeneralGage, therefore, offered no opposition to the exit from the city ofthose who wished to avoid the horror of a siege, and a considerableportion of the population made their way through to the rebel lines.Every day brought news of fresh risings throughout the country; thegovernors of the various provinces were powerless; small garrisons ofEnglish troops were disarmed and made prisoners; and the fortress ofTiconderoga, held only by fifty men, was captured by the Americanswithout resistance. In one month after the first shot was fired thewhole of the American colonies were in rebellion.
The news was received in England with astonishment and sorrow. Greatconcessions had been made by Parliament, but the news had reachedAmerica too late to avoid hostilities. Public opinion was divided;many were in favor of granting at once all that the colonistsdemanded, and many officers of rank and position resigned theircommissions rather than fight against the Americans. The division,indeed, was almost as general and complete as it had been in the timeof our own civil war. In London the feeling in favor of the colonistswas strong, but in the country generally the determination to repressthe rising was in the ascendant. The colonists had, with greatshrewdness, dispatched a fast-sailing ship to Europe upon the dayfollowing the battle of Lexington, giving their account of theaffair, and representing it as a massacre of defenseless colonists byBritish troops; and the story thus told excited a sympathy whichwould not, perhaps, have been extended to them had the real facts ofthe case been known. Representatives from all the colonies met atPhiladelphia to organize the national resistance; but as yet,although many of the bolder spirits spoke of altogether throwing offallegiance to England, no resolution was proposed to that effect.
For the first six weeks after his arrival at Boston, Captain Wilsonwas engaged in drilling his company. Harold was, of course, attachedto it, and entered with ardor upon his duties. Captain Wilson did notattempt to form his men into a band of regular soldiers; accuracy ofmovement and regularity of drill would be of little avail in thewarfare in which they were likely to be engaged. Accuracy inshooting, quickness in taking cover, and steadiness in carrying outany general orders were the principal objects to be attained. Most ofthe men had already taken part in frontier warfare. The majority ofthem were gentlemen--Englishmen who, like their captain, had come outfrom home and purchased small estates in the country. The discipline,therefore, was not strict, and, off duty, all were on terms ofequality.
Toward the end of May and beginning of June considerablere-enforcements arrived from England, and, as a step preparatory tooffensive measures, General Gage, on June 12, issued a proclamationoffering, in his Majesty's name, a free pardon to all who shouldforthwith lay down their arms, John Hancock and General Adams onlyexcepted, and threatening with punishment all who should delay toavail themselves of the offer. This proclamation had no effectwhatever.
Near the peninsula of Boston, on the north, and separated from it bythe Charles River, which is navigable and about the breadth of theThames at London Bridge, is another neck of land called the Peninsulaof Charlestown. On the north bank, opposite Boston, lies the town ofCharlestown, behind which, in the center of the peninsula, rises aneminence called Bunker's Hill. Bunker's Hill is sufficiently high tooverlook any part of Boston and near enough to be within cannon-shot.This hill was unoccupied by either party, and about this time theAmericans, hearing that General Gage had come to a determination tofortify it, resolved to defeat his resolution by being the first tooccupy it.
About nine in the evening of June 16 a detachment from the colonialarmy, one thousand strong, under the command of Colonel Prescott,moved along the Charlestown road and took up a position on a shoulderof Bunker's Hill, which was known as Breed's Hill, just above thetown of Charlestown. They reached this position at midnight. Each mancarried a pick and shovel, and all night they worked vigorously inintrenching the position. Not a word was spoken, and the watch onboard the men-of-war in the harbor were ignorant of what was going onso near at hand. At daybreak the alarm was given, and the _Lively_opened a cannonade upon the redoubt. A battery of guns was placed onCopp's Hill, behind Boston, distant twelve hundred yards from theworks, and this, also, opened fire. The Americans continued theirwork, throwing up fresh intrenchments; and, singularly, only one manwas killed by the fire from the ships and redoubt. A breastwork wascarried down the hill to the flat ground which, intersected byfences, stretched away to the Mystic. By nine o'clock they hadcompleted their intrenchments.
Prescott sent off for re-enforcements, but there was little harmonyamong the colonial troops. Disputes between the contingents of thevarious provinces were common; there was no head of sufficientauthority to enforce his orders upon the whole; and a long delay tookplace before the re-enforcements were sent forward.
In the meantime the English had been prepar
ing to attack theposition. The Fifth, Thirty-eighth, Forty-third, and Fifty-secondregiments, with ten companies of the grenadiers and ten of the lightinfantry, with a proportion of field artillery, embarked in boats,and, crossing the harbor, landed on the outward side of thepeninsula, near the Mystic, with a view of outflanking the Americanposition and surrounding them. The force was under the command ofMajor General Howe, under whom was Brigadier General Piggott.
Upon seeing the strength of the American position, General Howehalted, and sent back for further re-enforcements. The Americansimproved the time thus given them by forming a breastwork in front ofan old ditch. Here there was a post-and-rail fence. They ran upanother by the side of this and filled the space between the two withthe new-mown hay, which, cut only the day before, lay thickly overthe meadows.
Plan of the Action at Bunkers Hill, on the 17th ofJune 1775.]
Two battalions were sent across to re-enforce Howe, while largere-enforcements, with six guns, arrived to the assistance ofPrescott. The English had now a force consisting, according todifferent authorities, of between 2000 and 2500 men. The colonialforce is also variously estimated, and had the advantage both inposition and in the protection of their intrenchments, while theBritish had to march across open ground. As individual shots thecolonists were immensely superior, but the British had the advantagesgiven by drill and discipline.
The English lines advanced in good order, steadily and slowly, theartillery covering them by their fire. Presently the troops openedfire, but the distance was too great and they did but littleexecution. Encumbered with their knapsacks they ascended the steephill toward the redoubt with difficulty, covered, as it was, by grassreaching to the knees. The colonists did not fire a shot until theEnglish line had reached a point about one hundred and fifty yardsfrom the intrenchments. Then Prescott gave the order, and from theredoubt and the long line of intrenchments flanking it flashed a lineof fire. Each man had taken a steady aim with his rifle resting onthe earthwork before him, and so deadly was the fire that nearly thewhole front line of the British fell. For ten minutes the rest stoodwith dogged courage, firing at the hidden foe, but these, shelteredwhile they loaded and only exposing themselves momentarily while theyraised their heads above the parapets to fire, did such deadlyexecution that the remnant of the British fell back to the foot ofthe hill.
While this force, which was under the command of General Pigott, hadbeen engaged, another division under Howe himself moved against therail fence. The combat was a repetition of that which had taken placeon the hill. Here the Americans reserved their fire until the enemywere close; then, with their muskets resting on the rails, theypoured in a deadly fire, and, after in vain trying to stand theirground, the troops fell back to the shore.
Captain Wilson was standing with Harold on Copp's Hill watching theengagement.
"What beautiful order they go in!" Harold said, looking admiringly atthe long lines of red-coated soldiers.
"It is very pretty," Captain Wilson said sadly, "and may do inregular warfare; but I tell you, Harold, that sort of thing won't dohere. There is scarce a man carrying a gun behind those intrenchmentswho cannot with certainty hit a bull's-eye at one hundred and fiftyyards. It is simply murder, taking the men up in regular orderagainst such a foe sheltered by earthworks."
At this moment the long line of fire darted out from the Americanintrenchments.
"Look there!" Captain Wilson cried in a pained voice. "The front lineis nearly swept away! Do you see them lying almost in an unbrokenline on the hillside? I tell you, Harold, it is hopeless to look forsuccess if we fight in this way. The bravest men in the world couldnot stand such a fire as that."
"What will be done now?" Harold asked as the men stood huddled uponthe shore.
"They will try again," Captain Wilson said. "Look at the officersrunning about among them and getting them into order."
In a quarter of an hour the British again advanced both toward theredoubt and the grass fence. As before the Americans withheld theirfire, and this time until the troops were far closer than before, andthe result was even more disastrous. Some of the grenadier and lightinfantry companies who led lost three-fourths, others nine-tenths oftheir men. Again the British troops recoiled from that terrible fire.General Howe and his officers exerted themselves to the utmost torestore order when the troops again reached the shore, and the mengallantly replied to their exhortations. Almost impossible as thetask appeared, they prepared to undertake it for the third time. Thistime a small force only was directed to move against the grass fence,while the main body, under Howe, were to attack the redoubt on thehill.
Knapsacks were taken off and thrown down, and each man nerved himselfto conquer or die. The ships in the harbor prepared the way byopening a heavy cannonade. General Clinton, who was watching thebattle from Copp's Hill, ran down to the shore, rowed across theharbor, and put himself at the head of two battalions. Then, withloud cheers, the troops again sprang up the ascent. The Americanammunition was running short, many of the men not having more thanthree or four rounds left, and this time they held their fire untilthe British troops were within twenty yards. These had not fired ashot, the order being that there was to be no pause, but that theredoubt was to be carried with the bayonet. For a moment they waveredwhen the deadly volley was poured in upon them. Then, with a cheer,they rushed at the intrenchments. All those who first mounted wereshot down by the defenders, but the troops would not be denied, and,pouring over the earthworks leaped down upon the enemy.
For a few minutes there was a hand-to-hand fight, the Americans usingthe butt-ends of their muskets, the English their bayonets. Thesoldiers were exhausted with the climb up the hill and their exertionsunder a blazing sun, and the great majority of the defenders of theredoubt were, therefore, enabled to retreat unharmed, as, fresh andactive, they were able to outrun their tired opponents, and as theballs served out to the English field-pieces were too large, theartillery were unable to come into action.
The colonists at the rail fence maintained their position against thesmall force sent against them till the main body at the redoubt hadmade their escape. The British were unable to continue the pursuitbeyond the isthmus.
In the whole history of the British army there is no record of a moregallant feat than the capture of Bunker's Hill, and few troops in theworld would, after two bloody repulses, have moved up the third timeto assail such a position, defended by men so trained to the use ofthe rifle. Ten hundred and fifty-four men, or nearly half theirnumber, were killed and wounded, among whom were 83 officers. In fewbattles ever fought was the proportion of casualties to the numberengaged so great. The Americans fought bravely, but the extraordinarypraise bestowed upon them for their valor appears misplaced. Theirposition was one of great strength, and the absence of drill was ofno consequence whatever in such an engagement. They were perfectlysheltered from the enemy's fire while engaged in calmly shooting himdown, and their loss, up to the moment when the British rushed amongthem, was altogether insignificant. Their casualties took place afterthe position was stormed and on their retreat along the peninsula,and amounted in all to 145 killed and captured and 304 wounded. Itmay be said that both sides fought well; but, from the circumstancesunder which they fought, the highest credit is due to the victors.
The battle, however, though won by the English, was a moral triumphfor the Americans, and the British Parliament should at once havegiven up the contest. It was, from the first, absolutely certain thatthe Americans, with their immense superiority in numbers, could, ifthey were only willing to fight, hold their vast country against theBritish troops, fighting with a base thousands of miles away. Thebattle of Bunker's Hill showed that they were so willing--that theycould fight sternly and bravely: and this point once established, itwas little short of madness for the English government to continuethe contest. They had not even the excuse of desiring to wipe out thedishonor of a defeat. Their soldiers had won a brilliant victory andhad fought with a determination and valor never exceede
d, and Englandcould have afforded to say, "We will fight no more. If you, theinhabitants of a vast continent, are determined to go alone, areready to give your lives rather than remain in connection with us, goand prosper. We acknowledge we cannot subdue a nation in arms."
From the height of Copp's Hill it could be seen that the British hadsuffered terribly. Captain Wilson was full of enthusiasm when he sawthe success of the last gallant charge of the English soldiers, buthe said to Harold:
"It is a disastrous victory. A few such battles as these and theEnglish army in America would cease to exist."
But although they were aware that the losses were heavy they were notprepared for the truth. The long grass had hidden from view many ofthose who fell, and when it was known that nearly half of thoseengaged were killed or wounded the feeling among the English was akinto consternation.
The generalship of the British was wholly unworthy of the valor ofthe troops. There would have been no difficulty in placing some ofthe vessels of light draught so far up the Mystic as to outflank theintrenchments held by the colonists. Indeed, the British troops mighthave been landed further up the Mystic, in which case the Americansmust have retreated instantly to avoid capture. Lastly, the troops,although fighting within a mile of their quarters, were encumberedwith three days' provisions and their knapsacks, constituting, withtheir muskets and ammunition, a load of 125 pounds. This was, indeed,heavily handicapping men who had, under a blazing sun, to climb asteep hill, with grass reaching to their knees, and intersected bywalls and fences.
American writers describe the defenders of the position as inferiorin numbers to the assailants, but it is due to the English to saythat their estimate of the number of the defenders of theintrenchments differs very widely from this. General Gage estimatedthem as being fully three times as numerous as the British troops. Itis probable that the truth lies between the two accounts.
Captain Wilson returned with Harold, greatly dispirited, to hishouse.
"The lookout is dreadfully bad," he said to his wife, afterdescribing the events of the day. "So far as I can see there are buttwo alternatives--either peace or a long and destructive war withfailure at its end. It is even more hopeless trying to conquer a vastcountry like this, defended by irregulars, than if we had a trainedand disciplined army to deal with. In that case two or three signalvictories might bring the war to a conclusion; but fighting withirregulars, a victory means nothing beyond so many of the enemykilled. There are scarcely any cannon to take, no stores or magazinesto capture. When the enemy is beaten he disperses, moves off, and ina couple of days gathers again in a fresh position. The work has noend. There are no fortresses to take, no strategical positions tooccupy, no great roads to cut. The enemy can march anywhere, attackand disperse as he chooses, scatter, and re-form when you have passedby. It is like fighting the wind."
"Well, John, since it seems so hopeless, cannot you give it up? Is ittoo late?"
"Altogether too late, Mary, and if I were free tomorrow I wouldvolunteer my services again next day. It is not any the less my dutyto fight in my country's cause because I believe the cause to be alosing one. You must see that yourself, dear. If England had beensure to win without my aid, I might have stood aloof. It is becauseeveryone's help is needed that such services as I can render are dueto her. A country would be in a bad way whose sons were only ready tofight when their success was a certainty."
The Congress determined now to detach Canada from the English sideand prepared a force for the invasion of that colony, where theBritish had but few regular troops.
Captain Wilson was one morning summoned to headquarters. On hisreturn he called together four or five of the men best acquaintedwith the country. These had been in their early days hunters orborder scouts, and knew every foot of the forest and lakes.
"I have just seen the general," Captain Wilson said. "A royalistbrought in news last night that the rebels are raising a forceintended to act against Montreal. They reckon upon being joined by aconsiderable portion of the Canadians, among whom there is,unfortunately, a good deal of discontent. We have but two regimentsin the whole colony. One of these is at Quebec. The rebels,therefore, will get the advantage of surprise, and may raise thecolony before we are in a condition to resist. General Howe asked meto take my company through the woods straight to Montreal. We shouldbe landed a few miles up the coast at night. I suppose some of youknow the country well enough to be able to guide us."
Several of the men expressed their ability to act as guides.
"I've fought the Injuns through them woods over and over again," saidone of them, a sinewy, weather-beaten man of some sixty years old,who was known as Peter Lambton. He had for many years been a scoutattached to the army and was one of the most experienced hunters onthe frontier. He was a tall, angular man, except that he stoopedslightly, the result of a habit of walking with the head bent forwardin the attitude of listening. The years which had passed over him hadhad no effect upon his figure. He walked with a long, noiselesstread, like that of an Indian, and was one of the men attached to hiscompany in whom, wisely, Captain Wilson had made no attempt toinstill the very rudiments of drill. It was, the captain thought,well that the younger men should have such a knowledge of drill aswould enable them to perform simple maneuvers, but the old hunterswould fight in their own way--a way infinitely better adapted forforest warfare than any that he could teach them. Peter and some ofhis companions were in receipt of small pensions, which had beenbestowed upon them for their services with the troops. Men of thiskind were not likely to take any lively interest in the squabbles asto questions of taxation, but when they found that it was coming tofighting they again offered their services to the government as amatter of course. Some were attached to the regular troops as scouts,while others were divided among the newly raised companies ofloyalists.
Peter Lambton had for the last four years been settled at Concord.During the war with the French he had served as a scout with theregiment to which Captain Wilson belonged, and had saved thatofficer's life when with a portion of his company, he was surroundedand cut off by hostile Indians. A strong feeling of friendship hadsprung up between them, and when, four years before, there had been alull in the English fighting on the frontier, Peter had retired onhis pension and the savings which he had made during his many years'work as a hunter, and had located himself in a cottage on CaptainWilson's estate. It was the many tales told him by the hunter of hisexperiences in Indian warfare that had fired Harold with a desire forthe life of a frontier hunter, and had given him such a knowledge offorest life as had enabled him to throw off the Indians from histrail. On Harold's return the old hunter had listened with extremeinterest to the story of his adventures and had taken great pride inthe manner in which he had utilized his teachings. Peter made hisappearance in the city three days after the arrival of Captain Wilsonthere.
"I look upon this here affair as a favorable occurrence for Harold,"he said to Captain Wilson. "The boy has lots of spirits, but if ithad not been for this he might have grown up a regular towngreenhorn, fit for nothing but to walk about in a long coat and totalk pleasant to women; but this 'll jest be the making of him. Withyour permission, cap, I'll take him under my charge and teach him touse his eyes and his ears, and I reckon he'll turn out as good anInjun fighter as you'll see on the frontier."
"But it is not Indians that we are going to fight Peter," CaptainWilson said. "I heartily wish it was."
"It 'll be the same thing," Peter said; "not here, in course; there'll be battles between the regulars and the colonists, regularbattles like that at Quebec, where both parties was fools enough tomarch about in the open and get shot down by hundreds. I don't callthat fighting; that's jest killing, and there aint no more sense init than in two herd of buffalo charging each other on the prairie.But there 'll be plenty of real fighting--expeditions in the woodsand Injun skirmishes, for you'll be sure that the Injuns'll join in,some on one side and some on the other; it aint in their nature tosit still in their villa
ges while powder's being burned. A few monthsof this work will make a man of him, and he might have a worseteacher than Peter Lambton. You jest hand him over to my care, cap,and I'll teach him all I know of the ways of the woods, and I tellyer there aint no better kind of edication for a young fellow. Helarns to use the senses God has given him, to keep his head whenanother man would lose his presence of mind, to have the eye of ahawk and the ear of a hound, to get so that he scarcely knows what itis to be tired or hungry, to be able to live while other men wouldstarve, to read the signs of the woods like a printed book, and to bein every way a man and not a tailor's figure."
"There is a great deal in what you say, old friend," Captain Wilsonanswered, "and such a training cannot but do a man good. I wish withall my heart that it had been entirely with red foes that thefighting was to be done. However, that cannot be helped, and as he isto fight he could not be in better hands than yours. So long as weremain here I shall teach him what drill I can with the rest of thecompany, but when we leave this town and the work really begins, Ishall put him in your charge to learn the duties of a scout."
The young negro Jake had also enlisted, for throughout the war thenegroes fought on both sides, according to the politics of theirmasters. There were only two other negroes in the company, andCaptain Wilson had some hesitation in enlisting them, but they madegood soldiers. In the case of Jake, Captain Wilson knew that he wasinfluenced in his wish to join solely by his affection for Harold,and the lad's father felt that in the moment of danger the negrowould be ready to lay down his life for him.
There was great satisfaction in the band when they received news thatthey were at last about to take the field. The long inaction had beenmost wearisome to them, and they knew that any fighting that wouldtake place round Boston would be done by the regular troops. Food,too, was very scarce in town, and they were heartily weary of theregular drill and discipline. They were, then, in high spirits asthey embarked on board the _Thetis_ sloop-of-war and sailed fromBoston harbor.
It was a pitiful parting between Mrs. Wilson and her husband and son.It had been arranged that she should sail for England in a ship thatwas leaving in the following week and should there stay with herhusband's family, from whom she had a warm invitation to make theirhome her own until the war was over.
The _Thetis_ ran out to sea. As soon as night fell her bow was turnedto land again, and about midnight the anchor was let fall near theshore some twenty miles north of Boston. The landing was quicklyeffected, and with three days' provisions in their knapsacks thelittle party started on their march.
One of the scouts who had come from that neighborhood led them bypaths which avoided all villages and farms. At daybreak theybivouacked in a wood and at nightfall resumed the march. By the nextmorning they had left the settlements behind, and entered a belt ofswamp and forest extending west to the St. Lawrence.