USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Concord > History of the siege of Boston, and of the battles of Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill. Also an account of the Bunker Hill Monument. With illustrative documents > Part 31
USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > History of the siege of Boston, and of the battles of Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill. Also an account of the Bunker Hill Monument. With illustrative documents > Part 31
USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Lexington > History of the siege of Boston, and of the battles of Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill. Also an account of the Bunker Hill Monument. With illustrative documents > Part 31
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40
323
DEBATE IN PARLIAMENT.
batteries, rendered the place untenable. I mean not the least most distant censure on him; his reputation stands fixed on too firm a basis to be easily shaken ; I do believe all that in that situation could by the best officers be attempted, was tried to the utmost. But, my lords, circumstances obliged him to quit that post he could not possibly maintain. The mode of the retreat may, to the general, do infinite honor, but it does dishonor to the British nation. Let this transaction be dressed in what garb you please, the fact remains, that the army which was sent to reduce the province of Massachusetts Bay has been driven from the capital, and that the standard of the provincial army now waves in triumph over the walls of Boston."
The Earl of Suffolk, in defence of the ministry, announced that Howe had instructions, as early as October, to quit Bos- ton whenever he thought proper ; that it was not intended to carry on military operations in Massachusetts; that it was only a shifting of position to carry into execution measures already agreed on, the first object of which was "to secure Halifax against any attack of the rebels ; " that he could not perceive their superior courage, for they permitted the troops to embark without molestation ; that there was no convention, stipulation, concession or compromise, whatever, made ; that, after securing Halifax, the design was to penetrate by that way into the interior country, and pursue his future intended operations.
The Marquis of Rockingham was severe in his reply, because he was so exact in his facts. His information was derived from letters written on the spot. He contended that the troops were compelled to quit the town, and were permit- ted to quit it by agreement. He then alluded to the instruc- tions given by the ministry to destroy the American towns, and asked, " Why not destroy the town in pursuance of the general instructions, when they thought proper to shift their position ? or, if compelled to abandon it, why not raze it to the foundations, by way of retaliation ? If there was no con- vention, no treaty or agreement, how will they answer to government of this disobedience of orders ?" He then reca- pitulated the events of the last days of the siege, and said :
324
THE SIEGE OF BOSTON.
" If those accounts are true, of which I have very little doubt, your lordships will perceive, though possibly there might have been no formal convention or capitulation signed, which I understood was avoided by the generals on both sides, for particular reasons, that in whatever manner the business miglit have been negotiated, it had every substantial requisite of a treaty or compromise, as much as if it had been ever so solemnly authenticated or subscribed. The troops were per- mitted to evacuate the town without interruption, because they engaged, on the other hand, not to burn or destroy it, either previous to their departure, or after they got on board their ships."
The Earl of Effingham stated substantially the same facts. He affirmed, that after the prevention of the purposed attack on Dorchester Heights by a storm, the only alternative that remained for Howe, in order to save his army, was to enter into a convention.
The Earl of Sherburne went over the same ground, and made the same points. He then said : "The noble earl (Suf- folk) who has this day entertained your lordships so ably tells you that General Howe has only shifted his position, - that he is gone to the relief of Halifax, which is in a defenceless state. Why was that place, from which such wonders are to be achieved, left in a defenceless state ?" He never understood an actual abandonment of an enterprise to be a shifting a position.
The ministry, immediately on receiving the official de- spatches, approved of the evacuation of Boston. Lord George Germaine (May 3, 1776) wrote to General Howe as follows : " The miscarriage of the despatches ' has been very unfortu- nate, and your not having received supplies would have been fatal, but for the step you very prudently took of withdrawing from the town of Boston, which, under the circumstances you have stated, is a measure very much approved by the king, and, in the execution of which, you have given the fullest proof of his majesty's wisdom and discernment in the choice
1 General Howe had received no letters from the government, when he wrote, since October 22, 1775. He sent his despatches by Major Thompson, afterwards the celebrated Count Rumford.
-
325
BRITISH CRITICISM.
of so able and brave an officer to command his troops in America."
General Howe's conduct, during the siege, continued for years to be criticised in Parliament and out of it. He might complain with reason, after receiving the approval of minis- ters, that they should have kept silent when he was calumni- ated. In the newspapers and in pamphlets the comments were frequent and sharp. An extract from an article will indicate the nature of this criticism. After reviewing some of the incidents of the siege, the writer remarks: "Now, I beg leave to ask Sir William Howe, whether Boston was tenable or not ? He had, indeed, staked his reputation as a general on the affirmative. If it was not, how could he, or his favorite engineer, overlook this (Dorchester) post ? Could they suppose that the rebels, who, before winter, had made regular approaches to the foot of this hill, would fail, as soon as the season opened, to occupy the top of it ? Why were no precautions taken to prevent it ? Why was not a post estab- lished there, as at Bunker's Hill ? Or if Boston was tenable, as the general had pledged himself, and I confess I have not the least doubt of, why, in God's name, was it so shamefully abandoned ? Why were the army and the loyalists obliged to combat war, pestilence and famine, through the winter, at Boston, only to be hurried from it in the spring ? Or why was the town finally evacuated with circumstances so dispir- iting to the troops, and so encouraging to the rebels ? All the cannon at Charlestown, the greatest part of those at the lines on the Neck, two thirteen-inch mortars, and other ord- nance, amounting in the whole to (serviceable and unservice- able) one hundred pieces, great quantities of military stores, and even provisions, fell into the hands of the rebels. And as though something was still wanting to swell their triumph and make it complete, a convention was entered into with the rebels, with General Howe's knowledge and approbation, that the town should not be injured in case they would suffer the troops to embark without interruption. The agreement was religiously kept. As the last division of troops embarked at the Long Wharf, a flag was hoisted on the steeple of a church, and Washington entered the town with drums beat-
326
THE SIEGE OF BOSTON.
ing, music playing, colors flying, and in all the pride and exultation of victory." 1
However just, in a military point of view, the criticism might have been, relative to the long neglect of Dorchester Heights, no other course but an evacuation remained to Gen- eral Howe after Washington had got possession of them. Nor could he have prosecuted operations against the American lines with any chance of success. They were numerous and strong. "Nothing," it has been remarked, " but the enthusi- asm of liberty could have enabled the men of America to have constructed such works. In history they are equalled only by the lines and forts raised by Julius Caesar to surround the army of Pompey."? Hence the British army accomplished all that could be expected of an army placed in such a con- dition.
Washington's conduct met with universal approval. The people had been impatient to see the British driven out of Bos- ton. Congress shared this feeling, and hence the repeated expression of its wish that Washington should venture an assault. It was doubted whether it was possible to keep the army together during so long and wearisome a siege. It was supposed that the stimulus of a triumph was necessary to sustain the American cause. Washington felt all this, and was not, also, indifferent to the wishes of Congress. Hence
" This extract is taken from a pamphlet, entitled " A View of the Evidence relative to the Conduct of the American War," &c., 1779. It was one of the publications that caused General Howe to demand an inquiry into his oper- ations in America. In the cvidence given during this investigation, the events of the siege occupy a conspicuous place.
The following extract from a speech of Mr. Wilkes, Nov. 18, 1777, will show what language continued to be used in Parliament : - " Let us recol- lect, sir, what passed after Boston was taken by the British forces. Our general was soon besieged in that capital of New England, ignominiously cooped up there many months with twenty regiments, and at last driven from thence. I know the coloring given to this retreat by the court party among us, and have been nauseated with the cant terms of our generals' changing their quarters, and shifting their positions ; but I know, likewise, that their artillery and stores were left behind. All the military men of this country now confess that the retreat of General Howe from Boston was an absolute flight, - as much so, sir, as that of Mahomet from Mecca."
2 Article in Silliman's Journal.
1
STATE OF BOSTON. 327
his repeated proposals to his general officers to make an attack on Boston. However strong might have been his belief of the feasibility of a successful assault, it can now be scarcely doubted but that the adverse decisions of the councils of war were correct.1 Such enterprises are counted hazardous, even when made by veterans in war. How much greater is the hazard when raw levies are to be led against disciplined troops, protected by intrenchments as strong as science and labor could make them. When all the advantage that could have been reasonably calculated on by an attack had been attained without the effusion of blood or the destruction of property, when the British troops had been driven ingloriously out of Boston, the censure that had been cast upon the Fabian policy of Washington was changed into a general approval of the wisdom of his councils. It was seen that the British, in abandoning the town that had been proclaimed the cause of the struggle, in reality suffered a defeat; and that the Americans, in getting possession of it, in reality achieved a triumph.
Boston was not injured so much, either by the bombard- ment or by the troops, as it had been reported. Dr. Warren went in two hours after the British left. He writes in his diary : " The houses I found to be considerably abused inside, where they had been inhabited by the common soldiery, but the external parts of the houses made a tolerable appearance. The streets were clean, and, upon the whole, the town looks much better than I expected. Several hundred houses were pulled down, but these were very old ones." Washington wrote to President Hancock that his house had received no damage worth mentioning; that his family pictures were untouched, and his furniture was in tolerable order ; and that the damage done to the houses and furniture generally was not equal to the report; but that the inhabitants suffered much from being plundered by the soldiery at their depart- ure. Other contemporary letters contain similar statements as to the general appearance of the town. The interior of many of the houses had been badly used .?
1 Reed's Life of President Reed, vol. I., p. 121.
2 A report was prepared by the selectmen, agreeable to an order of the 28
.
32S
THE SIEGE OF BOSTON.
Many of the public buildings were in a shameful condition. The Old South Church, obnoxious to the British on account of the town-meetings held in it, had been made a riding- school. Deacon Newell (October 27) writes in his diary as follows : "The spacious Old South meeting-house taken pos- session of for this purpose. The pulpit, pews and seats, all cut to pieces, and carried off in the most savage manner as can be expressed, and destined for a riding-school. The beau- tiful carved pew, with the silk furniture, of Deacon Hub- bard's, was taken down and carried to -'s house by an officer, and made a hog-stye. The above was effected by the solicitation of General Burgoyne." Dirt and gravel were spread over the floor; the south door was closed; a bar was fixed, over which the cavalry leaped their horses at full speed; the east galleries were allotted to spectators ; the first gallery was fitted up as a refreshment room. A stove was put up in the winter, and here were burnt for kindling many of the books and manuscripts of Prince's fine library. The parson- age house belonging to this society was pulled down for fuel.
The Old North Chapel, built in 1677, which was in good repair, and might have stood many years, was pulled down for fuel. The steeple of the West Church, built of large tim- ber, was also taken down, and afforded no small supply. Many trees were cut down on the common, and in other places. The celebrated Liberty Tree furnished fourteen cords of wood. The common was much disfigured. Much of it was turned up into fortifications. Faneuil Hall was fitted up, by subscription, into a very neat theatre, under the counte- nance of General Howe. The Brattle-street Church1 and the Hollis-street Church were improved by the troops for barracks.
The most important of the fortifications were found entire, and exceedingly strong. Several persons, who went into
legislature, of the amount of damage suffered by Boston during the opera- tion of the Port Bill and the siege. The total was estimated at £323,074 14s. 6d.
! A shot from the American lines struck the tower of this church, which was picked up by Mr. Turell, preserved in his family, and was subsequently fastened into the tower where it struck.
1
329
THE FORTIFICATIONS IN BOSTON.
Boston soon after the British troops left it, have given partial descriptions of their appearance. "We found," one says, " the works upon the Neck entire, the cannon spiked up, the shells chiefly split, and many of the cannon carriages cut to pieces ; these lines upon the Neck were handsomely built, and so amazingly strong that it would have been impracticable for us to have forced them. The other works were not so well constructed as I imagined we should have found them, especially at the bottom of the common, and on Beacon Hill. They appeared to be ill-constructed, and designed for little but to frighten us." 1
Dr. Warren had an opportunity of seeing the forts as they were left by the enemy, and describes their appearance. Two redoubts, situated in the neighborhood of Beacon Hill, ap- peared to me, he says, "to be considerably strong. There were two or three half-moons at the hill upon the bottom of the common for small arms, and there were no embrasures at the redoubt above mentioned. Just by the shore, opposite Lechmere's Point, is a bomb battery, lined with plank, and faced with a parapet of horse-dung, being nothing but a simple line ; near it lies a thirteen-inch mortar, a little moved from its bed. This is an exceeding fine piece, being, as I am sure, seven and a half inches thick at the muzzle, and near twice that over the chamber, with an iron bed all cast as one piece, the touch-hole spiked up. Just above it, upon the ascent of the hill, was a three-gun battery of thirty-two-pounders. The cannon are left spiked up, and shot drove into the boxes. There was only a simple line, being plank filled with dirt. Upon Beacon Hill were scarcely more than the fortifications of nature, - a very insignificant shallow ditch, with a few short pickets, a platform, and one twenty-four-pounder, which could not be brought to bear upon any part of the hill. This was left spiked up, and the bore crammed. Copp's Hill, at the north, was nothing more than a few barrels filled with dirt, to form parapets, - three twenty-four-pounders upon (a) platform, left spiked and crammed; all these, as well as the others, on carriages. The parapet in this fort, and on Beacon
1 Edward Bangs' Ms. Diary, -for which, and for other favors, I am indebted to J. Wingate Thornton, Esq.
--
330
THE SIEGE OF BOSTON.
Hill, did not at all cover the men who should work the can- non. There was a small redoubt behind for small arms, very slender indeed. Fort Hill was only five lines of barrels filled with earth, very trifling indeed. Upon the Neck the works were strong, consisting of redoubts, numbers of lines with embrasures for cannon, a few of which were left as the others. A very strong work at the old fortification, and another near the hay-market. All these were ditched and picketed. Hatch's Wharf was a battery of rafters, with dirt, and two twelve-pounders, left as the others. One of these I saw drilled out and cleared for use, without damage. A great number of other cannon were left at the north and south bat- teries, with one or both trunnions beat off. Shot and shells in divers parts of the town, some cartridges, great quantities of wheat, hay, oil, medicine, horses, and other articles, to the amount of a great sum." Washington was evidently sur- prised at the formidable character of the main works. "The town of Boston," he writes, "was almost impregnable - every avenue fortified."
Charlestown presented one unbroken scene of desolation - here and there only a wall or a chimney. Dr. Warren, on the 21st of March, visited it, and described it as follows : - "This day I visit(ed) Charlestown, and a most melancholy heap of ruins it is. Scarcely the vestiges of those beautiful buildings remain to distinguish them from the mean cottages. The hill which was the theatre upon which the bloody tragedy of the 17th of June was acted commands the most affecting view I ever saw in my life. The walls of magnifi- cent buildings tottering to the earth below - above, a great number of rude hillocks, under which are deposited the remains of clusters of those deathless heroes who fell in the field of battle. The scene was inexpressibly solemn. When I considered myself as walking over the bones of many of my worthy fellow-countrymen, who jeoparded and sacrificed their lives in these high places ; when I considered that whilst I (was) musing (on) the objects around me, I might be stand- ing over the remains of a dear brother, whose blood had stained these hallowed walks; with veneration did this inspire me. How many endearing scenes of fraternal friendship,
-
Note. The numbers marked by the figures are paces about 3 feet each.
The Parapet from 6 to 15 feet broad, The Berine about 4 feet.
The Ditch from 14 to 18 feet wide.
The Banquet about 4 feet bread.
991
24
CALLEAr
MACAZINE
BARRACK
7
42
7
344
DITCH
21
90
CUARD HOUSES
ED
55
15
mm
118
22
EUSTAIRS
CALLERY
RAIS D ABOUT
13
36 5 18
8
9
06
The Galleries and Parapet beforo them raised about 20 feet high.
The Merlons at the 6 Gun Battery raised about 12 feet high.
a a were two temporary Magazines, now made Guard- houses.
PLAN OF THE FORT ELECTED BY THE BRITISH ON BUNKER HILL.
28
118
.ADVANCED
32
16
BARRACK
7
8
20
155
331
STATE OF CHARLESTOWN.
now past and gone forever, presented themselves to my view ! But it is enough. The blood of the innocent calls for ven- geance on the guilty heads of the vile assassins. O may our arms be strengthened to fight the battles of our God ! When I came to Bunker Hill I found it exceeding strong. The front parapet, about thirteen feet high, composed of earth con- tain(ed) in plank, supported by huge timber, with two look- outs upon the top. In the front of this were two bastions, and a semi-circular line, with very wide trenches, and very long pickets as well as trenclies. Within, the causeway was secured with a - and brush. All that part of the main fort which was not included with(in) (the) high works above mentioned, viz., the rear, was secured by another parapet, with a trench picketed inside as well as out. There was a half-moon which commanded the river at the side."1 Wash- ington pronounced this work "amazingly strong." "Twenty thousand men," he says, "could not have carried it against one thousand, had that work been well defended." This work was destroyed by the American troops immediately after the British evacuated the town.2 Dr. Warren describes the other works in Charlestown as follows : "There was a block-house upon School-house Hill, enclosed by a very strong fence spiked, and a dungeon and block-house upon Breed's Hill, enclosed in a redoubt of earth, with trenches and pickets. The works which had been cast up by our forces had been entirely levelled." 3
1 Dr. Warren's Diary. Some of this interesting Ms. is hardly legible.
2 The barracks attached to this fortress were moved into various parts of Charlestown, and improved for dwelling-houses. The low building opposite the City Hall, in Bow-street, on the Austin estate, was one of these bar- racks. The groundwork of this fortress could be, until recently; very dis- tinctly traced.
3 I have been often informed that the redoubt and works raised by the Americans were entirely levelled by the British while they were in posses- sion of Charlestown. Contemporary accounts, however, (except the one in the text,) do not indicate this. In Waller's Orderly Book, (Ms.,) kept in Charlestown, there are several allusions to the " Rebel Redoubt." A guard was immediately (June 19) stationed " in the redoubt stormed by the army ; " it was ordered (June 20) to be cleared, and a shed built in it, to shelter the guard ; the posts and rails were ordered (June 21) to be " carried to the redoubt, and piled up in order." The tools in the camp were ordered
332
THE SIEGE OF BOSTON.
I have attempted to present a faithful narrative of the open- ing scenes of the war of the American Revolution. The siege of Boston must be regarded not only as one of the most inter- esting incidents connected with this great contest, but as one of the memorable events of history. When the people of Massachusetts saw that the British government was deter- mined to inflict on them the blight of despotic law, - a law that destroyed their ancient charter, and that undermined their ancient liberties, - they resolved, at cvery hazard, to resist its execution. When a British army was concentrated to enforce submission, they resolutely prepared for self-defence. So thoroughly was this work done, and so strong was the sus- taining sentiment of the community, that, on the first invasion of their soil, it seemed as though the fablc of the dragon's teeth was realized in the armed hosts that started up to repel the insult. The expedition sent to Concord was driven back in disgrace to its quarters; and, within twenty-four hours, the whole British army was confined to the bounds of a small peninsula, was cut off from all relief by land, and was reduced to humiliating expedients for subsistence.
(August 5) to be " carried to the Rebel Redoubt." Other redoubts in town are named, as " the Grenadier Redoubt," which were undoubtedly thrown up by the British troops.
In addition to this, General Wilkinson states in his memoirs, that, on the evacuation of the town, he accompanied Colonels Stark and Reed over the battle-field. While he nanies " the vestiges " of the rail fence breastwork, he speaks of " resting on the parapet " where the patriots fought. He says : " Arrived on the field of battle, where those officers had performed conspic- uous parts, with anxious inquiry I traced the general disposition of our yeo- manry on that eventful day, and the particular station of each corps ; I marked the vestiges of the post and rail fence on the left, and the breastwork thrown up on the beach of Mystic River, which covered our armed citizens. I paced the distance to the point from whence the British light-infantry, after three successive gallant charges, were finally repulsed. I examined the redoubt, the intrenchment, the landings and approaches of the enemy, and every point of attack and defence. Resting on the parapet where, nine months before, 'valor's self might have stood appalled,' I surveyed the whole ground at a glance, and eagerly devoured the information imparted by my brave companions."
The small mound on the north-eastern corner of the Monument-square is said to be the remains of the original breastwork.
333
CONCLUDING REMARKS.
The British generals, after for sixty days denying the fact of being in a state of siege, determined to penetrate into the country. It was announced in England that General Gage would garrison Boston, and that Generals Howe, Clinton, and Burgoyne, would take the field, and disperse the colonial army. To carry out this plan, they fixed upon a time to occupy one of the heights of land that commanded their posi- tion. To their astonishment a redoubt suddenly appeared on another height, equally commanding in its position, which was filled with the daring Americans. To dislodge them, a detachment marched out to a conflict as bloody as history had on record. This experience appears to have changed the spirit of the British generals and the British troops. It shook out of them their arrogance and contempt. It made them respectful, if not timid. They afterwards manifested no dis- position to measure strength with their antagonists. They attained to the belief that there was something about Massa- chusetts - either in the nature of the country or in the temper of its people - that made it a most unfit place for military operations. If they entertained offensive plans, they did not attempt to carry them into effect. And thus a well-appointed army, with accomplished officers, with cavalry and a fine train of artillery, supplied with every science of war, of un- doubted bravery and backed by a powerful fleet, was satisfied if allowed to remain unmolested in its strongholds until it chose to change its position.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.