USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Old landmarks and historic fields of Middlesex > Part 6
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This regiment, which was opposed to Stark's men at the rail- fence, on the left of the redoubt, lost upwards of sixty killed and wounded, but was by no means so cut up as has often been stated. The greatest havoc was made in the ranks of Percy's Northumbrians, who had eight commissioned officers, in- cluding two ensigns, and one hundred and forty-four non-com- missioned officers and soldiers hors du combat. This carnage reminds us of that sustained by the Highlanders in the battle of New Orleans. The British color-bearers at Bunker Hill were specially marked, the 5th, 38th, and 52d having both their ensigns shot down.
Lord George Harris, captain of the grenadier company of the 5th, says of this terrible day : -
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"We had made a breach in their fortifications, which I had twice mounted, encouraging the men to follow me, and was ascending a third time, when a ball grazed the top of my head, and I fell, de- prived of sense and motion. My lieutenant, Lord Rawdon, caught mne in his arms, and, believing me dead, endeavored to remove me from the spot, to save my body from being trampled on. The mo- tion, while it hurt me, restored my senses, and I articulated, 'For God's sake, let me die in peace.'"
Lord Rawdon ordered four soldiers to carry Captain Harris to a place of safety. Of these three were wounded, one mortally, while endeavoring to comply with the order. Such was the terrible fusilade from the redoubt. Captain Harris's life was saved by trepanning, and he recovered to take part in the battle of Long Island and the subsequent operations in New York and the Jerseys. He received another rebel bullet through the leg in 1777 ; was in the expedition to St. Lucie in 1778 as major of the 5th ; served in India with distinction, and was made lieutenant-general in 1801. Lexington was his first battle ; his lieutenant, Francis Rawdon, and himself are among the few British officers who fought at Bunker Hill whose repu- tations survived the American war.
Captain Addison, a relative of the author of the Spectator, only arrived in Boston the day previous to the battle, and had then accepted an invitation to dine on the next day with Gen- eral Burgoyne ; but a far different experience awaited him, for he was numbered among the slain.
The agency of the young Bostonian, John Coffin (afterwards a general in the British army), in this battle is said to have been purely accidental ; for, going down to Long Wharf to see the 5th and 38th embark, he became excited with the ardor dis- played by his acquaintances among the officers, of whom Cap- tain Harris was one, jumped into a boat and went over to the hill. This was the relation of Dr. Waterhouse. Captain Harris says he had fallen over head and ears in love with a Miss Coffin, - who was a relative of John and Sir Isaac, - or, as he jocosely phrased it, had found a coffin for his heart. The lady had a " remarkably soft hand and red pouting lips." This
4 *
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celebrated family of Coffins also furnished another able officer, Sir Thomas Aston Coffin, to the British cause.
General Coffin is accredited with saying to his American friends after the war, in allusion to Bunker Hill, " You could not have succeeded without it; for something was indispensable, in the then state of parties, to fix men somewhere, and to show the planters at the South that Northern people were really in earnest, and could and would fight. That, that did the busi- ness for you." *
Thomas Graves, afterwards an admiral, commanded an armed sloop which assisted in covering the landing of the British troops at Bunker Hill, as did Bouillon and Collingwood (Nel- son's famous lieutenant), who were in the boats. Thomas was the nephew of Admiral Samuel Graves, then commanding the fleet in the waters of Boston harbor.
Lord Rawdon, who is represented in Trumbull's picture in the act of waving a flag from the top of the intrenchment, developed, while afterwards commanding in the South, a san- guinary disposition. In view of the numerous desertions taking place in his command, he is reported to have offered, on one occasion, ten guineas for the head of any deserter of the Irish Volunteers, but only five for the man if brought in alive.
An American gentleman gives the following account of an interview with the Earl of Moira in 1803, while sojourning on the Isle of Wight : -
"I waited on his Lordship, and was introduced ; my reception was all that could be desired. The Earl then informed me, that, learning from our host that I was from the United States, he had sought my acquaintance in the hope that I would give him some in- formation of some of his old acquaintances of our Revolutionary War. I was pleased to have it in my power to gratify his Lordship far beyond his expectations ; and, after an excellent supper of beef- steak and oysters, with a bottle of old port, we found the night had crept into the morning before we parted. The Earl was a gentle- man of most noble appearance."
* Sabine.
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Colonel, afterwards General Small, who appears in Trumbull's picture as arresting the thrust of a bayonet aimed at Warren's prostrate form, was greatly respected on both sides, as the fol- lowing anecdote will illustrate. "Towards the conclusion of the war, Colonel Small expressing a wish to meet with General St. Clair of the American army, the friend and companion of his early years, a flag of truce was immediately sent by General Greene, with an invitation to come within our lines, and remain at his option therein, free from every restriction. The invitation was accepted in the same spirit in which it was tendered." It is perhaps needless to say that the position in which Trumbull has placed Colonel Small is more for artistic effect than for historic accuracy.
General Burgoyne, a spectator only of this battle, lived at one time in Samuel Quincy's house, in South Street, Boston. It was a handsome wooden dwelling of three stories, with a yard and garden, and was for many years the abode of Judge John Davis. The estate was the third from the corner of Summer Street, according to former lines of division, and on the east side of South Street. This was the house of which Mrs. Adams remarks, " A lady who lived opposite says she saw raw meat cut and hacked upon her mahogany table, and her superb damask curtains exposed to the rain."
General Pigot, who fought a duel with Major Bruce, with- out serious result to either combatant, resided in the Hancock House, on Beacon Hill, during the winter of 1775. To his credit be it said, he left the old family mansion of the pro- scribed patriot in a cleanly state, and the wines and stores remained as he found them. Affairs of honor were not un- common in Boston while the king's troops were stationed there. In September, 1775, a meeting took place between a captain and lieutenant of marines, in which the former was killed and the latter badly wounded.
Duelling was one of the pernicious customs which the Brit- ish officers left behind them. The Continental officers some- times settled their disputes in this wise, and, indeed, carried the fashion into private life ; as witness the affair of Burr and
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Hamilton. But that the practice obtained a foothold among the gentry in staid Old Boston would seem incredible, if we had not the evidence.
Trumbull's great painting of the " Battle of Bunker Hill," except for the portraits it contains, some of which were painted from life, must ever be an unsatisfactory work to Americans. The artist has depicted the moment of defeat for the provin- cials, with the head of the British column pouring into the redoubt. Warren is extended on the earth in the foreground. Prescott is located in the background, and in a garb that defies recognition. A figure purporting to be that of Lord Rawdon - it might as well be called that of any other officer, - presents its back to the spectator. But for the undoubted likenesses of Putnam, Clinton, Small, and others, the picture would be chiefly valued as commemorating a British victory.
Would that the artist, whose skill as a historical painter we do not mean to depreciate, had seized the instant when Warren, entering the redoubt, his face aglow with the enthusiasm of the occasion, is met by Prescott with the offer of the com- mand ; or that other moment, when that brave old soldier calmly paces the rampart, encouraging his weary and drooping men by his own invincible contempt for danger.
Trumbull's picture was painted in West's studio, and when it was nearly completed the latter gave a dinner to some friends, Sir Joshua Reynolds among others being invited. When Sir Joshua entered the room, he immediately ran up to the " Bun- ker Hill," and exclaimed, "Why, West, what have you got here ? this is better colored than your works are generally." "Sir Joshua, you mistake, that is not mine, it is the work of this young gentleman, Mr. Trumbull." Trumbull relates that he was not sorry to turn the tables upon Sir Joshua, who, only a short time before, had snubbed him unmercifully.
The question of command on the American side, at Bunker Hill, has been in former times one of bitter controversy. It has even mingled to some extent with party politics. The friends of Warren, Putnam, Prescott, Pomeroy, and Stark, each contended manfully to lodge the glory with their par-
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ticular hero. The opinion has too long prevailed that nobody commanded in chief, and that the battle, taken as a whole, fought, itself, - or, in other words, was maintained by the individual leaders acting without a responsible head, or any particular concert. Any want of unity is to be ascribed to the chaotic state of the Provincial army, and in no small degree, also, to the jealousy between the officers and soldiers of the different Colonies. The reflection comes naturally, that if there was no general officer present authorized to command, there ought to have been one, and that if Putnam did not hold that authority, the conduct of General Ward cannot be understood. Prescott could not command the whole field when shut up within the redoubt. Warren and Pomeroy fought as volun- teers. Putnam endeavored to the last to carry out the original plan, which was to fortify Bunker Hill. Had he succeeded in forming a second line there, the sober judgment is that the enemy would have deferred an attack or lost the battle.
Prescott receives the order and the command of the party to intrench on the hill. When the intention of the enemy is developed, Stark is ordered on and takes his position at the rail-fence, on the left of the redoubt. Putnam is in all parts of the field, and assumes and exercises command at all points, as if by virtue of his rank. Prescott commands within the redoubt he erected ; Stark at the rampart of new-mown hay ; while Putnam, taking his post on Bunker Hill, where he could observe everything, directs the reinforcements that ar- rive where to place themselves. As for Warren and Pomeroy, the two other general officers present during the battle, they choose their stations within Prescott's redoubt, and fight like heroes in the ranks. Neither were willing to deprive the vet- eran of the honor of defending his fort.
At this distance of time Putnam's judgment appears to have been sound and well directed. The evidence goes to show that the lines were well manned. The redoubt could not fight more than five hundred men to advantage, supposing all the sides attacked at once, - that is, admitting the dimensions of the work have been correctly given. Putnam holds a re-
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serve, and attempts to intrench himself on Bunker Hill. He sends to Cambridge for reinforcements, rallies the fugitives, and at last plants himself on Prospect Hill like a lion at bay. It cannot be gainsaid that he alone sustained the duty of com- manding the field, in its larger meaning, and was, therefore, in chief command. He was in the contest, at the rail-fence, and was himself there, that is to say, all fire and intrepidity. The poet thus depicts him at the retreat : -
" There strides bold Putnam, and from all the plains Calls the third host, the tardy rear sustains, And, 'mid the whizzing deaths that fill the air, Waves back his sword, and dares the following war."
The statement that Putnam did not give Prescott an order is irreconcilable with the fact that he rode to the redoubt and directed the intrenching-tools there to be taken to Bunker Hill. Prescott remonstrated, but obeyed the order, as Gen- eral Heath tells us.
Gordon and Eliot, both contemporary historians, give Pres- cott the command within the redoubt ; the former attributes to Putnam the credit of aiding and encouraging on the field at large. General Lee, who had every means of knowing the truth, observes in his defence : -
"To begin with the affair of Bunker Hill, I may venture to pro- nounce that there never was a more dangerous, a more execrable situation, than those brave and unfortunate men (if those who die in the glorious cause of liberty can be termed unfortunate) were placed in. They had to encounter with a body of troops, both in point of spirit and discipline not to be surpassed in the whole world, headed by an officer of experience, intrepidity, coolness, and deci- sion. The Americans were composed, in part, of raw lads and old men, half armed, with no practice or discipline, commanded without order, and God knows by whom."
The British army gained no little of its reputation from the admixture of the races of which it was composed. The emu- lation between Scotch, Irish, Welsh, and Saxon has been the means of conquering many a field ; for, when placed side by side in action, neither nationality would give way before the
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other. Of these elements the Irish and Scotch are, of course, the more distinctive. It is said to be a fact, that in one of the Duke of Marlborough's battles, the Irish brigade, on advancing to the charge, threw away their knapsacks and everything that would encumber them, all of which were carefully picked up by a Scotch regiment that followed to support them. The old Lord Tyrawley used to say, that, to constitute the beau ideal of an army, a general should take ten thousand fasting Scotch- men, ten thousand Englishmen after a hearty dinner, and the same number of Irishmen who have just swallowed their second bottle. Sir William Howe so well understood these traits, that he gave his soldiers their dinner and plentifully supplied them with grog before advancing to attack the Americans.
The first British regiments (14th and 29th) despatched to Bos- ton in 1768 had negro drummers who were used to whip such of the soldiers as were ordered for punishment. The bands on board derisively played "Yankee Doodle " as the fleet came to its anchorage before the town. A little display of force and a great deal of contempt were deemed sufficient by the minis- try and their instruments to overawe the disaffected colonists.
Gage went home to England shorn of his military character, to explain Lexington and Bunker Hill to the king. A few days before he sailed he offered a reward of ten guineas for the thief or thieves who in September stole from the Council Chamber, in Boston, the Public Seal of the Province, his private seal, and the seal of the Supreme Court of Probate. Upon this announcement the wags suggested whether, as his Excellency carried his secretary, T. Flucker, with him, " 't is not as likely that he might have carried them off as any one else."
On the whole, we feel inclined to call the Battle of Bunker Hill, like that of Inkerman, the soldiers' battle. There were some who cowardly hung back from coming to the assistance of their brethren, but the Americans as a body displayed great heroism. The day was one of the sultriest, and the loose earth, trampled by many feet, rose in clouds of suffocating dust within the redoubt. The men there had marched and worked
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all night without relief, and could readily see the enemy's ships and floating batteries taking positions to prevent reinforcement or retreat. The thunder of the cannon to which they could not reply served to augment the terror of such as were inex- perienced in war, but still they faltered not.
Most of the provincials fought in their shirt-sleeves. They found their outer garments insupportable, and threw them off as they would have done in a hay-field at home. More than a year after the action the General Court was still allowing claims for guns, coats, and other property lost on the field. The men were stripped for fighting, while the British at first came up to the attack in heavy marching order, and arrived in front of the Americans, breathless and overheated. But then those " peasants " in their shirt-sleeves, our ancestors,
" Fought like brave men, long and well."
The British soldiers, too, deserve the same meed of praise. They never displayed greater valor, or a more stubborn deter- mination to conquer or die. Without vanity we might apply to them the remark of Frederick the Great to Prince Ferdi- nand : " You are going to fight the French cousin ; it will be easy for you, perhaps, to beat the generals, but never the soldiers." General Howe said of the action on the historic hill, " You may talk of your Mindens and your Fontenoys, but for my part, I never saw such carnage in so short a time."
An instance of sang-froid which recalls the celebrated reply of Junot occurred in the redoubt. Enoch Jewett of Dunsta- ble, a young soldier of Captain Ebenezer Bancroft's company, Bridges's regiment, was standing at one of the angles of the embankment beside his captain. Being quite short, he rested his gun against the breastwork, and arranged some cobble- stones so that he might be able to get a sight as well as the rest. While thus occupied, a cannon-ball from one of the enemy's frigates passed close above his head, brushing the dust of the rampart into his musket so that it was quite full. At this narrow escape Captain Bancroft turned, and said,
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" See there, Enoch, they have filled your gun full of dust !" To this Jewett replied, "I don't care, I'll give them dust and all !" and, suiting the action to the word, discharged his piece into the British ranks.
The ever-famous redoubt was only eight rods square, with a salient in the southern face, which looked towards Charles- town. The entrance was by the north side, in which an open- ing had been left. Inside the work the men had raised a plat- form of earth on which to stand while they rested their guns upon the embankment. The monument stands in the middle of the space formerly enclosed by the redoubt, the whole area of which should have been included within an iron fence, composed of suitable emblems.
The eastern face of the redoubt was prolonged by a wall of earth breast-high, for a hundred yards towards the Mystic. Chastellux, who visited the spot a few years after the battle, said this breastwork had no ditch, but was only a slight in- trenchment. It was doubtless intended, had there been time, to have continued the defences across the intervening space to the river.
Near the base of Bunker Hill, two hundred yards in rear of the redoubt, and ranging nearly parallel with its eastern face, was a stone-wall behind which Knowlton, with the Connecticut troops and two pieces of artillery, posted himself. In front of his stone-wall was another fence, the two enclosing a lane. Knowlton's men filled the space between with the loose hay recently cut and lying in cocks on the field. This fence extended to the river-bank, which was nine or ten feet above the beach below. Stark's men heaped up the loose stones of the beach until they had made a formidable rampart to the water's edge.
This made a good defence everywhere except in the space between the point where the breastwork ended and Knowl- ton's and Stark's fence. Wilkinson says this space was occupied by a post and rail fence beginning at the northeast angle of the redoubt, and running back two hundred yards in an oblique line until it intersected the fence previously described. Frothing-
E
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ham says this line was slightly protected, a part of it, about one hundred yards in extent, being open to the enemy. Howe's engineer-officer calls it a hedge. On another British map (De Berniere's) it appears undefended by any kind of works. By all accounts it was the weak point of the defences, and the fire of the British artillery was concentrated upon it.
After they obtained possession of the hill, the British de- stroyed the temporary works of the Americans only so far as they obstructed the free movements of their men and material. Dr. John Warren, who visited the spot a few days after the evacuation, probably refers to the removal of the fences when he says the works that had been cast up by our forces were completely levelled. Wilkinson at the same time plainly saw vestiges of the post and rail fences, examined the redoubt, and rested on the rampart. Governor Brooks examined the ground in 1818, and entered the redoubt. A visitor in 1824 says the redoubt was nearly effaced ; scarcely a trace of it remain- ing, while the intrenchment running towards the marsh was still distinct. A portion of this breastwork remained visible as late as 1841. Stones suitably inscribed have been placed to mark the position of the breastwork, of which a little grassy mound, now remaining, is supposed to have formed a part.
The most singular phase which the battle of Bunker Hill presents is that in which we see the provincial officers fighting under the authority of commissions issued to them in the name of the reigning monarch of Great Britain. Yet such was the fact. Probably the greater number of those officers exercised command in the name of that king whose soldiers they were endeavoring to destroy. The situation seems wholly anoma- lous, and we doubt if there were ever before rebels who car- ried on rebellion with such means. The officers who were made prisoners - and some of them were captured in this battle - could only prove their rank by the exhibition of the royal warrant, the same under which their captors acted.
This state of things would, perhaps, only go to show that the colonists had not yet squarely come up to the point of throwing off their allegiance, were it not that the measure of
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continuing, or even issuing commissions to military and civil officers in the king's name, was prolonged by the legislative and executive authority of Massachusetts, long after the Dec- laration of Independence by the Thirteen United Colonies.
The absurdity of their position seems to have been perfectly comprehended, as the General Court, May 1, 1776, passed an Act, to take effect on the first day of June in that year, by which the style of commissions, civil and military, was there- after to be in the name of the government and people of Massachusetts Bay, in New England. These commissions were to be dated in the year of the Christian era, and not in that of the reigning sovereign of Great Britain. This renunciation of allegiance to the crown - for such in fact it was- was a bold act, and placed Massachusetts in the van of the movement to- wards independent sovereignty. It has, in reality, been called a Declaration of Independence by Massachusetts, two months earlier than that by the Congress at Philadelphia ; but as Mas- sachusetts, as a matter of expediency, virtually annulled her own action by subsequent legislation, she cannot maintain her claim in this regard. By the Act referred to, the 19th Sep- tember, 1776, was fixed as the date when such commissions as had not been made to conform with the new law should be vacated.
But, in consequence of the failure of many of the officers of the militia who were in actual service to have their commis- sions altered to the new style, and especially in view of the desperate circumstances in which our army found itself after the battle of Long Island, a resolve passed the Massachusetts House on the 16th September, 1776, as follows : -
"It is therefore Resolved, That all Military Commissions now in force, shall be and continue in full force and effect on the same nineteenth day of September, and from thence to the 19th day of Jan- uary next after, such commissions not being made to conform as aforesaid notwithstanding."
So that the men of Massachusetts continued to fight against George III., with his commissions in their pockets, for more
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than six months after the Declaration of Independence by the Thirteen United Colonies. One of these commissions, dated in the reign of King George, and as late as the 10th of De- cember, 1776, is in the writer's possession.
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