Bunker Hill Monument

The monument was one of the first in the United States. It is not on Bunker Hill, but instead on Breed's Hill, where most of the fighting in the misnamed Battle of Bunker Hill actually took place. An earlier memorial at the site, an 18-foot (5.5 m) wooden column topped with a gilt urn, had been erected in memory of fallen Bunker Hill hero Dr. Joseph Warren, a Mason, in 1794 by King Solomon's Lodge of Masons.

The Monument Association, which had purchased the entire battlefield site by 1825, was forced to sell off all but the summit of the hill in 1838 to cover the cost of completing the monument.

In front of the current obelisk is a statue of Col. William Prescott, a native of Groton, Massachusetts, another hero of Bunker Hill. Some popular stories claim he coined the famous phrase "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes" during this battle; others have instead attributed it to Israel Putnam, John Stark, or Richard Gridley, rather than Prescott; but the main consensus is that none of them said it.^[3] In any case, no one at Bunker Hill could have coined the phrase; the idea behind it was already more than a hundred years old when this battle took place,^[4] and the modern phrasing of it had been used by British commanders Sir Andrew Agnew in the 1740s^[5] and James Wolfe in the 1750s,^[6] as well as by Prince Charles of Prussia in 1745, famously repeated in 1755 by Frederick the Great.^[7]

Breed's Hill is a glacial drumlin located in the Charlestown section of Boston, Massachusetts. It is located in the southern portion of the Charlestown Peninsula, a historically oval, but now more roughly triangular, peninsula that was originally connected to the mainland portion of Charlestown (now the separate city of Somerville) in colonial times by a short, narrow isthmus known as the Charlestown Neck. It is best known as the location where in 1775, early in the American Revolutionary War, most of the fighting in the Battle of Bunker Hill took place. In the 19th and early 20th centuries the peninsula's shape and connections to other landforms were significantly altered, with the waters of the Charles River between Cambridge and Charlestown heavily filled in.^[8] Much of the hill is now occupied by residential construction, but the summit area is the location of the Bunker Hill Monument and other memorials commemorating the battle.

The hill is about 62 feet (19 m) high, and is topped by Monument Square, site of the Bunker Hill Monument. The hill slopes fairly steeply to the east and west. In addition to its historic sites and tourist-oriented facilities, the hill is the site of a great deal of residential property, as well as supporting municipal and retail infrastructure. It is about 700 yards (640 m) from Bunker Hill.^[9]

The Americans, having caught word of a British plan to fortify the Charlestown peninsula, decided to get to the peninsula first, fortify it, and present sufficient threat to cause the British to leave Boston. On June 16, 1775, under the leadership of General Putnam and Colonel Prescott, the Americans stole out onto the Charlestown Peninsula with instructions to establish defensive positions on the hills overlooking Boston.

A redoubt, a small and usually temporary defensive fortification, was constructed on nearby Breed's Hill, probably due to its closer proximity to Boston compared to Bunker Hill. The next morning, June 17, the British were astonished to see the rebel fortifications upon the hill and set out to reclaim the peninsula. The resulting conflict was called the Battle of Bunker Hill because that is where Prescott originally intended—and was ordered—to build the fortifications. Also, some people considered Breed's Hill a part of Bunker Hill, while others called it Charlestown Hill.^[10]

British soldiers under Howe sent 2,400 men to attack Breed's Hill. A force of 1,500 colonists held off two British Army attacks, but the third attack, by British Royal Marines, forced the rebels to retreat. 450 colonists were killed or wounded, compared to 1,150 British casualties.

In 1825, the Bunker Hill Monument Association began construction of the Bunker Hill Monument, acquiring 15 acres (6.1 ha) of land for the purpose.^[11]

William Ticknor, a well-known Boston lawyer and antiquarian, first suggested that a memorial be built. An interested group of men met for breakfast at the home of Colonel Thomas Handasyd Perkins, including William Tudor, Daniel Webster, Professor George Ticknor, Doctor John C. Warren, William Sullivan, and George Blake. On May 10, 1823, the first public meeting was called. Each member subscribed five dollars, and on June 7, 1823, the Bunker Hill Monument Association was established and the work of raising money was begun. Famed nineteenth-century philanthropist Amos Lawrence contributed $10,000 to the monument's erection.

 

In the spring of 1825 the directors had purchased about 15 acres (6.1 ha) on the slope of Breed's Hill, but had not yet chosen a design. The first design committee consisted of Webster, noted engineer Loammi Baldwin Jr., George Ticknor, Gilbert Stuart, and Washington Allston. One hundred dollars was offered for the best design; about 50 plans were presented in response. Choice was soon narrowed to a column and an obelisk and a new committee was appointed to procure designs and estimate expenses for each. At the next meeting the majority voted that the obelisk designed by Solomon Willard be used.

The directors laid the cornerstone on June 17, 1825. The Marquis de Lafayette (who was on a 14-month tour of the United States on the 50th anniversary of the War) performed the ceremony, Webster delivered the oration, and the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, conducted the services. Rev. Joseph Thaxter, who was wounded in the battle, officiated as chaplain at the ceremony, offering a prayer in thanks for the colonists' victory.^[12][13][14] More than 100,000 attended the event, including 190 veterans who had participated in the battle.^[15]

Blocks of granite for the monument averaged two cubic yards (1.5 m³) each and were quarried by wedging. They were delivered to the site at an actual cost of $5.40 per cubic yard from a quarry opened for the purpose, far below the average contract offer of $24.30 for the same.^[16] Moving the blocks proceeded somewhat slowly at first, but the Granite Railway was completed in short order and became operational on October 7, 1826, the first commercial railroad in the United States functioning as a common carrier.

Construction of the monument was frequently halted as available funds were depleted. To bring the project to completion the Monument Association in 1838 began to sell off sections of the battlefield as house lots; they were successful in raising the money, while giving up about two thirds of the area (sale of 10 acres (4.0 ha)), preserving only the summit of Breed's Hill as the monument grounds. Neighbors disgruntled with the construction eyesore were rumored to have plans to raise money to tear down the partially completed monument.^{[17][failed verification]} Sarah Josepha Hale and the readers of her magazine supplied funds essential to the monument's successful completion.^{[17][failed verification]} The capstone was laid on July 23, 1842, and the monument was dedicated on June 17 of the following year, again with a Daniel Webster oration. According to the Boston Latin School Association's "Points of Pride Quiz" for December 2007, BLS boys helped erect the Boston landmark.^[18]

The Bunker Hill Monument Association maintained the monument and grounds until 1919, when it was turned over to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In 1976 the monument was transferred to the National Park Service and became a unit of Boston National Historical Park. The monument was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961, in part for its architectural significance as a major early war memorial, and the nation's largest-scale memorial prior to the construction of the Washington Monument.^[19] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966, and was included in the Monument Square Historic District in 1987.^[1][20]

Lydia Sigourney's poem Bunker-Hill Monument was published in her Scenes in my Native Land, 1845 together with a description of both the monument and the battle. ^[21]

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  Construction progress as of 1840 (courtesy Cornell University)
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  Bunker Hill Day celebration, between 1890 and 1901
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  Monument and statue of Col. William Prescott
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  Monument and statue of Col. William Prescott
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  Bunker Hill Monument Park
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  Boston National Historical Park sign
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  Stereoscopic image of the monument by Joseph L. Bates

 

The view from the Bunker Hill Monument

• Washington Monument
• List of National Historic Landmarks in Massachusetts
• National Register of Historic Places listings in northern Boston, Massachusetts
• Breed's Hill Institute

• Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Bunker Hill" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 798–799.
• Ketchum, Richard (1999). Decisive Day: The Battle of Bunker Hill. New York: Owl Books. ISBN 0-385-41897-3. OCLC 24147566. (Paperback: ISBN 0-8050-6099-5)
• Nelson, James L. (2011). With Fire And Sword: The Battle of Bunker Hill and the Beginning of the American Revolution. New York: St Martins Press. ISBN 978-0-312-57644-8 Book Club Edition

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bunker Hill Monument.

• Information about the Monument, including hours it is open
• The Battle of Bunker Hill: Now We Are at War, a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan
• More information from the US National Park Service
• "The Public Memorial in the United States": cultural context
• Bunker Hill Monument
• King Solomon's Lodge, that built the first Bunker Hill Monument