Rounded historical estimates; the British lost a very high proportion of officers.
Balance of forces
American colonial militia~1,300
British Army~2,800
Approximate strength engaged.
Quick answer
Britain won the Battle of Bunker Hill in June 1775, but at such heavy cost that it felt like a defeat. American militia holding the hills above Boston twice tore apart the advancing redcoats before running out of ammunition, proving raw colonial troops could stand against the finest army in the world.
In June 1775, on the hills above Boston, a force of American colonial militia dug in and waited for the British army to come at them. Ordered to hold their fire until the enemy was close, they twice tore apart the advancing redcoats before running out of ammunition and giving up the ground. The British won the Battle of Bunker Hill, but at such a fearful cost that it proved the raw American militia could stand against the finest army in the world.
A British manuscript map of June 1775 by John Humfrey, showing the Charlestown peninsula, the American redoubt and the British assault, with Boston across the Charles River. Public domain
After the first shots of the war at Lexington and Concord, thousands of New England militia hemmed the British army into Boston. To command the harbour, the Americans slipped onto the Charlestown peninsula by night and threw up an earthwork redoubt, chiefly on Breed's Hill2, from which they could threaten the town.
Hold your fire
On 17 June the British under General William Howe3 ferried across and attacked the position head-on, marching in lines up the open slope. Short of powder, the American commanders told their men to hold their fire until the redcoats were close, the order later remembered as do not fire until you see1 the whites of their eyes. The first two assaults were shattered by close-range volleys.1
British regulars advance in line up the slope towards the American works, with Charlestown burning behind them. Painting by Howard Pyle, published in Scribner's Magazine in 1898. Public domain
Taking the hill cost the British more than a thousand casualties.
The hill falls
On the third assault the defenders had almost no powder left1 and fought with musket-butts and stones before withdrawing in good order. The British took the redoubt and the peninsula. The Patriot leader Dr Joseph Warren was killed in the final struggle4, one of the most serious losses to the American cause that day.
A costly lesson
The British had won the ground, but at a staggering price: over a thousand casualties, including a terrible toll of officers1, against far fewer Americans. The scale of the loss shook the British command and heartened the rebellion. The British general Henry Clinton called it "a dear bought victory", adding that another such would have ruined them. The battle also showed the war would be long and hard.
Henry Clinton, the British general who called Bunker Hill a dear bought victory, in a portrait by Andrea Soldi from about 1762. Public domain
Frequently asked questions
When and where was the Battle of Bunker Hill?
It was fought on 17 June 1775 on the Charlestown peninsula near Boston, Massachusetts, early in the American Revolutionary War.
Who won the Battle of Bunker Hill?
The British won a tactical victory, capturing the American position, but suffered far heavier losses than the defenders. It is often described as a costly or hollow British victory.
Was the battle actually fought on Bunker Hill?
Most of the fighting took place on the neighbouring Breed's Hill3, where the main redoubt was built, though the battle is named after Bunker Hill nearby.
What does the whites of their eyes order mean?
Short of gunpowder, the American commanders told their men not to fire until the British were very close, to make every shot count. It became one of the most famous orders in American history.
Why did Bunker Hill matter?
Although a defeat, it showed that American militia could inflict devastating losses on regular British troops, boosting the morale of the rebellion and warning Britain that the war would be long and costly.
Sources and notes
Numbered notes in the text point to the works below.
