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Show ' hSr ft Hie Hattle o Bunker Mill K j , , mmm-mum,, ,,----- r""T ": i..' 'S: . ! -s- - V ... V ........ ... ;; ,,-.'. . :. : ! ".."-- - - ' " ' v.. ,- ." t - v . ' By ELMO SCOTT WATSON "UNE 17 will mark the IGOth nnnl-I nnnl-I T versary of a battle famous In our I CJ lilstory. On that, date many an K, Auiorlcan, no doubt, will take pride y In recalling how "our Itevolutionary f -JJ forefathers whipped the British red-ljIJI red-ljIJI coats at the Batrte of Bunker Hill." I J'rC I This Is a story of that battle and ' 'Jir ot B0lne of tlie men whose names . i-h) m'' j are, In one way or another, linked Ljj-J with it. But, as you will discover, it does not agree In all details with the story as you learned It from your school-book histories. In 1750 or thereabouts a Frenchman migrated from Canada to the Massachusetts Bay colony and settled on a hill overlooking Boston harbor. Ills name was Monsieur Bon Coeur not a difficult diffi-cult name to pronounce unless you happened to be a Yankee who spoke with a nasal twang. But most of his neighbors were Yankees and they (moke thus. The French-Canadian tried hard to teach them the throaty sound of "Bong Koor." But they couldn't soem to get it. Or else they wouldn't, because they wanted to "plague that Canuck." At any rate, their name for him was "Mister Bunker." M. Bon Coeur protested. If they must Anglicize his fine old French name, who not use the translation of It and call him "Mister Good-heart"? Good-heart"? But, no I They wouldn't. So Bunker he became, Bunker he remained and the hill on which be lived and reared his family became Bunker's IlilL Thus came about the first paradox para-dox In the history of a famous battle. Two decades after Monsieur Bon Coeur, late of Canada, had resigned himself at last to being be-ing Mister Bunker of Boston, that city was In c state of siege. That fact, In itself, was something some-thing of a paradox. For the besiegers, f.lthough they numbered between 15,000 and 10,000, were little more than an unorganized mass of armed civilians. Military experts of the time would probably have given this Continental army (it was not yet the American army) but little chance In a pitched battle with the besieged, composed of six or seven thousand well-trained and well-equipped well-equipped British regulars commanded by Gen. Thomas Gage. During the second week In June, 1775, Colonel Grldley of the Continental forces planned a series of earthworks which would strengthen the position po-sition of the besiegers around Boston. But before be-fore he could proceed with his plans, his commander-in-chief. Gen. Artemas Ward, ordered Iilru to proceed to Bunker Hill for the construction con-struction of redoubts on this eminence of 110 feet overlooking Boston from across the Charles river. In the meantime Gage had noticed the menacing men-acing heights at Dorchester and Charlestown and determined to seize them. Upon learning of this, a force of Colonials under Col. William Trescott forestalled the British commander and on June 1G took up" their position on Breed's Hill, 02 feet high and nearer to Charlestown than Bunker Hill. It was a foolhardy thing to do, for Breed's Hill was a dangerously advanced position within easy gun range of Boston. In fact, the occupation of these heights back of Charlestown was a rash maneuver which might easily have proved disastrous. For If Gage had taken advantage of his opportunity to move heavy guns on the British warships at his disposal dis-posal and sailed them at flood tide around into the Mystic river, he could have swept the narrow nar-row neck of land which led to Cambridge with cannon fire to cut off the retreat of the Colonials Coloni-als and, by landing his troops behind Bunker Hill, have caught the whole Patriot force In a trap and destroyed It Fortunately for the cause of liberty he was a Beneral who hid risen to his position by political po-litical wirepulling rather than by proved merit id the field of battle. So he passed up his opportunity op-portunity for an easy victory and followed a course which was to prove disastrous both to his soldiers and to the prestige of the British arms. He decided upon an Immediate frontal attack which General William Howe was selected select-ed to lead. This decision was made on the morning of June 17 when the British discovered the Continentals' Conti-nentals' fortifications on Breed's Hill well advanced ad-vanced toward completion. A redoubt and breastwork had been erected in front of the hill and from one side of it, extending to the Mystic river, ran a rail fence which they had stuffed with hay to form a flimsy sort of breastwork in front of Bunker Hill. Immediately the British fiigate Lively In the Charles river opened tire on thi-se fortifications but failed to stop work on them. The wiole forenoon was taken up In ferryiDg the British troops across the Charles until about 3,000 had landed. Then they formed in line and about 3 o'clock In the afternoon marched forward for-ward to attack the entrenchments held by some 1,500 Colonials. Prescott succeeded in holding his men In check as the lines of the British advanced steadily toward their breastwork. Even when the front line halted and poured forth a volley (which did little harm because these British regulars with their Brown Bess muskets were far from being good shots), there was no reply from the Continentals Conti-nentals crouching behind the hay-stuffed rail fence. But when the marching lines of redcoats reached a point less than 50 yards away, they were met with a blast of fire beyond the power of human courage to endure. The broken lines retreated hastily down the hill. Under the lashing tongues and the flailing swords of their surviving officers, the British, regulars reformed and advanced a second time, only to be thrown back again with frightful losses. But this time reinforcements under Sir Henry Clinton had arrived. By now Howe realized real-ized tht another frontal attack by his infantry meant only more slaughter. Sending the artillery artil-lery to make a flank attack, his soldiers advanced ad-vanced again with fixed bayonets. This time they were successful mainly because the Colonials' Co-lonials' supply of ammunition had run out and they were able to offer only feeble resistance to the bayonet attack of the British. They retreated re-treated across the narrow neck of land, which was swept by fire from the floating batteries of the British In the Charles river but which caused only a few casualties. The British held possession of the field but they had paid a terrible price for It a total of 1,054 killed and wounded. The Continentals' losses were a little over 400. It was both a victory vic-tory and a defeat for them. It was a victory in so far as it proved that untrained militia, fighting fight-ing behind breastworks and commanded by such men as William Prescott, Israel Putnam and John Stark, could hold their own against British regulars. It was a defeat in that the Continentals had been driven from their position and had lost heavily more than 25 of their forces killed or wounded. But even more serious was the fact that this battle created the Impression that victory vic-tory could be won by partly trained militia and that it was not necessary to have a well-disciplined regular army. They could not then foresee the bitter years ahead which would prove otherwise. So the Battle of Bunker Hill, which was fought on Breed's Hill and which was both a victory vic-tory and a defeat, became a landmark in American Amer-ican history. It did something more It gave to America one of her most famous historical paintings paint-ings and one of her greatest orations. On the afternoon of June 17, 1775 the rooftops roof-tops of Boston were crowded with her citizens citi-zens who followed with painful intensity the ebb and flow of the struggle up and down Breed's HilL Up on Roxbury heights there was another watcher of that stirring scene a nineteen-year-old lieutenant in the First Connecticut regiment. His name was John Trumbull. Young John Trumbull did not long remain In the obscurity of a lieutenancy. He made a sketch of the disposition of the British forces around Boston which won him a position as aide-de-camp on the staff of Washington. In June, 177G, he became deputy adjutant general gen-eral with the rank of colonel under General Gates at Ticonderoga. There he tried to tell Gates' engineers that Ticonderoga was untenable unless they fortified a certain commanding eminence emi-nence in the neighborhood. But they refused to listen to the young Connecticut officer and did not fortify the place. As a result the British forced the evacuation of Ticonderoga by occupying oc-cupying that very hllU A short time later, angered because the Continental congress had dated his commission two and a half months later than it should have been, he resigned from the service and returned to Boston to continue the painting which he had determined to make his life-work before the outbreak of the war Interrupted In-terrupted him. But Trumbull could not stay away from the battlefield long. He next became a volunteer aide-de-camp under General Sullivan In Rhode Island and remained until his physical condition made It Imperative that he get away from the rigors of army life. In 17S0 he went to Paris where he told Benjamin Franklin of his desire to study painting under the great Benjamin West in London. Through Franklin's influence with Lord Germain, British foreign minister, Trumbull Trum-bull was received in West's studio and put to work alongside a young American named Gilbert Stuart, destined for future fame as the painter of portraits of Washington and other Revolutionary Revolu-tionary notables. When the news came that Major Andre, the British adjutant-general in America, had been arrested and executed as a spy, the crown authorities au-thorities were furious. Looking around for a victim to be used In reprisal, they decided that Colonel Trumbull, who had been a "rebel", deputy dep-uty adjutant general, was the man. He was arrested and confined in Tuthill Bridewell where he calmly went on with his painting even while his fate was undecided. After seven months' Imprisonment he gained his freedom through the Influeuce of Benjamin West, who went to the king himself and secured Trumbull's release. Returning to America, the young painter again entered the army but the surrender of Cornwallis gave him a chance to go back to England. Again he entered the studio of West and received steady encouragement from the master and high praise from the great Sir Joshua Reynolds. At this time Trumbull conceived con-ceived the idea of commemorating In a series of paintings the principal events of thee Revolution. The first one which he did was based upon his remembrance of the scene he, as a young lieutenant, lieu-tenant, had viewed from Roxbury heights. One day Sir Joshua Reynolds, visiting West's studio, saw a small painting resting on an easel. Struck by Its dramatic qualities and believing that it was the work of West, he started to congratulate congratu-late his fellow British artist. But West immediately immedi-ately told him that It was the work of the young American, John Trumbull. Thus Trumbull's painting of "The Battle of Bunker Hill" became the first of those splendid canvases which are such priceless records of the American Revolution and which Include his equally If not more famous "Signing of the Declaration Dec-laration of Independence," "Death of Montgomery Montgom-ery at Quebec," "Surrender of Burgoyne" and "Surrender of Cornwallis." Trumbull's Bunker Hill painting figured In a thrilling incident a few years later. He was in Paris duriug the French Revolution and, sickened sick-ened by the horrors of the Reign of Terror, he determined to return to America. But when he attempted to leave France he found that he was on the suspect list with the strong possibility that the arch-Terrorist Robespierre would send him to the guillotine. Trumbull decided to appeal to his painter-friend, painter-friend, Louis David, who was an ally of Robespierre. Robes-pierre. When David found that the American had his Bunker Hill painting with him, he said "That picture is worth many pa'ssports." So Trumbull with the canvas (which was a small one) under his arm accompanied David to the police prefecture. There, the French painter, well-known as a "good republican," gained quick admittance. He showed the picture to the chief and explained that the American with him, although al-though a notorious suspect, had been at the Battle Bat-tle of Bunker Hill. "He Is as good a Revolutionist Revolu-tionist as any of us," he declared. As a result Trumbull was allowed to depart from France his passport, the painting of the Battle of Bunker HilL (Reproduced above). " Fifty years after the British regulars marched to their deaths up Breed's Hill, a great throng gathered on its slopes to lay the cornerstone of the monument which now stands there. Among the crowd was a small group of Revolutionary war veterans. Also present was a distinguished visitor from across the Atlantic, a Frenchman who had fought for American liberty. But the eyes of the crowd were not centered so much upon the Marquis de La Fayette as they were upon a young lawyer who bad been chosen orator of the day. Turning to the veterans, vet-erans, he began: "Venerable menl You have come down to us from t former generation. Heaven has bounteously lengthened out your lives that you might behold this joyous day. You are cow where you stood 50 years ago this very hour, with your brothers and your neigh bors, shoulder to shoulder, in the strife for your country." From then on he held his audience spell-bound with the magic of his voices in the words which ; he addressed directly to La Fayette and In his apostrophe to the monument: "We wish, finally that the last object to the sight of him who leaves his native shore and the first to gladden him who revisits it, may be something which shall remind him of the liberty and glory of his country. Let It rise ! Let It rise, till it meeb) . the sun in his coming! Let the earliest Jight of the morning gild it, and parting day liiiL'w and play on its summit." The speech which the orator delivered there that day has been called "one of the two orations ora-tions which alone entitle him to a place in that select circle of the Immortals." The orator was Lianiel Webster. by Western Newspaper Union |