Don't Fire Until You See the Whites of Their Eyes — The Battle of Bunker Hill

Trenches Dug Overnight

On the night of June 16, 1775, Colonel William Prescott led 1,200 militiamen to the top of Breed's Hill overlooking Boston Harbor. They dug trenches all night. The British heard the digging but ignored it.

The next morning, British General Howe looked up and saw a fully fortified position where bare earth had been the night before. He ordered a frontal assault.

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"Don't Fire Until You See the Whites of Their Eyes!"

Colonel Prescott shouted the famous order from behind the earthworks. Ammunition was critically short — every shot had to count. The British regulars, in their red coats, marched uphill to the beat of drums.

First assault: concentrated militia fire drove them back. Second assault: driven back again. The hillside was covered in fallen redcoats. Third assault: the militia finally ran out of ammunition. The British took the hill.

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1,054 out of 2,200

The British won. But the cost was catastrophic.

Of 2,200 British troops engaged, 1,054 were killed or wounded — nearly half. Officer casualties were even higher. British General Henry Clinton wrote in his diary:

"A few more such victories would have shortly put an end to British dominion in America."

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The Day Farmers Beat Regulars

Bunker Hill was technically a British victory, but the real winners were the militia. Farmers with no uniforms and minimal training had cut down half the world's finest army.

After that day, confidence spread across the colonies: we can fight. The regulars cannot beat us. Without that confidence early in the war, the Revolution might have ended before it truly began.

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Date: June 17, 1775 | Location: Breed's Hill (Bunker Hill), Charlestown, MA | British casualties: 1,054/2,200 | Militia casualties: ~450