XL.

in collecting men" for a reinforcement, and was encoun- CHAP. tered by the retreating party on the northern declivity of Bunker Hill. Acting on his own responsibility, 1775. he now for the first time during the day assumed the 17. supreme direction. Without orders from any person, he rallied such of the fugitives as would obey him, joined them to a detachment which had not arrived in season to share in the combat, and took possession of Prospect Hill, where he encamped that very night.

Repairing to head-quarters, Prescott offered with three fresh regiments to recover his post. But for himself he sought neither advancement, nor reward, nor praise, and having performed the best service, never thought that he had done more than his duty. It is the contemporary record, that during the battle "no one appeared to have any command but Colonel Prescott," and that "his bravery could never be enough acknowledged and applauded." The camp long repeated the story of his self-collected valor, and a historian of the war, who best knew the judgments of the army, has rightly awarded the "highest prize of glory to Prescott and his companions."

The British were unable to continue the pursuit beyond the isthmus. They had already brought their best forces into the field; more than a third of those engaged lay dead or bleeding, and the survivors were fatigued, and overawed by the courage of their adversaries. The battle put an end to all offensive operations on the part of Gage.

The number of the killed and wounded in his army was, by his own account, at least one thousand and fifty-four. Seventy commissioned officers were wounded, and thirteen were slain. Of these, there

CHAP. were one lieutenant colonel, two majors, and seven XL. captains. For near half an hour there had been a 1775. continued sheet of fire from the provincials; and the 17. action was hot for double that period. The oldest

June

soldiers had never seen the like. The battle of Quebec, which won half a continent, did not cost the lives of so many officers as the battle of Bunker Hill, which gained nothing but a place of encampment.

Sir William Howe who was thought to have been wounded was untouched; though his white silk stockings were stained from his walking through the tall grass, red with the blood of his soldiers. That he did not fall was a marvel. The praises bestowed on his apathetic valor, on the gallantry of Pigot, on the conduct of Clinton, reflected honor on the untrained farmers, who though inferior in numbers, had required the display of the most strenuous exertions of their assailants, before they could be dislodged from the defences which they had had but four hours to prepare.

The whole loss of the Americans amounted to one hundred and forty-five killed and missing, and three hundred and four wounded. The brave Moses Parker, of Chelmsford, was wounded and taken prisoner; he died in Boston jail. Major Willard Moore received one severe wound at the second attack, and soon after another, which he felt to be mortal; so bidding farewell to those who would have borne him off, he insisted on their saving themselves, and remained to die for the good cause, which he had served in council and in arms. Buckminster was dangerously wounded, but recovered. The injury to Nixon was so great that he suffered for many months, and narrowly escaped

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June 17.

with his life. Thomas Gardner, a member of con- CHAP. gress from Cambridge, was hastening with some part of his regiment to the redoubt, but as he was descending Bunker Hill, he was mortally wounded by a random shot. His townsmen mourned for the rural statesman, to whom they had unanimously shown their confidence; and Washington gave him the funeral honors due to a gallant officer. Andrew McClary, on that day unsurpassed in bravery, returning to reconnoitre, perished by a chance cannon ball on the isthmus.

Just at the moment of the retreat, fell Joseph Warren, the last in the trenches. In him were combined celerity, courage, endurance, and manners which won universal love. He opposed the British government, not from interested motives, nor from resentment. A guileless and intrepid advocate of the rights of mankind, he sought not to appear a patriot; he was one in truth. As the moment for the appeal to arms approached, he watched with joy the revival of the generous spirit of New England's ancestors; and where peril was greatest, he was present, animating not by words alone, but ever by his example. His integrity, the soundness of his judgment, his ability to write readily and well, his fervid eloquence, his exact acquaintance with American rights and the infringements of them, gave authority to his advice in private, and in the provincial congress. Had he lived, the future seemed burdened with his honors; he cheerfully sacrificed all for his country, and for freedom. Sorrow could now no more come nigh him, and he went to dwell in men's memories with Hampden. His enemies recognised his worth by their ex

CHAP. ultation at his fall. By his countrymen, he was XL. "most sincerely and universally lamented;" his 1775. mother would not be consoled. His death, preceded 17. by that of his wife, left his children altogether or

June

phans, till the continent, at the motion of Samuel Adams, adopted them in part at least as its own. The congress of his native state, that knew him well, and had chosen him to guide their debates, and recently to high command in their army, proclaimed to the world their "veneration for Joseph Warren, whose memory is endeared to his countrymen, and to the worthy in every part and age of the world, so long as virtue and valor shall be esteemed among men."

The reports of the generals show the opinions in the two camps after the battle. "The success,” wrote Gage to Dartmouth, "which was very necessary in our present condition, cost us dear. The number of killed and wounded is greater than our forces can afford to lose. We have lost some extremely good officers. The trials we have had, show the rebels are not the despicable rabble too many have supposed them to be, and I find it owing to a military spirit encouraged among them for a few years past, joined with uncommon zeal and enthusiasm. They intrench, and raise batteries; they have engineers. They have fortified all the heights and passes around this town; which it is not impossible for them to annoy. The conquest of this country is not easy; you have to cope with vast numbers. In all their wars against the French, they never showed so much conduct, attention, and perseverance, as they do now. I think it my duty to let your lordship know the true situation of affairs."

CHAP.

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1775.

17.

On the other hand, Ward, in a general order, expressed thanks to "the officers and soldiers who behaved so gallantly at the late action in Charlestown;" June and in words which expressed the conviction of the American camp, he added, “we shall finally come off victorious, and triumph over the enemies of freedom and America." Washington, as he heard the narrative of the events of the day, was confirmed in his habitual belief that the liberties of America would be preserved. "Americans will fight," wrote Franklin on the occasion, to his English friends; "England has lost her colonies for ever."

END OF VOL. VII.