The New York Herald Newspaper, June 8, 1843, Page 1

a THE NEW YORK HERALD. ————== Vol, 13.—=Ro, 155 —-Whote No, 5367. THE MONUMENT. The imposing structure which now rises upon the Heights of Charlestown inarks the summit where the small redoubt was thiewn up by the American patriots, on the night of the 16ch of June, 1775. _ T! attle haw so long been associated with the name of Bunker's Hill, that it seins now almost vain to at- tempt to make the correction, which, indeed, some may think wholly uoimportant. The probability ie that Breed’s Hill was considered genetully as only a spur of Bunker's Hill, and was not distinguished by name, except among the residen‘s in Charles- town, and those familiar with the localities of the spot. There are charts and views of the town, ta- ken before and after the battle, in which the lesa-r summit appears without any designation. As enon asthe spot became famous, this confuvion of the names began to be manifest ; and the fact is wor hy of notice only as it presents an inatance that enabler us to account for the disputes which, in the absence of historic documents, bave been attached to other famnous spots on the surface of the earth. To per- petuate the memory of such localities, and to secure them agaiast the dubious haze with which the lapse of time invests them, is perhaps the best argument which can b» adduced for the erection of costly mo numents. Still, there will be, as there now is, a great difference of opinion as to the expediency of such structures. The open battlefield, undisturbed and unaltered through all time, would be for many far preterable to any monument. Previous to the erection of the granite monument on Breed’s Hill, the summit was distinguished by a small column in honor of Major General Warren. who wae regarded as the most eminent and destrv ing of the martyrs of liberty that fell there. His body was identified, on the morning af er the battle, by Doctor Jefiries, of Boston, an intimate acquaintance of the patriot. The British, regarded this vic.im ae paying the price of the multitude of their own slain, and the spot where they interred him was marked After the evacuation ot Bosten by the British troops, and the return of its citizens to tkeir homes, the friends of Warren disinterred his remains. They were taken from the hill, and on the eighth of April, 1776, being carried in procession from the Representatives’ Chamber to King’s Chapel, were buried with all military honors and those of Ma- sonry. Prayers were offered on the occasion, by the Rev. Dr. Cooper. and a funeral oration was delivered by Mr Perez Morton, in which he boldly and earoestly urged an entire separation from Great Britain, as the right and duty of the colonists. The remains of Genera! Warren now rest within the cemetery beneath St. Paul’s church At the time of his death, Warren was Grand Master of Freemasons, for North America; and as such, it Aeemed to the members of his ler that they owed to him some tribute of respectful regard. No monument had been erected on the spot where he fell in behalf of his country, and measures were, therefore, inatituted fer this double purpose. , " A lodge of Freemasons was constituted in Charlestown, in 1788, and from its funds a monu- mental column was erected to the memory of War- ren, in 1794, on land given by the Hon. James Rus- sell. It wag composed of a brick pedestal eight feet equare, rising ten feet from the ground, and support- ing a Tusean pillar, of wood, eighteen feet high. This was surmounted by ne urn, bearing the in- scription—* J. W., aged 35,” entwined with Ma- sonic emblems, Ga the south side of the pedestal was the following inscription :— “ Erected A.D. MDCCXCIV.. By King Solomon’ Lodge of Free Masons, constituted in Charlestown, 1783, In Memory of Major General Josrru Wanasn, and his Associates, who were slain on be riggaene spot , June 17, 5. None but they who set a just value upon the blersings of liberty are worthy to enjoy ber. In vain we toiled ; in vain we fought; webled in vain; if you, our offspring, want valorto repel the assaults of her invaders. Charleston settled, 1628. Burnt, 1775. Rebuilt, 1776.” This column stood withcut the redoubt, and on the epot where Warren was believed to have fallen. It remained for forty years, and was so much defaced by time that it was removed when the present granite structure was contemplated. The remembrence ot it will be cherished by those oe were familiar with it from a distance, ur near at hand. ‘The erectiofof a substantial monument on this summit had long been desired and contemplated Jt was thought to be due as a tyibute ot respect to the patriots who, in an early day of the revola- tion, rikked ‘t_ was dear to them as indivi. duals, on a fearful hazard, for the good of their common country. We must suppose and believe that in the awful strife, amid the shrieks and groans of battle, and in sight of the homes which these patriots Joved, some better feeling than that of brute courage, or thirst for blood, animated them How much of their fortitude 1 ey borrowed from the conviction that their country would honor their memory, and that their children would mark the t where they suffered, we may only imagine — ‘he objection which many conscientious pereons feel to such a commemoratiou, seems to be founded on the belief that e battle monument is designed to perpetuate the feelings of animosity and strile be- tween the descendants of the contending parties — But this is an error ; and the disapprobation of mo- numental structures, founded upon such a miscon- ception, would equally apply to all histories and de- lineations of battles. We wish to express our grate- ful cense of the devotion and bravery of those who bore severe sufferings to relieve us of lighter bur- dens. All that we desire to commemorate by the towering pile now reared on the battle-field, is pat- riotism and sell-sacrifice. We believe the cause was just; the Briton may regard it otherwise; but ‘we muy alike stand upon the spot and hovor the he- roism of its victims, without the rising of one venge- ful feeling. ae i It was the general opivion that if any monument were to be erected, it should be a substantial one, which snouid do credit to its builders, aud to their fathers ; and instead of being reared at the vein ga of a few wealthy men, or at public cost, should be a free-will offering from all the citizens of thie Commonwealth, and of its sister Commonwealths, according to their means. The result has been suc") as to make it probable that there is not a struc ture im this country on which the free contributions ofso many ledivianale have been expended as upon this. Subscriptions were first asked for inthe year 1824. An Association, called “The Bunker Hill Monument Association,” was formed, membership of which was to be enjoyed by those who subscribed five dollars. An engraved diploma was their certi- ficate. and their names were inscribed upon the parchment, records deposited within the corner- stone. Some incident or circumstance which should connect ap enthusiastic feeling with ihe commence- ment of the work, was felt to be necessary. An occasion and o unity for this presented itself on the visit of the wis de La Fayette, our honored General, to this land, whese battles he had fought with the ardor of youthful heroism, and whose pros- perity wasdeartohim to the last day of his life. In the midst of hie trumphant progress through the country, his services were enlisted in this work. Though the plan of the structure had not at this iime been decided upon, yet it was thought most desirable that the ceremonies by of laying the corner-stonc should be performed and in the presence of the guest of the nati Accordingly, on the 17th of June, 1825, it being the fittieth anniverenry of the battle, this desire was gratified. In the midat of an immense of concourse of people, the ceremonics were performed. By ad- vertisements and invitations previously inserted in the newspapers, the veterans who survived the fay of slaughter were earnestly desired, free of all charge to themselves, to come from their homes, however distant, and present themselves, in one venerable group of wortlies, to receive the gratetul offering of a free people, on the first jubilee of the battle. In the muittude that answered these invita- tions the number of those who were actually en gaged in the buitle could not be ascertained, as some were of the reinforcements, who did not en- ter the field, some belonged to regiments or compa nies then at hand, but not ordered for the occasivn, and others were near or distant spectators of the ac- tion. Enough there were of the true remnant to show theirecars and recount the scenes the memo’ of which the lapse of 5m, years had not dimned. younger survivors of the bund professed them- selvesstill ready for service, should like occasion de- mand it; nor, among those whose feeble limbs tot- tered under the heaviest urden of years, was there one whose chilled bleod did not glow over the sods of the battle-field, while the starting teartoid that they were thinking of their companions in arins. Fi were eloquently and touchingly addressed by the Hon. Daniel Webster, the orator of the occasion La Fayette, standing as one in that group of survi vors, aud regretting that the honor did not of rig hi beiong to him, laid with his own hands the corger- stone of the projected monument. Masonic cere- monies were connected with the occasion. We cannot, however, attribute to La Fayette the honor of having] aid the corner-stone of the present Price Two Cents, structure. The office in which he was enlisted was amatter of mere form; no plan having been se- ‘ected, of course no adequate foundation was made. The stone which had been faid by La Fayette, was atterwards put into the centre of the foundation ; and the box of deposites which it ¢ sntained was taken out and enclosed in the present corner-stone, which igat the north-eastern angle of the structure, looking towards the point of landing of theenemy The plan of the monument was devised by Mr. > olomon Willard, of Boston, a distinguished architect; and his o.iginal design, followed throughout, has been broughtto a successful completion. The plan having been, decided wpon, the work was resumed about the middle of March, 1827, be per pameainsi of a new foundation. A quarry of sienite granite, sitnated at Quincy, eight miles distant, had been purchased and wrought upon during the previous epting. The stone used for the foundation, and for the first forty feet of the struc- ‘ure, was transported from the quarrv cn a railway to the wharf in Quincy, where it wae put into flat- bottomed boats, towed by steam power to the wharf in Charlestown, and then raised tothe hill by teams moving upon an inclined plane. The repeated transfer of the stones, necessary in this mode of con- <pyecce being attended with delay, liability to ac- cident, and’ a defacing of the blocks, was aban- doned after the fortieth foot was lnid, and the ma- terials were transported by teams, directly from the quarry tu the hill Some of the blocks present dark ‘stains upon their surfaces, caused by the pre- sence ofiron. Sometimes, in the process of hewing and Hanpeengs these stains would digappear, but fora seXeon they seem to grow brighter by expo. sure to the eir, and then by process of time, the in fluence of the atmosyhere, the weather, and the winter frost, they gradually fade away. Several of these stains Nts upon the last halt of the strac- ture, but it is believed they will slowly disappear. The application of any chemical agent for their re- moval would not be advisable; indeed, some per- sons think they add to the beauty of a granite pile when spariugly distributed over it. No one can stand and look at the structure, or scan it with a close observation, without being impressed with the wonderful mathematical accuracy which dis- Unguishes it. The joints of the stones seem to be chiselled with great exactness, as if hey were work- ed with all the ease with which the carpenter shapes his wood; and the diminution of the obelick, a work of extreme difficulty, has been faultiessly exe- cuted. A slight failure orerror in either of these particulars would have been a hideous deformity, and would have endangered the stabilitv of the struc- ture. We rely for its permanence upon its mathe- matical accuracy, as much as upon the solidity of its materials The distinguished honor of having thus with sci- entific precision begun and completed the imposing structure, belongs to Mr. James Savage, ct Bosto n Of maar great public works, the builder hasbeen wholly forgotten; of others, the credit has been withheld from the mechanical geniuses who exe. cuted them, and has been all bestowed upon those who have drafted the plan upon paper. But to exe- cute such a work, however skilfully it may have been p'anned, demands a rare union of talents. To take in the conception, to comprehend its details, to criticise its excellencies or Galecie; to suggest 1m- provements, to invent facilities, to combine two or more objects, and then to watch each laborious pro cess, guazding againstaccidents and mistaker; to do all this, requires one who is much more than a me- chanic. In such astructure as the monument, though itis very simple, patience, care, skill and ingenious device were continually needed. Mr Savage pos eessed all the requisite quaiificationr, and his name onght to go down to posterity with the monument Those who watched the rising of the pile, could not failto observe his unwearied and unerring interest in his work. He might be seen above or below, as occasion called for him; now superintending the set- ting of a step; now suepended upon a plank at a diz- zy eminence outside the structure; now testing the strength ofa fastening, or, with his hand upon the bell-wire, sending notice to the engine to rest, just asa ponderous tone, poised high in air, was gently weighing over the Sones: courses of the obelisk And to complete the effect of hie presence of mind and skill, there was no haste or bustle in bis move- ments, and he was ready to answer the questions of every visitor. But one accident occurred curing the whole work. A laborer, while engaged in lay- ing the last stone of the twelfth course, ou the south west corner, was pushed off and killed. The whole structare was made under the euperin- tende..ceef Mr. Savage, under three different con- xis. At first he was engaged us builder by Mr. illard, the architect, and furnished the materials sad the labor, This arrangement continued daring the years 1827 and 1828, when the foundation and fourteen courses of the superstructure were laid In August, 1 the work was suspended on account of deficiency of funds, about $56 000 having been expended, including the purchase of the right in the quarry forall the necessary materials, the gearing at the wharves and on the which was compli. cated and expensive, but not including the purchase of the land. In the summer of 1834, the work was resumed. Mr. Savage, being still employed by Mr. Willard, was obliged, on account of an engagement for ser vice under the United States government, to com- mit the oversight of the work to Mr. Charles Pratt, though by occasional visits he continued to superin- tend and direct it. Sixteen more courses were laid, when the work was again closed for want of funds, in 1835; about $20.00 more having been expended. Depression in all the interests of trade and business, a derangement in the financial affairs of the coun. try, and a general opinion that the large sume of money already collected had not been judiciously or economically expended, will account for the de- lay in the completion of the work. Probably, how- ever, the durability of the structure was rather ad- vanced than injured by the pause of a few years. Suggestions were occasionally offered thatthe work might be brought to a point at its then existing ele- vation, but it was thought better to wait in hope, under the conviction that it would one day be com: pleted according to the criginal plan. The happy suggestion, which wasoffered for the sake of meeting the pecuniary want, and which, as goon as it was uttered, every body knew would be triumphantly realized, came trom the weaker sex, who had no hand, though they had much heart, in the fighting which had immort [t was proposed that a public Fair should be held in the city of Boston, and that every female in the United States of America, who desired the honor, should work with her own hands, and contribute with her own means, to furnish the Fair, the other ex being, of course, allowed to contribute what they pleased, and being expected to purchase with ‘iberality. The plan was most successful. A bril- lant and dazzling display, as well as an exhibition of the results ot devoted industry and cunning inge- uuity, of which we have, at least, as much reason to feel proud, as of the battle, attested that the call was not made in vain. The Fair was held in Boston in UA etal 1840, and its proceeds, with a few mani epee, donatione, which should be con- sidered as depending upon it, put within the hands of the Committee of the Bunker Hill Aseociation, a sum sufficient to complete the great object. Mr. Savage, by a contract with the Building Committee, was engaged, in the autumn of 1840, 10 complete the work for $43,800. He resumed his labor by laying the frst stone on May 2, 1841, and finished it with entire success, by depositing the apex on July 23, 1842. The last stone was raised at 6 o’clock in the morning of that day, with the discharge of cannon; ‘dward Carnes, Jr., of Charlestown, accompa- nyingit in its ascent, and waving the American flag during the process. Fi i The eection of the monument which accompanies this description, will convey an iden of the mode of itsconstruction. The foundation, lying twelve feet below the base of the structure, is composed of six courses of fair split stones. The lower tier rests upon a bed of clay and gravel which composes the soil of the hill; great pains having been used in loosening the earth, and in puddling and ramming the stones. The tourdation is laid 10 lime mortar; the other parts of the structure with lime morta mixed with cinders and iron filings, and with Springfield hydraulic cement. Below the base the tour faces of the foundation project into a square ot fifty feet, leaving open angles at the corners, eo that these projections act as buttremes. There are ajnety courses of stone in the whole structure, eighty-four of them being above the ground, and six of them below. The base is thirty fquare ; in a rise of two hundred and eight feet, the point where the formation of the apex beying, there is a diminu- tion of fourteen feet, seven and a half inches. The aet rise of the stone from the to the apex, is two hundred and nineteen feet and ten inches, the seame of mortar making the whole elevation two hundred and twenty-one feet. Perpendicul r dowels, called Lewis’s Clamps, were used to bind the first tour courses above \ base. This was done chiefly asan experiment, but oeing found to be useless aud expensive, the me thod was abandoned. ‘Lhe several stones which compose each course, are clamped together by flat vars of iron, fourteen inches long, the enda being torned at right angles and sunk in the granite five eighths of an inch. . ere are four facesof dressed stone in the Structure, besides the steps which wind around the cone within, viz; the exterior and the interior ized the summit. | HILL MONUMENT. NEW YORK, THURSDAY MORNING, JUNE 8, 1843. regiment, from the enemy's sentri lieving guard, the cry “‘All’s well,” He returned to his works upon the hill, and atter another interval, thinking it impossible that the enemy could be so duil of hearing, he went down to the shore again, and finding all secure, he recalled the guard, as their hands were needed even more than their ears. “The moments may have passed re. pidly, yet they must have leit space for thought; and then those earnest patriots, knowing full well to what a ser- vice the light of day would introduce them, could not bi call before their minds their homes, their wives and chil- and striking the balauce between their private joys ir public rights, resolve that they must fight. The must have heen deeply formed, for it was cherish- ed and acted upon threugh a day of horrors which they could not have anticipated. The midvight work went on, and those burdened moments secured the results of long yearsof liberty and prosperity to a nation. There was a scene tor the imagination ‘o picture. Even the narrow space occupied by the river’s bed was wider than the distance between those madnight laborers and therrenrmies. Five armed vessels then floated in the stream, and the Boston shore was guarded by a belt of ren- tinels.’ The Glasgow frigate, with twenty guns and one hundred and thirty men, lay on the line of the present Cc Point Bridge, and commanded the neck ot land by which the peninsula of Charlestown i: te Cam bridge; the Somersei, with sixty eight guns, and five hundred and twenty men, lying near the draw of the presen: Charlestown Bridge, commanded Charlestown Square and its dwelling houses ; the Lively, with twer iy guns, and one hundred and thirty men, lying off the ye sent navy yard, could throw its shot directly upon th» redoudt ; the Falcon, sloop of war, lying off Morton’s Posi fed the ancent, between, tlie lunding places o1 the Bri ond Breed’s Hill ; and the Cerberus of thirty six guns, maintained a continual fire during the action. These vessels were most advantageously situated forthe purposes of the enemy, and it seemed almost impossible dren, de == sides of the monument, and the exterior and the interior of the cone within it. Twelve stone: compos» the exterior, and six large circling stones the interior of each course of the shalt ; to each course of the shaft, there are two courses of the cone, each being compozed of six stoves, and four steps answer to each course of the exterior of the ehait. Each of the first seventy-eight courses of the exterior ot the shaft is two teet eight inches in height; of the next five courses, those composing the point, the height of each is one foot eight inch- er; the cap or apex is a single stone of three feet six inches in height. E The exterior diameter of thecone at the base, is ten feet, the interior diameter, seven feet; at the top of the cone the exterior diameter is eix feat three inches, the interior diameter, four feet two inches The cone is composed of one hundred and forty-seven courses of stone, each course being one foot four inches in height. The eliptical chamber at the top is seventeen feet in height and eleven feet in diameter, with four win- | dows, each two feet eight inches in height, andtwo feet two inches in breadth. There are numerous apertures in the cone, and eight in the shaft, besides the door and the windows. The windows are closed with iron shutters. At the door way the walls of the shaft are six feet in thickness. ‘There are two hundred and ninety-four steps inthe ascent. | In tulfilling his third and final contract, Mr Savage removed the gearing which had previously been used, and substituted a steam engine of six horse power, and an improved and iogenius boom derrick of his own invention. Through two apertures in the cone he passed a strong beam, in which the foot of the derrick was inserted, tura- ing ona pivot, This was raised with the comple- tion of each four courses of the exterior. A projecting arm attached to the boom extended far enough to cleur the base of the monument, and was slightly inclined downwards. Tne ropes passed through shives at the top of the boom and the extremity of the lever, and when the stone was poised at its elevation, it was drawa ia by means of a wheel carriage on the lever, which was turned upen the pivot to either side, and the load was deposited. The steam engine was di- tectly in the rear of the’ monument, and the ropes passed down through the cone, and out at the door way. A bell-wire, passing up by the ropes, commu- nicated instantaneously with the engine, and direct ed its motions. A plaiform staging, bound around the monument by cogs adapted to its gradual dimi nution, and raised with each two courses of the exterior, served as a standing place for the masons who pointed the work outside. _ This .apparatus served till it was necessary to cover over the chamber at the top, when, of course, the boom derrick and cone could be used no longer. The last work of the derrick was todraw upu stout oaken beam, which was passed through !wo of the windows, and two masts, which being sigged over the projections of the beam, and lopped over the side of the monument, the remaining stones were slowly, but safely raised, and then, tne masts being righted perpendicularly, they were deposited in their places. The steady industry of the engine, and the cautious oversight of Mr. Savage, made these last operationsexceedingly and intensely interesting. I was at first proposed, that the raising and depositing of the stone should be attended with parade, tor mality, and a public celebration. But this was wisely discountenanced by Mr. Savage, who knew that the caution, ad care, and presence of mind which were requisite, would be best secured by quiet, and a degree of privacy. Accordingly, the last stone was raised, as we have said, at six o'clock, on the morning of the 23d of July, 1842, in presence of the officers of the Bunker Hill Monument Aseo- ciation. and a few otherspectators. On the 17th of the previous June, before the cham ber at the top had been covered over, a cannon, which had been raised on the preceding evening, sent forth its volleys in a national salute. Those who enjoyed the view trom the unclosed chamber, or from tae top of the struciure bejore the last stone was laid, seemed to feel a disappointment when the view was contracted into the range of vi- sion as coufined by the narrow windows. But this feeling will not affect those who look for the first time through the windows over a scene which unites the sublime and the beautiful, which embraces ocean, islands, mountains, woods, and rivers, cities and villages, churches and school houses, palaces and happy cottage homes of contented industry, free from the sceptre of an earihiy monarch, but, therefore, all the more bound in allegiance of grati- tude and reverence to the King of Kings. THE BATTLE. On Friday, June 16:h, 1775, the very day upon which Washington was officially informed, in the Congress at Philadelphia, ef his appomtment to the commacd of the Continental army tt to be enlisted, General Ward it sued orders to Colenels Prescott and commandant of Colonel Frye’s ime men rendy and prepared for immediate rervice. were ail yeomen from Middlesex ond Essex countie were habituated to the herd Jabors of a farm ben summer's sun. Captain Gridley’s new company of ai tillery, and one hundred and twenty men from the Con: necticut regiment nder the com: ot Captain Knowl ton, were Included in the order. Colonel Gridley ac. compauied es chief engineer. Three compa: Bridge’s regiment did not go, but 98 email pa other regiments tell into the detachment, st cor irom one thousand to one thousand two hundred men. ‘They took with them provisions for only one meal Colonel Prescott was ordered to toke possession of, to ortify ,and‘o defend, Banker's Hill, but to keep the pur pose of the expedition secret ; nor was it known to the until, on arriving at Cherlestown neck, they found the wagons laden with intrenching tools. The detach- mon, in front of t. when prayers wore offered by Reverend Dr. Langdon, President of the College. About nine o'clock the exptdition was in mo- tion, Prescott, with two eants, carrying dark lan- terns, leeding the way. The Colonel, expecting warm service, carried with hin a linen cost or ba he wore during the engagement. Thos it w accounts ot the battle, given by some of the Br, diers, the American commander was described mer dressed i his frock.” A brief sketch of the natural features ond position of the scene may ail the imagination of the reader. The peninsuls of Charlestown isin chape not unlike a pear, sean early settler upon it described it: the stem uviting it to the mainland, the end extending towards the hartor. Two small bills, the Burial Hill endthe Town Hill, and two larger summits, Breed’s Hill and Busker’s Hill swell out from its surface. Tie south-eastern slope of Breed’s Hill divides the waters of the bay into two broad rivers, which indent the sborer, ond just beyond the western base of Bunker’s Hill, approach so near each other as to allow scarcely four hundred feet of breadth to the neck of land which unites the penins\..0 to the neigh- boring country. The Mystic, on the north, washes with ble channel the further shore. On the south, the | opposite side of the mouth of the Charles, which, in its narrowest spon, is ubout three hundred yards across, we see the now crowded peninsula of Boston, similarly envi roned by the waters of the sea, and united tothe mein- land at Roxbury by a narrow neck. The communication between Bostou and Charlestown was then maintainea by aferry. A sloping eminence in Boston, at the pint where it epproaches nearest to Charlestown, is cailed Copp’s Ril, and was used as a burial place. Thickly studded with graves then, a8 now, there was planted th battery whenee camethe missiles tor the burning of Charles town. Brved’s Hill is thus the part of the peniasula which approaches nearest to Buston, being less than a mile north of Copp’s Hill. Bunker’s Hill ties a few rods north of a line drawn westward from Breed’s Hill. The relative features of the two summits, the Lighest points of which are one hundred and thirty rods apart, have not been as yet essentially changed Buoker’s Hill, the superior ele: vation of which has taken the fame from thesummitwhere the real action was fought— rises to the height ofone hun- dred and twelve feet. Breed’s Hull, which bears the mowu- ment, though it has been robhed of its fame, rises to the height of about sixtytwo feet. North and eastward of the two summits the land slopes, with occasional irregu- larities, down to the Mystic shore. A point of land bear: ing east from Brewd’s Hul, an: extending toward the bay, is coiled Morton’s Point, and was, at the time of the bartle, crown d with an elevation called Morton’s Hill This little summit, which was about thirty-five feet in height, and was the place where the first detachment ot the ene my landed and formed ‘or the attack, has been nearly re moved, Between Breed’s Hill aod Morton’s Hill, much of the ground was eloughy, and occupied by several brick- kilns. Breed’s Hill wasthen chiefly used by householders in Charlestown for pasturage and was intersected by some fences Toward Morton’s Point some patches of ground were, on the day of battle, covered with tall waving grass, ripe for the scythe, while farther back, on the margin of the Mystic, at the bsseof the two principal summits, were fine crops of ha: t mown. The feuces, and tall uo- mown grass, which were of great advantage to the Ame- ricans in their stationary defences, were grievous impedi ments and annoyances to the British in their adva:ces. The edifices of the town were eathered around the pre sent square, end extended along the main street to the neck. Two roads united at the neck, the one leading over Winter Hill to Medford, the other to Cambridge, the Jatrer being low and marsh exposed to missiles from Boston, aud trom ship e Hill as the position to be taken; and in the account of the afterwards prepared by the Massachusetts Congress it is said that Breed’s Hill was fortified by mistake. Her: undoubtedly we must tigin to make allow: for thet contusion which marked the proceedings of tWat cventful |.day, and which originated in the necessary hasta with which all the measures were concerted and executed. The fercible occupation of the heights of Charlestown was designed on a sudden emergency, fer the purpuse of forestalling a cor:certed plan of the enemy, then confined in Boston. It would be in vain for us, therefore, to un- deztake to reason upon the «upposition of any more defi nite object than this, of taking the start of the enemy. With the scanty ammunition and artillery of the Ameri cans, and the few measured hours of operation in which they mignt expect to work undiscovered, a fortification of Bunker's Hill, so far from Boston, would scarcely have effected their purpose, as it would not have prevented the landing of the British from bosta, and the occupation by them of Bree?’s Hill, if this latter summit had been leit wholiy undefended. For all purposes of restraining and annoying the enemy in Boston, Breed’s Hill offervd supe- rior advantages. The Americans have never referred to their works in this town as a specimen of the manner in which they laid their plans. Dorchester Heights, upon the other side, at the sight of which, when doy broke, the enemy thought it wise te take their ships, would be ra- ther selected by us for euch a specimen. ‘The detachment from Cambridge, on the night of the 16h of June, when it had reached this side of the neck was for » time undecided as to the position to be taken. — The moments, however, were too precious for delibera- tion, though many were spent upon it. It was only after repeated and urgent warnings from the engineer that lon- ger delay would nullify all their labors, that the works were conimenced upon Sreed’s Hill, when the clocks had announced the midnight hour. The highest part of the summit was selected, and thither the simple intrenching tools, gathered on the epur of the moment, were speedily corti The intrenchments consisted «f a redoubt and a breast- work, lormed entirely of the earth heaped by the spade.— The redoubdt, of which the monument now occupies the centre, waseight rods square ; the southern side, run ning parallel with the main street, was constructed with one projecting and two entering angles. On a line with the eastern aide, which faced t nt i |, was the breastwork, extending from ‘o.Joubt nearly four hundred feet upon the brow and down the slope of the hill towards the Mystic , the sally port opened upon the interval between the redoubt and the breastwork. This interval, that is, the space between the beginning of the breast work and the corner of the redoubt, was defended by a blind, but the sally port, the outlet on the northern fac. of the redoubt, was not protected, either within or outside. Probably the intention was to hsve extended the breastwork down the whole length of the hill, had time permitted ; but, instead of wondering at the incomplete- ness of the works, we are rather impressed with amaze- | ment atthe results which were brought about in four | hours of toil. Colonel Gridlev planned the works, which exhibited an equal mearure ot military science and of Yankee ingenuity. No vestige of the redonbt now re mains, it having been entirely obliterated in the process | of laying the foundetton of the monument. all por | tion of the breastwork is distinctly visible, using ® | Slight protuberance in the soil which haa never been ploughed. Theintrenchments which we now see lying a few rods west ofthe monument, ere remains of the fort: fications mate by the British army, which was in of (he grownd for nine months after the batrle. fortifications upon woth summits, which weeks in their construction, have ssly token by superficial observers American works raised ‘in four hours of darkness. Coming genera'ions will regret, ae many of the present generation do, that the battle ground has ceen ale of ail but Still, the natural featw y can never br obiit upon Breed’s Hillon the night of Friday, Ju: used to daily toil, and brought to their un wont the most nfl ing courege and deter m: was atilla work of de Betigles the battery on Copp’s Hill, there was another in close proximity to Charlestown and to the road from Cambridge, erected 0» Barton’s Point, at the (oot of Leverett street, in Boston. It wasa bright starlight night of midsummer, when the tong hoursof day almost deny an interval to the dark- ness,and we expecteach moment after twilight in the wont to behold the grey of morning in the east. Probably } had the distance to Bosion across the water been one rod leas, the midnight laborers weuld have been disco ered. Cooper, in his admirable tale of Lionel Lincoln, which is remarkably faithful to history in most of is detail, hos vpresented the sounds of the work a8 eudible, at least a» occas onal and smothered tokens of some secret enterprise vo the guardon Copp’s Hill Itmay have been so, but no jroot of it appears. A cuard wae stationed on the Charles. | ‘own shore nearest to Boston, to anticiprte any movement of the enemy. with our late Governor Brooks, then a mejor in Br: Prescott himself went there in oribge | ‘s that the sentries could have been wakeful at their posts, and not heve overheard or suspected the operationa of the hill, Either dullness in them, or wonderful caution and unbroken harmony among the provincials, must have se- cured the unbroken repose of those midnight hours. The brief interval of darkness after the lavors of in- trenching had commenced, at last gave Pisce to the grey ofearly morning. On that moment, when the sun sent forth the first heralds of his coming, seems to have been suspended the interests of nations. Then was the mo- ment for peace to insinuate her mild influences, before brutal passions had been kindled at the roar of cannon and the flow of blood. Iftrue patriotism, if wise policy, i! the love which Christian people, ef the sume linvag should bear to each other, had been allowed Its full free influence over the parties in the epproaching struggle, how much agony and wo, and fruitless wretchedness, mighthave been averted Even then it was not too late for justice to have ensured peace. Even then a vestel was on her way to the mother country, bearing yet ano- ther earnest petition from her injured colonists, for o re dress of grievances , but the same ocean which was trans mitting her fraitless message, was already crowded with a hostile flect coming hither with the instruments of death ; and on the very day of the baitle, and upon the eve before, reintorcements of foreign troops had entered the harbor. ‘The blood thed at Concord and Lexington, with the long list of antecedent outreges, might have been forgiven by our fathers. ‘They had not been the aggressors; they acted only on the detensive; they struck a blow only to wardoffa blow. There is no evidence that the heights of Charlestown were occupied for.any other purpose than that of defence, to confine the enemy within their narrow quarters, and to prevent any more hostile in ions into the country. When the morning sun displayed to the a:- tonished invaders the character of the last night’s labor, and showed them the workmen still omployed, with un- dismayed hearts and untired hands, it was not even then too late for peace. Gage and h least, if their hired subordinster did not, should have bonored, though they might not have feared the patriot band; shoul: hove respected the spirit which controlled them, and should havecounted the cost of the bloody issue. But not o: moment, not one word, perhaps pot one thought, w: Spent upen intercession or warning. The instant that the first beams of light marked distinct- ly the outlines of the Americans, and of their intrenc! ments upon the hill, the cannon of the Lively, which flo rest, opened a hot fire upon them, at the same time sleepers in Boston, to come forth the cruel tragedy. ‘Cve oiher ar, ing batteries, and the battery on Cupp to pour forth ‘their volleys, uttering a | note of preparation or the day’s cor ih ks, though not completed, « thut the missiles of dest chers continued to stre ‘ nemy in Boston could eyesight. Prescott, the hero of tie day, proudest fame should rest, was undaunted tulLof heroie energy. He ‘planned and di coursged the men, he mounted the worke, bald head uncovered, and his commending frame, he wis a noble personification of @ patriot cause. Some of the men incautiously ventured jn front of the works, when one of them wag instently killed by acannon shot. Thie first victim was buried in the ditch, and his companions were feorfully warned of the fatalities which the day wontd bring yet uearer to them. When the orders had been issued at Cambridge, the night before, tothose who bad thus complied with them, reireshment» and reintorcements had been p the morning. Thus some of the men might hi they hod fulfilled their part oftne work, and were to relief, or were at liberty to depart. Some few, when the first victim fell, left the bill, anddid not return. Those who remained were exhausted with their toil, and without food or water, and the morning was already intensely hot The officers, sympathizing with their situation, and sufterings, requested Prescott to send to Cambridge for He summoned a council of war, but was resolute against the petition,saying that the enemy would not venture an attack, and if they did venture, would be de- feated ; that the men who had raised the works were best able to defend them, and deserved the honor of the victo ry; that they had already learned to despise the fire of tae enemy. ‘ha vehemence of Prescott infused new spirit into the men, and they resolved to stand the dread irsue. Prescott ordered a guard to the ferry to prevent a landing there. He was seen by Gage, who was reconnoitering from Copp’s Hill, and who inquired of Counsellor Willard, by his side, “Who is that officer commanding?” Willerd recognised his brother-in-law, and named Colonel Pres- cott. “Willhe fight?” asked Gage. The answer was “Yes, sir, depend upon it, to the last drop of blood in him;’ but 1 cannot answer for his men.” Yet Prescott could answer for hismen, and that amounted to the same thing. The tiearures of the enemy were undoubtedly delayed by sheer amazement and surprise, on finding that the in- trepidity of tho provincials had anticipated them in an en- terprise upon which they had deliberately decided. In the council of war called by Gage, all were unsnimous that the enemy must be dislodged, but there wesa dif ference of opinion as to the manner of effecting this ob ject. The majority agreed with General Clinton and Grant in advising that the British troops should be em- barked at the bottom of the Common, in boats, and under the protection of the ships and floating batteries, should land at Charlenown, and thus hold the Provincials and their intrenchmenss at their mercy. But General Gage overruled the advice, and determined upon land- ing and making an attack in front of the works, fearing that his troops, if landed at the Neck, would be ruinously surrounded by the intrenchers and the whole army at Cambridge. . Meanwhile, General Ward, tough repeatedly solici ted by General Putnam, who had been at the ground by night, or early in the morning, and by messengers sent from Prescott, hesitated about weakening the strength of the main army by sending reinforcements to the Heights; for the enemy hed nat yet landed, he had good reason to fear that they might divide their forces, and while en- gaging with the intrenchers, effect a landing at some other spot, and proceed to Watertown or Cambridge, where the scanty stores of the provincials were depo- sited. iy nine o'clock the Preperaiions in Boston, theard and seen by Prescott on the hill,infor med him of the determina tion of the British to attack. He therefore gave up his fi opinion, that they would not dare to resist him,and com'o od himself and hie men with the promise of certain and glorious victory. He rent Major Brooks to General Ward, tourge the necessity of his being reinforced. Brooke, being obliged to proceed on foot, as Captain Gridley would not risk one of his artillery horses to pass the Neck, which was swept by the Ghagow frigate, arrived about ten o'clock at head-quarters, where the Committee of Safety were then in session, Brooks's urgency, fe. conded by the solicitations of Richard Devens, a member of the Committee, and a citizen of Charlestown, induced General Ward to order that Colonels Reed and Stark, then at Medford, should reinforce Prescott with the New Hampshire troops. ‘The companies at Chelsea were then recalled, and the order reached Medford at eleven o’cloek. The men were as speedily as possible provided with am- ition, though much time wes consumed in the prepa- ration. Esch man received two flints, a gill of powder, and fifteen bails. Tuey were withont cartridge boxes, d used powder-horns and pouches, or their pockets, as bstituter, making up their cartridges, their were r nd shape their bails according to the dit- fereut calibre of their guns. Dr. Jowph Warren,one of the most distinguished and selfsactificing of the many patriots of the time, had not yet token the commission which was granted to him on the 4th of Jane, He had twice maintained the cane o! liberty in the very teeth of British officers, commemoration of the 6th of March. When the report of ion reachyd him ar Waterto re he voting President of thy Prov and Chairmen of the Committee of ig from lines and exhaustion, he re strife. Whoily ii nced as he» ties, hi ‘onid not he shakes Vy t remanstrances of his frieuds. His preeenee were needed in the committee, but he p: rsisted sn bi solve, and we muat lament, as ail his cotemporaries le mented, that his heroism ovtran his prudence, ana would net be controlled by duty in another direction. ‘The hostil gem f the cluded, the devoted band upon the s] iy soo saw the result. At noon, twenty-eight barges, formed in two parallel lines, left the end of Long Wharf, made for Mort Point, the most feasible landing place. The barges were crowded with British troops o! the Sth, 88th, 48d, and 624 battalions of intentry, tw companies ot prematiete ane ten of light infantry. Th: troops were all splendidly appointed, with glitrering locks and buyonets, but sadly encumbered, for the work b-fore them and the hot sun ebove them, by th arms and ammunition, and i oom by the satementot their own historian, Stedman, that they car. ried a hundred pounds of provision, to last for three days. Theirreguler and uniform six pieces of ordnance shining in barges, presented an imposing and alarming spec to our raw soldiery. A part of the regulars that had a, dent, and ie late. ance, b mmeddoal madden The fabled = or ly arrived, hed been retained on board of the tra: account of the crowded state of Boston. A part ot these were landed for the first time at Charlestown, and thus the first spot of American soil w which became to them agrave. The office nd Clarke; Spenilove, Smelt, Mit 3 Lord Rawdon, were the most distin. . ptain Addison, related to the suthor of the ‘pectator,” had errived in Buston on the dey before the battle, and hadthen accepted av invitation to dine with General Burgoyne on the 17th, when a far different ex ; nee awaited him, for he was numbered among slain, This detachment landed at Morton’s Point about one o’c.ock, defended by the shipping, and hulp upmolest- ed. They soon discovered un ie ious and provoking ct of carelessness on the part of thr ir master of ordnance, in sending over cannon balls too large for their — They were immedistely returned to jon, and were net re placed in season for the drat action At the same time, Gen-ral Howe, the commander ofthe detacnment, re ed of General Gige a reinforcement, which he .Lought sar) tle moment that be had a fair view ot the elevated and formidable position of the provincials, as seen from the Point. While these messages were passing, some of the British troops, stretched at their ease upon the grase, eat in their last meal, reireshing their thirst fiom large tubs of drink—a tantelizing sight to the provineials. About two o’clock the rein ercement landed at Madln’s shipyard now the navy-yard. Itconsisted of the 47th battlion of infantry, a battalion of marines, and some more compenies of greuadiers and light infantry. The whole number of British troops who engoged in the course of the action, did not fall short of, and probably exceeded, 4,000. In cennexion with this force, which far surpassed thet ofthe provincials in numbers, and wus immeasurably superior to them in discipline and military appointments, we are to consider the marines in the ships, which complete)y can- nonaded three sides of the hill, and the six-gun battery on Copp’s Hill, a8 engaging in the unequal contest. Gon- trasting a British regular with a@ provincial soldier, we are accustomed to ascribe immerse advante- ges of discipline to the former. Yet we are te re- member that an overpowering superiority of cheracter and of cause was on the side of the latter. If we could have followed a recruiting sergeant of Great Britain at that time, as be hunted out from drom-sheps ord the haunts of idleness and vice, the low and vulgar inebriete, the lawless and dissolute spendthrift, seeing how well the sergeant knew where to look for his recruits, we shoukt know how much discipline could do for them, and how much it must leave undone The provinciels were not acqueinted with the forma ond terms of militery tactics ; but they knew the difference between halfcock and double-cock, and the more they hated the vermin which they had been used to hunt with their following-pieees, the straighter did the bullet speed fromthe muzzle. But their suprriority consisted in the kindof pay which they were to receive, not in pounds snd shillings, but in a free land, a bappy home, end rulers of their own choice. While the British troops were forming their lines, a slight work wasconstructed by the Connecticut troops, sent from the redoubt, under Captain Knowlton, whieh roved of essential service to the provincials. A rail fence, under a small part of which a stone wall wes piled to the height of about two feet, ran fromthe read which crossed the tongue of land between the hills, to the bank of the Mystic, with afew apple trees on each aide of it. ‘The provincials pulled up some other fences near by, and ret them in a line parallel with this, filling (he apace be- tween with the fresh mown hey around the ground. The. length of this siight defence was about 700 feet. It was about 600 feet in rear of the redoubt and breastwork, and had it been on a line with them, would have left of about 100 feet between the ends of th wooden de'ences. Thus there was an opening of 700 feet on the slope of the hill een the intrench- ments andthe rail fence, which the provincials bad not cure Part of this intervening spece then, as now, wi loughy, and asthere were no means of fending it save afew scattered trees, the troops behind the breastwork were exposed to ing fire from the enemy, on their third attack, which finally brought about the unfavoruble issue of the strife ix pire British artillery were stationed at first upon Morton’s All these ‘ations, visible as they were to thou- sands upon th neighboring bill tops eeples and house- roofs, were watched wath the inteng miety. Undoubt- edly, the common persuasion and fenc was, that General Gige would bimsel! lead a portion, if not the wh the residue of his army, upen an attack at rome other point in the semicircle. Roxbury was nonwled, to retain the forces proc ing to Charlestown. A schooner, with 500 or 600 men, was directed to the Cambridge shore, but wind and tide proved unfavorable. In fear of these movements, great coution advisable in sending reinforcements upon the hill. Captain Callender was ordered there with his artillery. Gardner’s, Patterson's. and Doolittle’s regi- ments were stationed at different points between Charles town Neck and Cambridge. ‘This Neck, though frequent: ly passed by our pfhcers and troops in single file, was nily hazardous during the whole day, fe'was raked by @ fire of round, bar and chain shot, from Glasgow, and from two armed gondolas near the shore. The r forcement arrived from Mediord before the engagement, theugh General Stark bad led them very moderately, in- sisting hat “one fresh man in battle ie worth ten fatigued ones.” General Putnam stopped @ part of them te unite with a detachment irom ihe redoudt in attempting to for- tiy Bunker’s Hill, which was of great consequence to the provinciwis in case of a retreat. Stark, wih oaths and encouragements, led on the remainder to the rail tener. Itsoen became a matter of i tance to the provinrials + but it been to seek the utmost possible help irom their ertil amounced to very little A few ineffectual shot fired from Gridley’s pieces in the redoubt, against Copp’s Hull and the shipping, when the pieces were removed and placed with Captain Callender at the spoce between the fence andthe breastwork. Here they would have been of some service in defending our weakest and most ex- posed point. But the officers and the commpeetan who had them in charge, were wholly ignorent of their manage ment ; and. on the plea of having unsuitable cartridges, Callender was drawing his guns offto prepare ammuni- tion, when Putnam urged bim to return. The were fired afew times, end soon afterwards were moved by Captain Ford to the rail fence. ue, 1d time to oy thi Centeaewes, but on reaching the neck, observing the hot fire which raked it, ae was afraid to risk the ber rowed animal. Giving him then in charge to asentry, he walked on tothe rail fence, w! his ‘known form and countenance cailed ferth nel Little came up with ‘his regiment, and the stationed along the line, from reil fence on t! left to acartway. There were alyo reinforcements, of about 300 troops each, from Brewer's, Nixon’s, Wood! and jachments of which were station Doolittle’s regiments, det: ed in street in Charlestown. Colonel 8cam- deprived of his sense and his courage, ei- r, hed been ordered by General ighting was. He went to Lech- mere’s Point, understanding, as he seid, that the enem: were landing thore. He was advised’ to goto the Hill. He chose to understend the nearest hill, and so he posted himself upon Cobble Hill, where the Insane new stands, and occupied that useless position. Genetal War ren arrived just before the action. Putnam endeavored to di je him trom entering it, and then recommended to hima sale place, and o to receive his orders. But Warren could not be thus wrought upon. He said cume only ee a volunteer, and, instuad of see of safety, wished to know where the furious. Putnam pointed to the redoubt e danger and importance. Prescott there offered to recei Warren’s orders, but he again said he was hsppy to serve as a volunteer. The tune of Yankee Doodle, which afforded British so much sport as ridiculing the provincials, was the tune by which our fathers were led on to that contest. Let their example commend to us this onl; ot as ridicule ot its sting; for there is nothing w! it 10 much annoysmen to spend in vain as their scorn. Before tne en, amar pe fe ey a es od Walker, of Chelmsford, led aband of about fitty resolute men down into Charlestown to annoy the enemy’s left fienk. They did great execution, and then abandoned their dangerous position, to attack the right flank upon Mystic river. Here the captain was wounded and teken prisoner. He Jied of his wounds in Boston jail. ‘The British, in their attack, aimed at two distinct eb- jects; first, to force and carry the redoubt ; second, to turn the left flank of our troops, and thus to cut off their retreat. To accomplish the former, General Pigot, who commanded the British left wing, disployed under cover of the eastern slope of the hill, and advanced the redoubt and breastwork. General Howe led the rig! wing, which advanced along the of the Mystic to the rail fence. Tho artill ay sh the way for the infantry, ond it wes mt thistime thet the mistake of the oversized balls was a gr A onheng | to the enemy, as they had but afew reunds of proper shot. It was of vitel necessity that every charge of and ball spent by the Ameticans should take effect. There was none for wane. The officers jed their men to withhold their fire till the evemy were within eight rods, and when they could see the whites of their ryes, to aim at vheir waisthends; also to “aim at the handsome coats, and pick off the commanders.” Ae th ish left wing came within guns bot, the men in the sed scarcely restrain their fire, and a few discha pieces. Prescott, indignant at this disobedien stant death to any one who should repeat it, by the confidence which they repored in him, togive the command at the pr moment. Hie Lientenant Colonel, Robinson, ran rouns tep of the works and knocked up the muskets. Whi ace between the assailants and the redoubt was pointed span, the 2 at the moment; the dea !ly @ashes burst ase was crimeoned with the life. front renk was nearly o! coessive substitutes, as d_were deliberate in their sim. Aoinower., General The enemy he} , practised sweep of before siged to give the word for a retreat. Someof wounded were seen crawling with the last of hife feom the gory beap of the dying and the amoi whom the officers, by their proportion, far outoumbe: private soidiers. As the wind rolled away the suffo- cating smoke, and the bl sts of the artillery and the mus- ketry lor a moment ceased, the aw/ul spectacle, the agon- yells and shrivks of ‘the suflerers, were distractiog wercing. Prayers and g ‘ond invocations of the loved sled into sounds which scarcely se e rapturous +hout of victo: ope were 5 ‘he earth has not a sight of ttle field. ing, in ite passion its a pit Deueeth the earth then opens from its bow. which rao,