There were more Revolutionary War battles fought in South Carolina than anywhere else, but we have to admit that there were some significant fights elsewhere. And the 250th anniversary of one of them is coming up on June 17.
Four days before that, Joe Long, curator of education at the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum, will present a free lecture on the subject of “The Heroic Legacy of Bunker Hill.” He will deliver it at noon on Friday, June 13, at Richland Library main location on Assembly Street in Columbia. The lecture is part of the Relic Room’s regular Noon Debrief program.
“I will focus on leadership lessons and the strategic importance of the battle,” Joe says. And set the basic facts straight. For instance, although Bunker Hill was the initial objective of both sides, most of the fighting happened on Breed’s Hill, a nearby high point in Charlestown, Mass., looking down across the Charles River upon downtown Boston. That’s where the tall obelisk that commemorates the battle stands today. Patriot troops would retreat over Bunker Hill after the fighting was over.
Retreat? Does that mean this celebrated encounter was not an American victory? Well, yes. And no. The battle-hardened redcoats did take the American position on Breed’s Hill – but only after the Patriots ran out of ammunition. And the Brits paid an unexpectedly high price for their “win.” There were 1,054 British casualties among the redcoats as they attacked the American summit, compared to only 450 for the Patriots.
That Pyrrhic British victory was of tremendous significance, and gave heart to the Colonials’ cause. That result showed that, properly led, inexperienced militia could stand up to the regular army of the world’s great superpower at the time. This was a surprise to many, particularly the British leadership, which had to change their tactics going forward.
So while the British “won” the hill, the battle showed Americans that it may be possible to win independence in the end. Joe Long will explain that in the wider context of the war — and of American history overall. Without the fierce resistance offered on Breed’s Hill, there might not have been a Yorktown, or for that matter, a United States of America.
Again, the lecture will be held at the main Richland Library, which has generously welcomed the Noon Debriefs to its Theater space while the museum’s live program space is unavailable due to renovations. But free passes to the rest of the museum will be available to all attendees who are interested.
Library of Congress map showing positions of American forces at the outset of the battle.
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