NOTICE. BUNKER HILL is situate on a peninsula formed by the rivers Charles and Mystic. The first separates the peninsula, at the distance of about half a mile from Boston, and covers the whole southern side of Charlestown; the second separates it from Chelsea on the north at about the same distance. An isthmus of a quarter of a mile in length, and almost level with the tide, unites this peninsula with the mainland towards Cambridge and Medford. To convey some idea of its shape to those who have not seen it, it may be resembled to the section of a pear, cut longitudinally, the stem or stalk of which may be the neck, the butt end, the point running into the harbor of Boston and terminating where the United States Navy-Yard is now established; the sides of the whole depressed to the water's edge, and the centre rising thence into a range of convex hills, extending nearly the whole length of the peninsula, and which cover, on the north and east, that part on which the public and private edifices were erected in Charlestown. On the hill nearest to this point, the Americans erected breast-works on the morning of the seventeenth of June, 1775. On the Boston side of the river, and directly opposite the works was Copps Hill, a very commanding eminence, on which the British had stationed some artillery; ships of war were anchored in the river, and a large fleet rode in the harbor of Boston, within sight, and some within gun-shot, of the American entrenchment. As soon as the works on Bunker Hill were discovered, the fort on Copps Hill, and the ships nearest, commenced a brisk cannonade, and troops, under the command of several generals, crossed the river, and landing under cover of the guns of the ships, commenced an attack in front, while a detachment effected a landing on the north side on Mystic river, intending to ascend the hill in the rear or on the flank of the Americans, and cut off their retreat, while the boats kept up a raking fire across the isthmus to prevent the march of reinforcements. In the mean time the buildings of Charlestown were set on fire, and being composed of wood, involved in smoke, and partly screened the troops which were ascending in front of the fortification. Bunker Hill is so elevated, that from its summit a spectator may enjoy one of the most extensive and picturesque views: on the north and west, a hilly and woody country on the south, at the distance of ten miles, the lofty and undulating range of the Blue Hills in Milton; embosoming a richly cultivated semicircle, diversified with plains, and streams and sheets of water; broken by elevations of unequal heights, and adorned with gardens, farmhouses, and elegant mansions; the whole converging to the central position of Boston, of itself a beautiful picture in the landscape. The lands of Dorchester sweep round the south front of Boston, and those of Chelsea round the northeast, both stretching into the Atlantic, terminating on the south at Hull, and on the northeast at Nahant. Those two points, at about nine miles distance from each other, form the horns of an immense bason on the east of Boston and Charlestown, enclosing a number of beautiful islands, and an outward and inward harbor, of great depth and breadth. Beyond this, as far as the power of vision extends, the ocean is seen without interruption. The battle of Bunker Hill was of more importance in its remote consequences, than in its immediate result. The American militia, raw, badly armed, and undisciplined, were driven from the field by a more numerous body of well appointed veterans, under the command of experienced officers; yet the British gained the victory at a greater expense of lives, considering the number ᎠᏎ |