Battle of Bunker Hill Reenactment This Month in Hudson, Massachusetts

The Battle of Bunker Hill could have been a foreshadowing of what was to come for the mighty British military in the American Revolutionary War. While the Brits drove the colonial soldiers away from Bunker Hill and nearby Breeds Hill, they paid a heavy toll in the process.

Historians say the British suffered more than 1,000 casualties, including some 225 dead – 100 of whom were commissioned officers – on June 17, 1775, while trying to rid the hills overlooking Boston of colonials. The colonials, on the other hand, suffered less than 500 casualties, including about 140 killed in battle.

Colonial forces under the command of Col. William Prescott, an ancestor on my mother's side of the family, held off a full British invasion for several days by making it appear as though the colonial presence was much more than it was.

Some historians say Col. Prescott instructed his fighters, "Do not fire until you see the whites of their eyes," as ammunition was in short supply and should not be wasted on missed targets. Others say it's not clear whether someone else gave that order, but considering the circumstances, it was certainly good advice from whoever did say it.

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The American Heritage Museum in Hudson, Massachusetts, will stage a reenactment of the Battle of Bunker Hill. The reenactment will occur on July 23 and 24, and there is a fee.

The American Heritage Museum lists reenactment times and a fee schedule on its website. Be sure to visit the Bunker Hill-Prescott Statute at Boston National Historical Park.

There are many great books about the Battle of Bunker Hill, including the two pictured above.