"Make every shot tell!" shouted Prescott to his men.
As the British began to climb over our earthworks, our soldiers spent their last shots upon those who mounted first. Among those who fell dead at the redoubt was Major Pitcairn, who at Lexington had cried out, "Disperse, ye rebels!"
168. The Patriots forced to retreat from Lack of Ammunition.—Their powder all gone, what could the patriots do but retreat? This they did in good order for raw soldiers, many staying to smite the enemy with the butts of their muskets, then with the barrels after the butts were broken off, and some even with stones. The British were now closing in upon them on all sides, and at last Prescott, to avoid being completely shut in, gave the word to retreat. He was one of the last to leave, defending himself with his sword from the bayonets of the enemy.
Alas! one shot of the last volley from the British killed our beloved Warren! When General Howe heard of this he said, "Warren's death is equal to the loss of five hundred men to the Americans."
Stark and Knowlton held the grass fence till the troops had left the top of the hill, and then retreated with them in good order to Charlestown Neck. On their way back they met at Bunker Hill General Putnam, who had collected fresh soldiers and wanted to occupy the trenches he had formed there, and make a fresh stand against the enemy. But the British ships on both sides could rake this position, and it was decided to move back to Prospect Hill, which our forces fortified. It was about six o'clock when the retreat began.
169. Bunker Hill and the Lesson it taught.—In less than three hours, and with only one hour of actual fighting, all these fearful scenes were enacted. The Americans, with about fifteen hundred men, lost four hundred and fifty killed and wounded. But the British, with over three thousand, had lost one thousand and fifty-four, of whom one hundred and fifty-seven were officers!
Although in form the result of the battle was a defeat, as our army lost their ground, yet its effect upon the Americans was that of a victory. It taught them that they were a match for the British troops in a fair fight. This knowledge nerved them to further resistance against royal oppression. Thus this battle, the first clear bugle-call of the Revolution, proving beyond all doubt that the British troops were not invincible, was worth just at this time many decided victories to the Americans. To the patriots of every colony it gave strength and heart, and the belief that their cause would succeed. In the march of events and of ideas Bunker Hill was of momentous importance. It gave the shock that made the patriots conscious of their might; it cleared their vision and roused them to action.
When Washington first heard of the battle he was riding on horseback to take command of the army at Cambridge. "Did our men stand fire?" he asked of the messenger. Being told that they did, and that they waited till the enemy was only eight rods off, he said, "The liberties of the country are safe!"
But if the Americans learned that they could fight, the British learned it too! General Gage wrote home: "The trials we have had prove the rebels are not the despicable rabble too many have supposed them to be."
"If they call that a victory," said a French general, "two or three more such would extinguish the British army."