No marshaling of men,
Who ne'er might meet again—
No cup was filled and quaffed to Victory!
* Frothingham, page 129.
** William Prescott was born at Groton, Massachusetts, in 1726. His father was for some years a counselor of Massachusetts, and his mother was a daughter of another counselor. He was a lieutenant of foot under General Winslow, at the capture of Cape Breton, where he was distinguished for his bravery. He inherited a large estate, and resided at Pepperell while the Revolution was ripening. He had command of a regiment of minute men, and when the news of the affair at Lexington reached him, promptly marched thither at the head of as many as he could collect. His known military talents caused him to be selected by General Ward for the important duty of fortifying Bunker Hill; and in the memorable engagement that occurred there on the 17th of June, 1775, he was the chief in command, and was greatly distinguished by his bravery and skill. That evening, although repulsed, and his troops greatly fatigued and much dispirited, he solicited from the Committee of Safety permission to make an attempt to retake the peninsula of Charlestown. It was a movement too perilous, and the gallant soldier was obliged to rest. He continued in the service through 1776, and served as a volunteer under Gates until the surrender of Burgoyne in 1777. From 1786 until his death he was an acting magistrate in his native town. He died in Pepperell on the 13th of October, 1795, aged sixty-nine. William H. Prescott, of Boston, the eminent historian, is a grandson of Colonel Prescott. He married a grand-daughter of Captain Linzee, who commanded the sloop of war Falcon, that cannonaded the works on Breed's Hill on the 17th of June, 1775. The swords then used by Colonel Prescott and Captain Linzee, the respective grandfathers of the historian and his wife, are now in Mr. Prescott's possession, and are crossed, in a conspicuous place, in his valuable library at Boston.
*** The following are the names of the British vessels then in the harbor of Boston, which took part in the battle that ensued: Somerset, 68 guns, 520 men, Captain Edward Le Cras; Cerberus, 36 guns, Captain Chads; Glasgow, 24 guns, 130 men, Captain William Maltby; Lively, 20 guns, 130 men, Captain Thomas Bishop; Falcon, Captain Linzee; Symmetry, transport, 18 nine pounders. Sec the British Annual Register for 1775. The Falcon lay off Moulton's, or Morton's, Point; the Lively lay opposite the present navy-yard; the Somerset was at the ferry; the Glasgow was near Cragie's Bridge; and the Cerberus and several floating batteries were within gunshot of the American works.—Frothingham.
Construction of the Redoubt on Breed's Hill.—Discovery of the Works by the Enemy.—Surprise of the people of Boston.
No plumes were there,
No banners fair,