"'That is Colonel Prescott,' was the reply.
"'Will he fight?' asked Gage.
"'Yes, sir,' answered Willard, 'he is an old soldier, and will fight as long as a drop of blood remains in his veins.'
"'The works must be carried immediately,' was Gage's rejoinder, and he at once proceeded to give the order for the attack.
"He sent between two and three thousand picked men under the command of Generals Howe and Pigot. They crossed the water in twenty-eight barges, and landed at Morton's Point beyond the eastern foot of Breed's Hill, covered by the guns of the 'Falcon' and other vessels. There they waited for reinforcements, which were sent Howe about two o'clock.
"While the troops of Howe and Pigot were waiting, they dined; but the poor Americans behind their intrenchments, at which they had been working all the morning as well as from twelve o'clock of the previous night, had little or nothing to eat or drink, and were suffering with hunger, thirst, and the extreme heat of the weather as well as fatigue, for the day was one of the hottest of the season.
"Besides, the reinforcements sent to their assistance were so few and feeble that a dreadful suspicion arose in their minds that they were the victims of treachery.
"Still they could not doubt the patriotism of their principal officers; and before the battle began, the arrival of their beloved Dr. Warren and General Pomeroy entirely relieved their doubts.
"Dr. Warren was suffering from sickness and exhaustion; and Putnam, who was at Cambridge forwarding reinforcements and provisions to Charlestown, tried to persuade him not to take part in the coming fight. But his heart was in the cause, and he was not to be induced to give up doing all he could to help in the approaching struggle for freedom.