Thomas F. O’Malley then addressed the gathering substantially as follows:
To-day we meet in pious and patriotic commemoration of a great deed, performed here 125 years ago. To-day we stand in the midst of a great nation which is proud, strong and free. All is joy around us. But let us turn back a century and a quarter in the book of time. What a scene was enacted here! The hill crowned with a hastily constructed redoubt and held by an undisciplined and untrained yeomanry—farmers, with their fowling pieces and but little ammunition.
A brilliantly appointed army advancing to the attack and storming the works, supported by coöperating ships and batteries; the blaze of the burning town, coursing whole streets or curling up the spires of public edifices; the air above filled with clouds of dense black smoke, and the surrounding hills, fields, roofs and steeples occupied by crowds of spectators. What strange sounds came to the ear—the shouts of the contending armies, the crash of falling buildings, the roar of ship guns and mortars and the rattle of musketry.
On one side we find the high courage of men staking their lives and reputations on the uncertain issue of a civil war; and on the other, the reflection that defeat meant the final loss to Britain of her American empire.
You know the story of that battle—how the flower of England’s army were repeatedly repulsed; how in the moment of desperation the regulars laid aside their knapsacks, moved forward, relying on the bayonet and their artillery to carry the day. The American fire slackened, the ammunition was expended, there were no bayonets, and the oncoming regulars were met with clubbed muskets and stones. The fortunes of the day were reversed, and, technically speaking, it was a British victory.
After speaking of the men of Irish blood who fought in the patriot ranks that day, Mr. O’Malley continued:
The Americans are estimated to have lost in killed 140, and in wounded 271; loss by capture 30. In all, 441. The English loss was 226 killed, 828 wounded. Total—1,054.
In comparison with other battles, so far as numbers go, Bunker Hill was but a skirmish. But in results it was of the utmost importance. Before the engagement there was some hope, perhaps some chance, for a peaceful settlement of existing difficulties; but after that memorable day, all were for war and independence. Bunker Hill was the beginning of the end of British domination on the Western continent.
Mr. O’Malley was frequently applauded and upon the conclusion of his address was warmly congratulated. The banquet at the United States Hotel in the evening was a most enjoyable affair.
President-General Gargan occupied the chair. Among those present were Hon. John C. Linehan, treasurer-general of the Society, Concord, N. H.; Secretary-General T. H. Murray, Woonsocket, R. I.; William Doogue, city forester of Boston; Thomas F. O’Malley, the orator at the memorial tablets; Joseph Smith, Lowell, Mass.; James Jeffrey Roche, Boston; William P. Connery, Lynn, Mass.; M. E. Hennessy, Boston; Capt. Samuel McKeever, U. S. A. (retired), Somerville, Mass.; E. O’Meagher Condon, New York city; John T. F. MacDonnell, Holyoke, Mass., and others.