JAMES FINCK GUEST COLUMNIST
From the Southwest Ledger
After the April 19, 1775, battles of Lexington and Concord, delegates of the Continental Congress met for a second time beginning on May 10, 1775. This time delegates had two major contradicting goals to accomplish. First, they had to convince King George III that they were still his loyal subjects even after the previous month’s battles. Second, they had to raise an army to fight the king. As you can imagine, this proved a difficult task.
The attempt at the first goal came in the form of the July 8, 1775, Olive Branch Petition that appealed to the king, expressing the colonists’ desire to “restore the former harmony” between Britain and the colonies. It insisted that the colonies were not seeking independence but wanted their “grievances redressed” peacefully.
The second goal occurred a month earlier, on June 14, when the Congress passed a resolution stating, “that six companies of expert riflemen, be immediately raised in Pennsylvania, two in Maryland, and two in Virginia… that each company, as soon as completed, shall march and join the Army near Boston, to be there employed as light infantry, under the command of the chief officer in that army.” With said resolution, the Continental Army was created 250 years ago today but would later be changed to the United States Army.
You will notice the wording of the resolution said that this new army would join the army in Boston. After the battles of Lexington and Concord, the militia units had followed the British army back to Boston and had basically laid siege to the city. Before the arrival of the main army, one of the most important battles was fought and one that is also celebrating its 250th anniversary this week: the Battle of Bunker Hill.
During the siege of Boston, Colonials controlled the high ground of Bunker and Breeds hills across the harbor. Not wanting the Colonials looking down on them, the British sent over a detachment to push the Colonials off Bunker Hill. The Regulars had little to fear from the Colonials as they were the strongest army in the world fighting against a bunch of farmers, but their arrogance soon proved fateful.
Twice the army tried to take Bunker Hill and twice they were repulsed in what must have been a sobering experience. Finally, on the third attempt, the redcoats were successful in taking the hill when the Colonists ran out of ammunition and so were forced to retreat. The numbers from this battle were staggering as the British army lost more than 1,000 men while Colonials only lost 450. Bunker Hill was the most lopsided battle and had the largest British casualties of the entire Revolutionary War.
There were some important consequences from this battle. First, as with Lexington and Concord, the colonies were still a year away from declaring independence. Their goal was still to patch things up with King George. Note the Olive Branch Petition was still a month away. Yet taking the lives of 1,000 British soldiers made peace difficult. The second consequence was this battle did a great deal to helping convince the colonists of independence.
The major reason most did not support independence was that they did not think it possible. Sure, they could declare their independence, but the only way to achieve it was on the battlefield.
In 1775 there was no reason to believe that a bunch of ragtag farmers could take on and defeat the greatest military force in history. Colonists wanted freedom, but did not know how to achieve it. While Bunker Hill was officially a defeat, the Colonists took it as a moral victory. They truly believed they could have held the hill if they had the necessary supplies. Between the effort at Bunker Hill and the capture of Fort Ticonderoga on May 10, 1775, there were growing reasons to believe that maybe, if fortune was with them, they just might be able to pull off a miracle.
A miracle indeed was what happened. A year later the Colonists declared their independence and then for the next eight years this newly formed American army sweat, froze, suffered, fought and died to gain this nation’s freedom. These men with a little luck, and what I believe a lot of help from above, were up to the task.
Over the years and centuries other men and women have followed their example and stepped up to guarantee this nation can long endure. As the song says, from “Valley Forge, Custer’s ranks, San Juan Hill and Patton’s tanks, And the Army went rolling along.”
From these humble beginnings, the U.S. Army has now become the greatest fighting force the world has ever seen. They have excelled not only in making war but in keeping peace. As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army I want to thank all the soldiers and their families from that first battle at Bunker Hill to the present for all their work and sacrifice. We would not be here if it were not for you. Thank you.
James Finck is a professor of American history at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. He can be reached at [email protected].
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