This hill saw the first major battle of the American Revolution, where colonial militia dug overnight earthworks and dared to face the finest soldiers in the British Army. On June 17, 1775, a force of approximately 1,500 colonial militia dug earthworks on this hill overnight and prepared to meet a British assault. The British commander, General Howe, chose to make a frontal assault rather than cut off the colonial position, and led his troops in three waves up the hill in full battle order in the June heat.
The militia, conserving their powder, held their fire until the British were close — the order attributed to Colonel William Prescott was don't fire till you see the whites of their eyes — then poured devastating volleys into the advancing lines. Twice the British were driven back. The third assault took the hill only when the colonists ran out of ammunition.
The British won the ground but lost over a thousand men, nearly half their force. The colonists proved they could fight. The obelisk before you, 221 feet tall, was completed in 1843 and was the first monument built to commemorate a Revolutionary War battle.
Climb the 294 steps to the top; the view takes in Boston Harbor, the city, and on clear days the South Shore and Cape Cod.