The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought in 1775 between the British Army and militia from Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. The British Army with superior forces tried two times to run over Bunker Hill which had the militia entrenched but were repulsed both times.
They finally succeeded on the third attempt, but it was a pyrrhic victory for them: they suffered greater losses, including a large number of officers. It’s no wonder that the parade commemorates the occasion, because the colonial forces, relatively inexperienced as they were, were able to match up to superior regular army forces in that battle.
The parade proceeded up a gentle slope to the Bunker Hill Monument, and there I was running after them and stopping every so often to turn around to snap more pictures!
The contingents didn’t stop just at the Monument though: they went a round or two (I think- it was hard to tell). One of the video files below where the contingent stopped to fire a volley was taken at the base footsteps leading up to the Monument. I was better prepared this time too and remembered to stopper my ears before they went temporarily deaf again from the sounds of gunfire.:)
And that’s the Monument itself – built in 1825.
Two statues: in front of the monument stood Colonel William Prescott who commanded the American Colonial forces at the Battle; and inside the museum, a statue of (I think) revolutionary leader Dr. Joseph Warren who perished in the battle.
Videos next. The first video is longer, but there’s a segment about mid-length where the contingent fires a volley right next to me, and I nearly dropped the camera with ears ringing:
The same guys fired off another volley at the base of the stairs leading up to the monument. This time round, I was prepared for the din:
And lastly, a short video of the monument and overlooking the parade route:
And that’s a wrap for last Sunday’s activities! I’m gonna take a break again from posts on my trip. The next series of posts in the queue is on Harvard Yard and the museums there. In the mean time, Ling has another cute video of Hannah at play in the queue, so that’s gonna come first, and next.:)
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