Vision
The Battle for Bunker Hill was the first US Army battle of the American Revolution. Astonishingly, this first US Army battlefield remains unrecognized by any federal, state, or local historic designation.
Our vision is to advance an historic district action plan that will honor, protect, and enhance Charlestown’s national battlefield history and restore public access to what remains open public space throughout Charlestown.
As part of our committee’s historic discovery process we will petition the state to complete a thorough inventory of the Charlestown Heights battlefield markers and urge the city to produce the historic land use reports required by law prior to the redevelopment of public land in Charlestown.
This plan will recognize and commemorate the whole Bunker Hill Battlefield as the site of multiple historic firsts:
The first military field and defensive construction works of the United States Army supervised by General Richard Gridley of the Massachusetts Provincial Forces and constructed by Colonel William Prescott of the Massachusetts Minutemen;
The first artillery placements of the United States Army Artillery Corps and the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company as established under the provision and authority of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, Major General Joseph Warren, Commander in Chief;
The first assembly and battle formation of the official Colonial Continental New England Army at the “Rail Fence and Grass Protection” field, as organized by militia regiments from New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, with supporting artillery emplacements between the redoubt and the Mystic River;
The first cavalry entitlement of the United States Army by the provision of Connecticut General Israel Putnam and his mount; and,
The first army battle engagement of the Revolutionary War.