National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places U.S. Department of the Interior The Battle of Bunker Hill: Now We Are at War The Battle of Bunker Hill: Now We Are at War (National Park Service Historic Photograph Collection) Today visitors stroll around a peaceful hilltop overlooking shade trees and row houses. A soaring granite obelisk rises where once stood an earthen fortification. A five acre park with stone markers is all that remains of the ground that became a raging battlefield and the site of the first full-scale battle of the American Revolution. It was in June 1775 that the pent-up anger and hatred between the British and many American colonists exploded into brutal fury at the top of this hill, while the nearby town of Charlestown, Massachusetts, burned from red-hot cannon balls fired by British warships into its wooden buildings. This Revolutionary War battle, which was supposed to have been fought on Bunker Hill, but which in fact took place on nearby Breed’s Hill, gained the British a narrow victory. At the same time it encouraged the colonists to continue to fight. Now often dotted by school groups eating lunch or resting after they have climbed the 294 steps to the top of the 221foot monument, the battleground continues to evoke a sense of wonder at the story of one of the bloodiest battles of the Revolutionary War. National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places U.S. Department of the Interior The Battle of Bunker Hill: Now We Are at War Document Contents National Curriculum Standards About This Lesson Getting Started: Inquiry Question Setting the Stage: Historical Context Locating the Site: Map 1. Map 1: Boston area today 2. Map 2: Boston area, 1775 Determining the Facts: Readings 1. Reading 1: Setting the Stage for a Battle 2. Reading 2: The Battle of Bunker Hill Visual Evidence: Images 1. Drawing 1: Charlestown Peninsula, June 17, 1775 2. Painting 1: Battle of Bunker Hill by Howard Pyle, 1898. 3. Photo 1: A miniature showing the redoubt atop Breed's Hill and the colonists waiting for the advancing British troops, June 17, 1775 Putting It All Together: Activities 1. Activity 1: Rebellion Then and Now 2. Activity 2: Community Issues References and Endnotes Additional Resources National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places U.S. Department of the Interior The Battle of Bunker Hill: Now We Are at War Where this lesson fits into the curriculum Time Period: Late 18th century Topics: The lesson could be used in units on the Revolutionary War or in courses on conflict resolution. Relevant United States History Standards for Grades 5-12 This lesson relates to the following National Standards for History from the UCLA National Center for History in the Schools: US History Era 3 • Standard 1A: The student understands the causes of the American Revolution. • Standard 1B: The student understands the principles articulated in the Declaration of Independence. • Standard 1C: The student understands the factors affecting the course of the war and contributing to the American victory. Relevant Curriculum Standards for Social Studies This lesson relates to the following Curriculum Standards for Social Studies from the National Council for the Social Studies: Theme II: Time, Continuity and Change • Standard C: The student identifies and describes selected historical periods and patterns of change within and across cultures, such as the rise of civilizations, the development of transportation systems, the growth and breakdown of colonial systems, and other consequences of the Cold War. Theme III: People, Places, and Environment • Standard H: The student examines, interprets, and analyzes physical and cultural patterns, cultural transmission of ideas, and ecosystem changes. • Standard A: The student creates mental maps of locales, regions, and the world that demonstrate understanding of relative location, direction, size and shape. National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places U.S. Department of the Interior The Battle of Bunker Hill: Now We Are at War • Standard B: The student creates, interprets, uses, and distinguishes various representations of the earth, such as maps, globes, and photographs. Theme VI: Power, Authority, and Governance • Standard C: The student analyzes and explains ideas and governmental mechanisms to meet needs and wants of citizens, regulate territory, manage conflict, and establish order and security. • Standard F: The student explains conditions, actions, and motivations that contribute to conflict and cooperation within and among nations. Theme X: Civic Ideals, and Practices • Standard E: The student explains and analyzes various forms of citizen action that influence public policy decisions. Relevant Common Core Standards This lesson relates to the following Common Core English and Language Arts Standards for History and Social Studies for middle school and high school students: Key Ideas and Details • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-12.2 Craft and Structure • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-12.6 Integration of Knowledge and Ideas • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-12.7 Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-12.10 National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places U.S. Department of the Interior The Battle of Bunker Hill: Now We Are at War About This Lesson This lesson is based on the National Register of Historic Places registration file, "Bunker Hill Monument" [http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Text/66000138.pdf] (with photographs http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Photos/66000138.pdf), and historical and modern accounts of the battle. This lesson was written by Sandy Brue, former Park Ranger at Boston National Historical Park. It was edited by Teaching with Historic Places staff. This lesson is one in a series that brings the important stories of historic places into classrooms across the country. Objectives 1. To determine how the events in Massachusetts in 1775 united colonial forces in opposition to imperial rule; 2. To relate the events of the Battle of Bunker Hill and explain their importance; 3. To compare Boston and Charlestown land masses as they changed from 1775 to the present day; 4. To investigate their own community history to find out if there was a significant event in the past that united or divided the citizens. Materials for students The materials listed below can either be used directly on the computer or can be printed out, photocopied, and distributed to students. 1. Two maps showing the Boston area as it appeared in 1775 and today; 2. Two readings about the causes of the battle and the fighting; 3. One drawing of the Charlestown Peninsula; 4. One painting of the battle; 5. One photograph of a diorama of the battleground. Visiting the site Bunker Hill Monument is administered by the National Park Service. It is one of eight historic sites in Boston that make up Boston National Historical Park. The site is open daily, except January 1, Thanksgiving, and December 25. For more information, write Bunker Hill Monument, Boston National Historical Park, Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston, MA 02129, or visit the park's web pages. National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places U.S. Department of the Interior The Battle of Bunker Hill: Now We Are at War Getting Started Which U.S. war is depicted in this battle scene? What famous battle might this be? National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places U.S. Department of the Interior The Battle of Bunker Hill: Now We Are at War Photo Analysis Worksheet Step 1: Examine the photograph for 10 seconds. How would you describe the photograph? Step 2: Divide the photograph into quadrants and study each section individually. What details--such as people, objects, and activities--do you notice? Step 3: What other information--such as time period, location, season, reason photo was taken--can you gather from the photo? Step 4: How would you revise your first description of the photo using the information noted in Steps 2 and 3? Step 5: What questions do you have about the photograph? How might you find answers to these questions? National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places U.S. Department of the Interior The Battle of Bunker Hill: Now We Are at War Setting the Stage After the Boston Tea Party in 1773, British troops quartered in the town of Boston using their warships to keep Boston harbor closed. These actions cut off trade, crippled the economy, and put colonists out of work. British soldiers and colonists, now living in proximity, frequently brawled in the streets and in the taverns. People who had never paid much attention to political affairs now became overt or secret supporters of one side or the other. Biased broadsides and newspaper reports fostered enmity. Tensions came to a head on April 18, 1775, when British General Thomas Gage, appointed royal governor of Massachusetts, sent 700 British soldiers to Lexington and Concord to confiscate arms and ammunition being accumulated by the colonists. Some of the colonists, forewarned about British troop movements, were waiting on the Lexington Green when the British arrived the next morning. To this day no one knows for sure who fired first, but a shot rang out. The British soldiers fired a volley into the colonial militia, killing eight men and wounding 10. The British then moved on to Concord where minutemen drove back three British infantry units guarding Concord’s North Bridge. On their subsequent march back to Boston they were peppered by patriot snipers. By the time the redcoats reached Boston, they had suffered 273 casualties compared with fewer than 100 for the patriots. Engravings in local newspapers and broadsides incorrectly reported that the British, after attacking Lexington and Concord, raided and pillaged property all the way back to Boston. That news enraged patriots throughout the colonies.