Most fighting in the 1775 Battle of Bunker Hill occurred on Breed's Hill.
The battle was fought on June 17, 1775, during the Siege of Boston. Colonial forces occupied both Bunker Hill and nearby Breed's Hill, but they built their main fortified redoubt on Breed's Hill because it was closer to Boston and offered a useful position overlooking the city and harbor.
British troops attacked the colonial position in three assaults. The first two were repulsed with heavy British losses, while the third captured the redoubt after the colonists ran short of ammunition. The colonial forces then withdrew across the Charlestown Peninsula. Although Britain won control of the ground, its casualties made the victory strategically costly.
The battle kept the name Bunker Hill because Bunker Hill had been the original objective and was the more prominent geographic reference. Colonel William Prescott is associated with the colonial defense, while General William Howe led the main British assault. The battle demonstrated that inexperienced colonial troops could resist regular British forces.