Most fighting in the 1775 Battle of Bunker Hill occurred on Breed’s Hill.
Colonial forces fortified Breed’s Hill on the Charlestown Peninsula during the night of June 16, 1775. The position was closer to Boston than Bunker Hill and offered a threatening location from which artillery could be aimed toward the British-held city. British troops attacked on June 17.
The battle is traditionally called the Battle of Bunker Hill because Bunker Hill was the original objective and the larger geographic landmark. However, the main redoubt and the heaviest combat were on nearby Breed’s Hill. The British captured the colonial position after three assaults, but suffered severe casualties.
This naming difference is the battle’s best-known geographic mix-up. The engagement was a British victory in tactical terms, yet it demonstrated that colonial forces could stand against experienced British regulars. It occurred during the Siege of Boston, near the beginning of the American Revolutionary War.