The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought mainly on Breed's Hill on June 17, 1775.
The battle took place on the Charlestown Peninsula, across the Charles River from Boston, soon after the Battles of Lexington and Concord. American forces fortified the heights, while British troops launched repeated assaults to take the position. The British eventually captured the hill, making the battle a British tactical victory.
The victory came at a heavy cost. British forces suffered more than 1,000 casualties, while the colonial forces lost roughly 450 killed, wounded, or captured. The losses demonstrated that inexperienced American troops could resist trained British regulars in a major engagement.
The name creates a common historical mix-up: most of the fighting occurred on Breed's Hill, not Bunker Hill. The battle is nevertheless conventionally known as the Battle of Bunker Hill, reflecting the broader terrain and the name used in contemporary accounts. Its outcome encouraged the colonial resistance to continue.