Which 1775 battle near Boston was the first major battle of the American Revolutionary War?

The Battle of Bunker Hill was the first major battle of the American Revolutionary War. It was fought on June 17, 1775, on the Charlestown Peninsula across the Charles River from Boston.

Despite its name, most of the fighting took place on Breed’s Hill. American forces fortified the heights while British troops launched repeated assaults. The British eventually captured the position, making the battle a tactical British victory, but they suffered heavy casualties.

The American commander William Prescott is traditionally associated with the instruction, “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes,” although historians debate the exact wording and speaker. General Israel Putnam also played a prominent role in the fighting.

The battle demonstrated that inexperienced colonial forces could stand against the professional British army. It occurred during the Siege of Boston, which began after the battles of Lexington and Concord and continued until British forces evacuated the city in March 1776.