Which battle is known for the order 'Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes'?

The Battle of Bunker Hill is the battle traditionally associated with the order, “Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes.” The phrase captures the American defenders' need to conserve scarce ammunition and fire at close range.

The battle was fought on June 17, 1775, near Boston during the Siege of Boston. Although commonly called Bunker Hill, most of the fighting took place on nearby Breed's Hill, where colonial forces built an earthwork redoubt. British troops eventually captured the position after repeated assaults, but suffered heavy losses.

The exact speaker is uncertain. Later accounts attributed the command to Colonel William Prescott, General Israel Putnam, or other American officers, and modern historians often regard the wording as apocryphal. Similar instructions had been used by military leaders before 1775, including James Wolfe and earlier European commanders.

The battle was therefore a British tactical victory but an important psychological victory for the American cause. It demonstrated that inexperienced colonial troops could stand against regular British soldiers. The quote is sometimes wrongly treated as a precisely documented order, but Bunker Hill remains its canonical historical association.