"Dont shoot until you see the whites of their eyes!" Colonel William Prescott, commander of the American force, shouted to his 1200 minutemen standing upon Breed's Hill. Prescott's troops had little gunpowder so they needed to be sure they had a good aim before they fired. Huge drops of sweat dripped down each of the Patriots' face as they waited silently and patiently for the British to approach. Large defensive trenches had been dug everywhere, seeming as if a hundred moles had just been to work. It was dawn of June 17, 1775. Suddenly, out of the empty clearing came a huge crowd of red-uniformed men. They were marching in a straight pattern, each holding a shining gun in their hands. Bang! An unexpected shot was fired, followed by a volley. The ammunitions bounced off rocks, echoing into the distance, destroying the silence and stillness of the sweet-smelling air. The smell of gunpowder filled the atmosphere, stinging the soldiers' eyes and sticking to their mouths and making them dry. Blood oozed out from the bodies of injured men, making the grounds around them completely red. Cries of agony and pain rose out over the fired gun explosions. The Battle of Bunker Hill had begun. .
Before the Battle of Bunker Hill, the relationship between the Americans and England had always been dreadful. Americans hated England for, which lead to sedition. When England decided to punish the Bostonians harshly for the Boston Tea Party, strong resentment towards the British developed. The Intolerable Acts had not forced the Americans to submission, but instead it built up rebellious anti-British feelings among the colonists. These feelings resulted in determined unification among the thirteen colonies.
The Battle of Lexington had left the British outraged and surprised that they had lost to a bunch of untrained Yankees. The British, wanting to strengthen their powers and position in Boston, decided to make plans to capture the Dorchester Heights and Charlestown Peninsulas.
