Fortification of Dorchester Heights
Fortification of Dorchester Heights | |
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Part of the Boston area 42°19′58″N 71°2′47″W / 42.33278°N 71.04639°W | |
Result | British forces evacuate Boston on March 17 |
The Fortification of Dorchester Heights was a decisive action early in the American Revolutionary War that precipitated the end of the siege of Boston and the withdrawal of British troops from that city.
On March 4, 1776, troops from the Continental Army under George Washington's command occupied Dorchester Heights, a series of low hills with a commanding view of Boston and its harbor, and mounted powerful cannons there threatening the city and the Navy ships in the harbor. General William Howe, commander of the British forces occupying Boston, planned an attack to dislodge them. However, after a snowstorm prevented its execution, Howe withdrew instead. British forces, accompanied by Loyalists who had fled to the city during the siege, evacuated the city on March 17 and sailed to Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Background
The
After
Geography and strategy
The British military leadership, headed by General
Neither the British nor the Americans had the daring to take and fortify the heights; but both armies knew of its strategic importance in the war. Washington decided the time was right to act.
Fortification
Washington first placed some of the heavy cannons from Ticonderoga at Lechmere's Point and Cobble Hill in Cambridge, and on Lamb's Dam in Roxbury.[15] As a diversion against the planned move on the Dorchester Heights, he ordered these batteries to open fire on the town on the night of March 2, which fire the British returned, without significant casualties on either side. These cannonades were repeated on the night of March 3, while preparations for the taking of the heights continued.[16]
On the night of March 4, 1776, the batteries opened fire again, but this time the fire was accompanied by action.[17] This cannonade was continued on three successive nights, and while the British were focused on this, the Americans made preparations to implement a plan devised by Rufus Putnam to break the long siege.[18][19][20]
The American objective was to get cannon onto Dorchester Heights, and fortify the position. However, the ground was frozen, so digging was impossible. Putnam, who had been a millwright, devised a plan using chandeliers (heavy timbers, 10 feet long, used as frames) and fascines. These were prefabricated out of sight of the British.[18][19][20]
General
"The rebels have done more in one night than my whole army would have done in a month."
General Howe, March 5, 1776[23]
Washington anticipated that General Howe and his troops would either flee or try to take the hill,[24] an action that would have probably been reminiscent of the Battle of Bunker Hill, which was a disaster for the British.[25] If Howe decided to launch an attack on the heights, Washington planned to launch an attack against the city from Cambridge. As part of the preparations, he readied two floating batteries and boats sufficient to carry almost 3,000 troops.[26] Washington's judgment of Howe's options was accurate; they were exactly the options Howe considered.
British reaction
Admiral Shuldham, commander of the British fleet, declared that the fleet was in danger unless the position on the heights was taken. Howe and his staff then determined to contest the occupation of the heights, and made plans for an assault, preparing to send 2,400 men under cover of darkness to attack the position.[27] Washington, notified of British movements, increased the forces on the heights until there were nearly 6,000 men on the Dorchester lines.[28] However, a snow storm began late on March 5 and halted any chance of a battle for several days.[29] By the time the storm subsided, Howe reconsidered launching an attack, reasoning that preserving the army for battle elsewhere was of higher value than attempting to hold Boston.[30]
On March 8, intermediaries delivered an unsigned paper
Legacy
The fortifications on the Heights were maintained through the end of the war, and then abandoned. During the War of 1812, the Heights were refortified and occupied against potential British invasion. Following that war, the fortifications were completely abandoned, and, in the later years of the 19th century, the Dorchester hills were used as a source of fill for Boston's expanding coastline.[34]
In 1902, following revived interest in the local history, the
The
Notes
- ^ Frothingham (1903), pp. 91–93
- ^ Palmer (2006), pp. 84–85
- ^ Palmer (2006), pp. 88–90
- ^ Ware (2000), p. 18
- ^ Ware (2000), pp. 19–24
- ^ N. Brooks (1900), p. 38
- ^ V. Brooks (1999), p. 210
- ^ Frothingham (1903), p. 292
- ^ McCullough, David G.. "Dorchester Heights." 1776. New York City, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005. 70. Print.
- ^ French (1911), p. 254
- ^ McCullough, David G.. "Dorchester Heights." 1776. New York City, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005. 71. Print.
- ^ Frothingham (1903), p. 218
- ^ Frothingham (1903), pp. 290–291
- ^ Frothingham (1903), p. 295
- ^ V. Brooks (1999), p. 224
- ^ French (1911), p. 406
- ^ a b V. Brooks (1999), p. 225
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4766-6453-8.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-670-02544-2).
- ^ a b c Livingston, William Farrand. Israel Putnam: Pioneer, Ranger and Major General, 1718–1790, pp. 269–70, G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York and London, 1901.
- ^ Gilman (1876), p. 59
- ^ V. Brooks (1999), p. 226
- ^ Frothingham (1903), p. 298
- ^ Frothingham (1903), p. 296
- ^ Frothingham (1903), p. 194. British win, but suffer over 1,000 casualties.
- ^ French (1911), p. 390
- ^ French (1911), p. 412
- ^ V. Brooks (1999), p. 229
- ^ Frothingham (1903), pp. 298–300
- ^ V. Brooks (1999), p. 231
- ^ McCullough (2005), p. 99
- ^ Frothingham (1903), pp. 303–305
- ^ Frothingham (1903), p. 311
- ^ a b c National Park Service
- ^ O'Connor, p. 124
- ^ MA List of legal holidays
References
- Brooks, Noah (1900). Henry Knox, a Soldier of the Revolution: Major-general in the Continental Army, Washington's Chief of Artillery, First Secretary of War Under the Constitution, Founder of the Society of the Cincinnati; 1750–1806. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. OCLC 77547631.
- Brooks, Victor (1999). The Boston Campaign. Conshohocken, PA: Combined Publishing. OCLC 42581510.
- French, Allen (1911). The Siege of Boston. New York: Macmillan. OCLC 3927532.
- Frothingham, Richard (1903). History of the Siege of Boston, and of the Battles of Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill: Also an Account of the Bunker Hill Monument. Boston: Little, Brown. OCLC 221368703.
- Gilman, Arthur; Dudley, Dorothy; Greely, Mary Williams (1876). Theatrum Majorum: The Cambridge of 1776. Cambridge, MA: Lockwood, Brooks. OCLC 4073105.
- McCullough, David (2005). 1776. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
- O'Connor, Thomas H. (1994). South Boston, My Home Town: The History of an Ethnic Neighborhood. Boston: UPNE. OCLC 29387180.
- Palmer, Dave Richard (2006). George Washington and Benedict Arnold: A Tale of Two Patriots. Washington, DC: Regnery Publishing. OCLC 69027634.
- Ware, Susan (2000). Forgotten Heroes: Inspiring American Portraits from Our Leading Historians. Portland, OR: Simon and Schuster. OCLC 45179918.
- "Massachusetts List of Legal Holidays". Massachusetts Secretary of State. Retrieved 2008-12-16.
- "NPS page for Dorchester Heights". National Park Service. Retrieved 2009-01-12.