The Remarkable Cause: A Novel of James Lovell and the Crucible of the Revolution by Jean C. O'Connor

Author:Jean C. O'Connor [O'Connor, Jean C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Historical, General, Colonial America & Revolution, War & Military
ISBN: 9781682619476
Google: JV7NzQEACAAJ
Amazon: B08R23Y41X
Publisher: Knox Press
Published: 2021-02-15T18:30:00+00:00

“A Plan of the Battle, on Bunkers Hill fought on the 17th of June 1775.”

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Chapter 33

Bunker Hill

June 17, 1775

Restless thoughts kept James awake. More than once he climbed the steep stairs to the widow’s walk on their roof, where he had a good view of the town and harbor. He did not know what he was looking or listening for, but as nothing had occurred the previous evening, this was surely the night when the conflict might begin. The air was still, calm; stars sprinkled the nearly cloudless sky, and moonlight revealed the hills across the bay and the rippling sea. On Charlestown Peninsula men under the command of Colonel William Prescott, assisted by Israel Putnam’s Connecticut soldiers, dug through the night, constructing earthworks, redoubts, fortifying fence lines at the top of the hills. Who knows what role Dr. Joseph Warren will assume? James wondered. The militia depended upon this citizen general, though he had little experience in battle.

Once in a while James thought he heard the ringing of shovels on rock under the starlight, but it was difficult to say for sure. The attack might come on Breed’s Hill, the first and lower of the two hills on the peninsula facing Boston from the northwest, or on Bunker Hill, the taller. Farmers Breed and Bunker had taken their cattle and left, giving ground to the army. To the west of the high ground on the peninsula lay the town of Charlestown, also a possible target for the British advance. The three generals with their subordinates were tired of playing the waiting game; they would attack with the strength and might of the British troops and navy. Secure in superior firing pieces, soldiers, plenty of ammunition, and swift ships outfitted with cannon, the British knew they could ferry troops with barges wherever they pleased. Meanwhile, their heavy ships could pick out militia or structures by firing cannon from farther out on the water.

General Gage, General Howe, General Clinton, and General Burgoyne might not agree as to plans, but they would unite in action. William Howe, brother of Admiral Earl Howe, was the most senior of the three, so James thought it was his plan they would likely pursue. Henry Clinton, experienced in combat in the Seven Years War, had been summoned by King George to assist with the siege in Boston. Thomas Gage was Commander-in-Chief of British forces in North America, so he had the most to lose if this attack did not go well. General John Burgoyne is not in charge, so he probably will not see action in this battle. This is how their plans will likely unfold, thought James.

James could hear the watchmen’s cry of “All’s well” from the British ships. He pulled a blanket around himself and sank into an old chair on the roof. Sometime during the night, he began to doze fitfully. Towards morning the sky lightened; streaks of rose and gold brightened the horizon as the stars faded.

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