American Revolution in Massachusetts

An Exact View of the Late Battle at Charlestown, June 17th, 1775

By the afternoon of June 17th, more than 3,000 British soldiers had been gathered and were prepared to march on Breed’s Hill. Charlestown was burned to the ground in an effort to halt the constant sniper fire coming from the village. The first shot of the battle, supposedly fired in error by John Simpson of New Hampshire, came when the British were still too far away for their barrage to inflict any damage on the Colonists.

Colonial forces held off two assaults before they ran out of ammunition and were forced to fight hand-to-hand before retreating over Bunker's Hill during the third assault, thus allowing the British to take control of Charlestown peninsula.

Casualties
Colonists: 115 killed, 305 wounded, 30 captured
British: 216 killed, 828 wounded

Result
British victory