by Howard Fast
Richard Gridley was promoted to major general, called upon again and again for problems of engineering. He was with the army through the war.
Artemus Ward is little remembered. After the battle at Breed’s Hill, he was removed from his command. He had a curious background, the son of a man who became wealthy in the slave trade (not at all uncommon among New Englanders) and a man old and sick in his middle years. Along with Samuel Adams, he was a radical leader in Boston. He bore much of the blame for the tragedy at Breed’s Hill.
Joshua Loring had the distinction of becoming the most hated and vilified man in the British forces. His corruption defies description. When the British decided to evacuate Boston and make their base in New York, he asked for and received the privilege of auctioning the valuables taken from American homes. He was put in command of the notorious Brison prison ships in New York harbor, and it is said that he was responsible for more American deaths in his prison ships than were killed in battle. At the end of the war, he went to England, where he disappeared from history.
Loring’s wife, Elizabeth Loring, stayed with Gen. William Howe until he was recalled to England, and then went with him as his mistress. We are told that Howe never flagged in his adoration of her. Howe was so utterly absorbed by his affair with Elizabeth Loring that he became indifferent to the pursuit of the war. By the spring of 1778, his affair had become an international disgrace and he was recalled to England, to be replaced by Sir Henry Clinton. It was said that he never fully recovered from the slaughter of his grenadiers on Breed’s Hill.
Gen. Thomas Gage was recalled to London after the battle. It was said that without his insensitivity and intransigence, the war might have been avoided. He was held responsible for the raid on Concord and the battle on Breed’s Hill.
General Burgoyne—Gentleman Johnny—was trapped by General Gates at Saratoga in 1777 and surrendered his army of fifty-seven hundred men to the Americans. He decidedly revised his opinion of the military qualities of the Yankees.
Dr. Benjamin Church was tried for treason before the Massachusetts general court. He was found guilty of treason and sent to jail. Attempts were made to break into the jail and lynch him. Eventually, he was exiled to the West Indies. The schooner which carried him in that direction went down in a storm. So ended his life and his career.
Dr. Joseph Warren’s body was found by a British burial party the day after the battle. He was buried in an unmarked grave.
Papers found in the redoubt by the British incriminated John Lovell, who had brought the information about the battle to Prescott. He was jailed by the British. Eventually, he was exchanged for a British prisoner. The influence of his father, one of the most important Tories, saved him from hanging.
All of these events occurred even as the Continental Congress formally and legally created an American army, appointing George Washington as its commander in chief. But this battle at Breed’s Hill and Bunker Hill took place before the news came to Boston.
As for the British occupation of Boston, after a halfhearted attempt to break the American encirclement with the badly battered remaining British troops, both General Gage and General Howe concluded that the Americans were serious in their uprising, that a vastly larger force was required, and that the central embarkation point should be New York rather than Boston. In March 1776, the British fleet sailed out of the Boston Harbor. Four months later, the British had assembled in New York harbor an army of more than thirty thousand men and the largest congregation of British warships ever brought together.
Reading gRoup guide
1. Despite receiving a warm welcome and respect from the rebel forces, Dr. Feversham feels like an outsider among the colonists due to his religious and medical beliefs. Have you ever felt detached at a certain level from other members of a group to which you belong? How do members of a group negotiate their differences with the things they have in common?
2. Multiple British officers yield to sexual temptation and pursue adulterous relationships in Boston. In the surrounding colonists’ camps, however, there is almost no mention of sexuality whatsoever. What are some of the characteristics of both the British officers and the colonists that might lead to such contrasting behavior?
3. As the British officers plan how to attack the colonists, Clinton observes that the British could simply surround the colonists on Breed’s Hill and force them to starve to death. Burgoyne and Howe respond that such a tactic is unacceptable—the British must attack the colonists face-to-face to preserve their reputation as the greatest army in the world. Do you believe that certain tactics are unacceptable even in war? Is preserving one’s reputation a legitimate reason for not engaging these practices?
4. In the story of his dishonorable discharge, do you think that Dr. Feversham’s duty as a physician was more important than his duty to follow orders during war? Can you think of a time when you had to prioritize conflicting duties? How did you decide what to do?
1. Mrs. Loring and Prudence Hallsbury treat war as a form of entertainment as they watch the battle unfold from afar. Should the British officers offer a more realistic perspective on the atrocities of war, or do you support their censorship of the ugly realities for the women’s sake?
2. Much is made of the difference in discipline between the colonists and the British soldiers. The colonists flee from their camps or from combat on a whim, while the British grenadiers follow orders despite certain death. Is it fair to compare the volunteer colonist fighters to the professionally trained British soldiers? Which group faces greater challenges? Do you condone either of these disciplinary extremes, or is there some middle ground that would be preferable?
3. Prescott, Dr. Feversham, and Gridley call Artemus Ward stubborn, foolish, and cowardly for refusing to send any of his men to help at Breed’s Hill. Do you have any sympathy for Artemus Ward, or do you side with the combatants?
4. The British destruction of Charlestown was an unnecessary act that roused greater passion and anger in the colonists, which ultimately helped them hold off the British. What other seemingly unnecessary acts of violence have occurred throughout history that caused people to rally around a cause? Could these events ever be viewed in a positive light?
5. Clinton and Burgoyne declare the battle at Bunker Hill a British victory, but Dr. Feversham writes that there was no victor. With whom do you agree?