After Bunker Hill

About nine months after the Battle of Bunker Hill, British military forces were finally persuaded to leave Boston by the installation of cannons on Dorchester Heights in what is now South Boston. Thus ended the Siege of Boston and years of British occupation.

But what happened in those months between Bunker Hill and the evacuation? Read on to find out!

Raids on Boston Light

When: July 20 & 31, 1775
Where: Little Brewster Island, located in Boston Harbor, 9 miles east of Boston
Casualties: Patriots, 2 killed; British, 43 killed or captured
Result: Patriot victory

The lighthouse on Little Brewster Island was occupied by the British beginning in 1774. After the Battle of Bunker Hill, Patriot forces determined that the lighthouse should be darkened so it could not be used to aid British navigation.

On July 20, a group of Patriots went to the island in whaleboats and burned the wooden parts of the lighthouse. They made a successful escape back to the mainland.

The British started repairing the lighthouse and put it under heavy guard. On July 31, 300 men in whaleboats went to the island to destroy the repairs and killed or captured all the British guards. A British ship was destroyed during a brief engagement that followed the raid. The lighthouse was badly damaged and required months of repairs before it could be used again.

Skirmishes at Gloucester

When: August 5-9, 1775
Where: Cape Ann, Ipswich Bay and Gloucester
Casualties: Patriots, 2 killed and 1 wounded; British, 1 killed, 4 wounded, 24 captured
Result: Patriot victory

On August 5, British Captain John Linzee sent 50 men ashore in West Gloucester to take sheep from a farm. The owner of the farm and several other men fired on the British from behind the dunes on the beach, and they were forced to retreat.

A few days later on August 8 or 9, Linzee attacked two schooners on their way to Salem. He captured one while the other was able to go to Gloucester Harbor and grounded itself there. The local militia fired on Linzee's ship until he finally retreated without the schooners.

Partly out of revenge for what happened in Gloucester, the British would later attack more communities on the coast of New England.

Siege of Ploughed Hill

When: August-September 1775
Where: Ploughed Hill in Charlestown, now Mount Benedict in Somerville
Casualties: Patriots, 4 killed; British, unknown
Result: Patriot victory

Because it was close to Bunker Hill, George Washington ordered Ploughed Hill to be fortified. About 3400 men built fortifications on the hill on the night of August 26.

The next day, British forces on Bunker Hill and in the Mystic River shot cannons at the fortifications for most of the day. Due to a low supply of ammunition, the Patriots fired only one shot with cannon. Their shot sunk a British ship in the river, and the other one stopped firing.

The British fired their cannons at Ploughed Hill regularly until September 10. The Patriots were able to keep control of the hill throughout the siege.

Burning of Falmouth

When: October 18, 1775
Where: Falmouth in York County, Massachusetts, now Portland, Maine
Casualties: Unknown
Result: British victory

Because of raids on British ships along the coast of New England, British Captain Henry Mowat was ordered to destroy any coastal towns that were in rebellion. Because he was briefly captured there earlier in the war, Mowat chose to attack Falmouth.

Mowat arrived with six ships on October 18. He sent notice that he was there to "execute a just punishment" and gave the townspeople two hours to evacuate. He also told them that he would spare them if they swore allegiance to the king and surrendered their weapons and ammunition. The people evacuated the town instead.

Incendiary cannonballs were fired from the ships, and a landing party set fire to any buildings that were not already on fire. The attack lasted for most of the day.

Over 400 buildings were destroyed, leaving over 1,000 people homeless. Falmouth was not able to fully rebuild until after the war ended. The incident was also used to gather more support for the Patriot cause, and was seen as an absurd and barbaric act in Massachusetts and elsewhere.

Learn More

Boston Light

• Throwback Thursday: The Battles Over Boston Light - From Boston Magazine
• Battle of Brewster Island - From History.com
• The Enduring Boston Light - From the Boston Globe

Gloucester

• Captain Linzee's report of the action in Gloucester - From volume 2 of The Linzee Family of Great Britain (1917)
• Description of Gloucester Skirmish - From volume 1 of A Naval History of the American Revolution (1913)
• Description of Action in Gloucester Harbor - From History of the Town of Gloucester, Cape Ann (1860)

Ploughed Hill

• History of the Siege of Boston... - By Richard Frothingham (1849)
• From George Washington to Richard Henry Lee, 29 August 1775 - Letter describing action on hill, via the National Archives
• The Story of Somerville- Revolutionary Fortifications - By M.A. Haley (1903)

Falmouth

• The burning of Falmouth (now Portland, Maine), by Capt. Mowatt in 1775.  - By William Goold (1873)
• 1775-1820: Tension, War & Separation (page 2)  - From the Maine Historical Society
• An Early View of Mowat’s Burning of Falmouth, 1775  - From the Osher Map Library

Resources at the BPL

• American Revolution in Massachusetts, Summer & Fall 1775 - Boston Public Library Research Guide
• 1775: A Good Year for Revolution - by Kevin Phillips
• Boston Light: A Historical Perspective - by Sally R. Snowman
• The Fish and the Falcon: Gloucester's Resolute Role in America's Fight for Freedom - by Joseph E. Garland
• Falmouth Neck : as it was when destroyed by Mowett, Oct. 18, 1775 (map) - By William Willis

Interested in learning about your ancestors who served in the Revolutionary War? Check out this previously recorded class: https://tinyurl.com/yj7ass7n.