Home > Siege of Boston

The siege started on the night after the Battle of Lexington and Concord as American forces followed the British back to Boston, and occupied the neck of land extending to the peninsula the city stood on.

At first, General Artemas Ward, as the head of the Massachusetts militia, had the oversight of the siege. He set up his headquarters at Cambridge and positioned his forces at Charlestown Neck, Roxbury, and the Dorchester Heights. Initially, the 6,000 to 8,000 rebels faced some 4,000 British regulars under General Thomas Gage and had them bottled up in the city.

In traditional terms, the British were not besieged since the Royal Navy controlled the harbor, and supplies did come in by ship. Nevertheless, the town and the army were on short rations. Salt pork was the order of the day, and prices escalated rapidly. Another factor was that the American forces generally had information about what was happening in the city, while General Gage had no effective intelligence of rebel activities.

On May 25, Gage received about 4,500 reinforcements and three new Generals, Major General HoweSir William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe ( August 10, 1729- July 12, 1814) was a British General who was Commander-in-Chief of British forces during the American Revolutionary War. William was born in England, the third son of Emmanuel Howe, 2nd Viscount Howe and Brigadiers BurgoyneJohn Burgoyne ( February 24, 1723 August 4, 1792) was a British general during the American Revolutionary War. On October 17, 1777 at Saratoga he surrendered his army of 6,000 men. Biography Burgoyne entered the army at an early age. In 1743 he made a run and ClintonGeneral Sir Henry Clinton K. 1732 1795) was a British officer during the American War of Independence. He was born in Newfoundland, Canada where his father George Clinton served Governor, and he grew up in New York when his father served as Royal Governor. He began plans to break out of the city.

On June 15June 15 is the 166th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (167th in leap years), with 199 days remaining. Events 763 BC Assyrians record a solar eclipse that will be used to fix the chronology of Mesopotamian history. 923 Battle of Soissons: King Rob the Committee of Safety learned of his plans to attack at Dorchester Heights and the Base of the Charlestown PeninsulaBoston neighborhoods Charlestown is now a neighborhood in the city of Boston which annexed it in 1874. Charlestown was founded in 1628 and was the first capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Charlestown is located northeast of Boston proper on a penins. They sent word to General Ward to fortify Bunker Hill and the heights; he assigned Colonel William PrescottWilliam Prescott ( 1726- 1795) was an American Colonel in the Revolutionary War who commanded the rebel forces in the Battle of Bunker Hill. He was born at Groton, Massachusetts on February 20, 1726 to Benjamin Prescott (1696-1738) and Abigail Oliver Pres the Bunker Hill task. On June 17June 17 is the 168th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (169th in leap years), with 197 days remaining. Events 1497 Battle of Deptford Bridge Forces under King Henry VII soundly defeat troops led by Michael An Gof. 1565 Matsunaga Hisahide assasinat, British forces under General Howe seized the Charlestown peninsula at the Battle of Bunker Hill. They did take their objective, but didn't break out because the Americans held the ground at the base of the peninsula. British losses were so heavy that there were no more direct attacks on American forces. From this point, the siege essentially became a stalemate.

On July 3July 3rd is the 184th day of the year (185th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 181 days remaining. Events 323 Battle of Adrianople Constantine the Great defeats Licinius, who flees to Byzantium 533 Battle of the Tenth Milestone: Byzantine gen, George Washington arrived to take charge of the new Continental Army. Forces and supplies came in from as far away as Maryland. Trenches were built at the Dorchester Neck, and extended toward Boston. Washington reoccupied Bunker Hill and Breeds Hill without opposition. However, these activities had little effect on the British occupation.

Then, in the winter of 1775- 1776, Henry Knox and his engineers used sledges to retrieve the heavy cannons that had been captured at Fort Ticonderoga. Bringing them across the frozen Connecticut River, they arrived back at Boston in March. Now the British fleet ceased to be an asset, being anchored in a shallow harbor with limited maneuverability, and under the American guns on Dorchester Heights - which General Thomas had fortified. The siege was over when the British set sail for Halifax on March 17, 1776. The militia went home, and in April Washington took most of the Continental Army forces to fortify New York City.