This June, the City of Boston Archaeology Program conducted an archaeological investigation at the site of the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown to investigate one of the first, major, and bloodiest battles of the American Revolution.
Working in collaboration with the Northeast Archeological Resources Program, American Veterans Archaeological Recovery, Bob Chartrand from Chartrand Geoarchaeological Solutions, LLC, Joel Bohy, the Legacy Fund for Boston, the Charlestown Impact Fund, Friends of Boston Archaeology, the National Parks of Boston, and the Boston National Historical Park, archaeologists conducted excavations on the monument's southwest and northwest quadrants as part of an ongoing attempt to better understand the Battle of Bunker Hill and the people whose lives were changed by it.
This year marks the 251st anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill.
Following the Battles of Lexington and Concord, approximately 1,200 colonial militiamen worked through the night of June 16, 1775, constructing a hastily-built earthen fortification, known as a redoubt, across the Charles River from Boston proper.
Although the Americans were forced to retreat in the end,, the battle proved that these colonial townsfolk, including farmers, blacksmiths, hatmakers, and candlemakers, could stand against one of the world's most powerful armies.
This excavation is part of a larger initiative to bring new information about both the battle and Charlestown's residents to the public.
Better quality ground-penetrating radar results, paired with the larger 250th anniversary of the nation, have presented an opportunity to reexamine this historical landscape and test lore and theories about the battlefield.
Charlestown's Fire Claims
Last fall, the archaeology team completed the transcription of all 586 surviving fire claims submitted by Charlestown residents after the town was burned during the Battle of Bunker Hill.
These records document the homes, businesses, and personal belongings lost in the fire.
The collection includes stories of free Black residents, artisans, tavern keepers, and ordinary families whose lives were altered by the events of June 17, 1775.
Despite decades of petitions, Charlestown's residents were never compensated for their losses.
The Redoubt
This season, archaeologists excavated two trenches in search of physical evidence of the redoubt.
In June 1775, American soldiers dug a ditch and piled the excavated soil inside to create earthen walls roughly six feet high that would serve as high ground against the advancing British army.
Using ground-penetrating radar to guide our excavation’s locations, the team identified part of the defensive ditch, approximately three feet deep and six feet wide.
The evidence suggests the western side of the redoubt may have projected or angled outward, potentially matching a map created shortly after the battle by Henry Pelham, which shows a roughly 150-foot-square fort with angled extensions.
Material Culture
The excavation recovered evidence from both the battle itself and the nine-month British occupation of the fort that followed.
Among the discoveries were seven musket balls and three gunflints.
Analysis of the musket balls shows that both Provincial and British ammunition is represented in the finds.
Additionally, one of the musket balls exhibits both a ram rod strike as well as compression banding.
The team also uncovered other artifacts likely associated with the British occupation of the site after the battle, including tea wares, tobacco pipes, wig curlers, sleeve buttons, and other personal items.
These finds remind us that even after the fighting ended, British soldiers lived within the fortifications for months between June 17, 1775 and Evacuation Day on March 17, 1776.
Throughout the excavation, a forensic osteologist remained on site in the event that human remains were encountered.
Although no remains were discovered, archaeology reminds us that battles are about more than just troop movements and maps; they are stories of real people whose lives were changed by war and conflict.
Breed's Hill or Bunker's Hill?
One of the questions we hear most often is whether the battle actually took place on Breed's Hill or Bunker's Hill.
The answer is both.
While today the two hills are referred to separately, people living in Charlestown in 1775 generally referred to the entire area as “Bunker's Hill.” Contemporary documents, including a fire claim submitted by Samuel Swan, who owned the pasture where much of the battle occurred, use this name.
The term “Breed's Hill” does not appear in deeds until around 1790, making the name “the Battle of Bunker Hill” historically accurate.
What now?
Although fieldwork has concluded, the archaeology is far from over.
All of the artifacts recovered this season are now being washed, identified, catalogued, and analyzed in the team's laboratory in West Roxbury before being curated for future research.
The results of this work will be documented in a written report to help guide future archaeological investigations and for interpretation of the site by researchers, historians, interpreters, etc.
This article was prepared by Lauryn Sharp, Project Archaeologist.