Massachusetts commemorates 250 years since the Battle of Bunker Hill

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TONIGHT. WITHOUT JUNE 17TH, THERE WOULD BE NO JULY 4TH. SOME OF THE SEEDS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION PLANTED IN CHARLESTOWN. THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL TAKING PLACE 250 YEARS AGO TODAY. THIS. THERE WAS NO TURNING BACK AFTER THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. THIS WAS REALLY THE DAY THAT THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION KICKED OFF. THE BATTLE CLAIMED 1500 LIVES. AND ALTHOUGH THE BRITISH ULTIMATELY PREVAILED, THE EVENT IS SAID TO HAVE UNIFIED THE 13 COLONIES THEN DEPLOYED ALONG THE STREAM BANK. AND THEY FOUND WHERE THEY DROPPED MUSKET BALLS. PARK RANGERS. AMONG THOSE WHO EDUCATE AND BRING THE BATTLE TO LIFE FOR GENERATIONS. WHAT I’M DOING RIGHT NOW IS I’M EATING A VARIETY OF FOODS THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN AVAILABLE TO SOLDIERS WHO WERE IN THE ARMY IN MASSACHUSETTS IN 1775. SO I HAVE SOME BREAD, I HAVE SOME CHEESE, I HAVE SOME CURED. WHAT WE WOULD CALL BACON TODAY, BUT SOME CURED MEATS AND A HUNK OF BUTTER THAT IS SLOWLY STARTING TO MELT. I AM DESCENDED FROM LIEUTENANT JOHN WHEELER, NEW HAMPSHIRE REPRESENTATIVE STEPHEN PEARSON IS ONE OF 40 DESCENDANTS HONORING THEIR ANCESTORS IN TODAY’S COMMEMORATION. THIS THIS NOW BEING A PERSONAL CONNECTION TO MY BLOODLINE IS HUGE, RIGHT? SO IT MAKES ALL THIS HISTORY REAL AND PERSONAL. BUNKER HILL IS REALLY THE FIRST MAJOR ACT OF WARFARE THAT BEGAN THIS ENTIRE THING. AND WHILE THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE BUNKER HILL BATTLE IS JUNE 17TH, THE COMMEMORATION WILL CONTINUE THIS WEEKEND WITH A REENACTMENT IN GLOUCESTER IN BUN

Updated: 6:01 PM EDT Jun 17, 2025

Editorial Standards ⓘ

Massachusetts commemorates 250 years since the Battle of Bunker Hill

Updated: 6:01 PM EDT Jun 17, 2025

Editorial Standards ⓘ

Tuesday marks the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill, a key catalyst for the American Revolution.Although the British fought off the Patriots during the battle in Charlestown, this event ultimately unified the 13 colonies. “Without June 17, there would be no July 4," said Julie Hall of the Charlestown Historical Society. "There was no turning back after the Battle of Bunker Hill; this was really the day the American Revolution kicked off."To honor the battle, 40 descendants of soldiers who fought in the battle returned to its hallowed ground.New Hampshire Rep. Stephen Pearson is one of the descendants honoring their ancestors in Tuesday's commemoration. “This now being a personal connection to my bloodline is huge; it makes all this history real and personal,” Pearson said.The ceremony is just one of the events highlighting the pivotal moment in US history.Other aspects of the celebration include reenactors displaying and eating the foods that the Revolutionary soldiers would have had during battle. Soldiers ate bread, cured meat (like bacon), cheese and hunks of butter, which would have been available in 1775.

BOSTON —

Tuesday marks the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill, a key catalyst for the American Revolution.

Although the British fought off the Patriots during the battle in Charlestown, this event ultimately unified the 13 colonies.

“Without June 17, there would be no July 4," said Julie Hall of the Charlestown Historical Society. "There was no turning back after the Battle of Bunker Hill; this was really the day the American Revolution kicked off."

To honor the battle, 40 descendants of soldiers who fought in the battle returned to its hallowed ground.

New Hampshire Rep. Stephen Pearson is one of the descendants honoring their ancestors in Tuesday's commemoration.

“This now being a personal connection to my bloodline is huge; it makes all this history real and personal,” Pearson said.

The ceremony is just one of the events highlighting the pivotal moment in US history.

Other aspects of the celebration include reenactors displaying and eating the foods that the Revolutionary soldiers would have had during battle.

Soldiers ate bread, cured meat (like bacon), cheese and hunks of butter, which would have been available in 1775.

Massachusetts commemorates 250 years since the Battle of Bunker Hill

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