Battle of Bunker Hill, this song was composed by the British, after the engagement

The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on June 17, 1775, during the British occupation of Boston. In popular folklore of the American Revolution, the Battle of Bunker Hill comes second only to the attacks on Lexington and Concord. This was the first pitched battle and had many casualties on both sides, but it also showed the British that the New England troops could fight and were valiantly brave.

This broadside is a duplicate text of The Battle of Bunker Hill, with the final line referring to the “hill call’d Bacon”—which rhymes with “taken”—changed to the “hill call’d Beacon,” which is more correct geographically. The text of both is attributed to a British author, which is likely, but not proven (Ford, Broadsides #1930-34, #2968-72). It may have originally been written by a British soldier and published as a broadside in Boston during the occupation. The diction suggests composition perhaps by an enlisted man rather than a more educated officer. The point of view is consistent throughout. The narrative mentions only one assault while American versions of the battle report that General Warren was killed in the third assault.

We have not found a period tune associated with this text. However, except for the opening line, the lyrics fit “Yankee Doodle.” In lines 57-72 the word “sir” is added to fill out the lines in meter, a technique typical of other texts set to this tune. The general tone of this ballad fits the kind of lyrics being written to that popular tune. Since it is possibly a British text, the lack of any reference to the old New England texts that spawned the later “Father and I Went Down to Camp” is not surprising (The Yankees Return from Camp).