ter they were well formed they advanced towards us, but they found a choakly [sic] mouthful of us. When the British forces were established at the base of the hill they proceeded to charge. The British expected to march up the hill and scare the colonists away. The British Regulars advanced with bayonets fixed; many of their muskets were not even loaded. The British troops, wearing their bright red wool jackets and weighed down by heavy equipment, marched up hill over many hidden obstacles. As the colonists saw this massive red line approach slowly and steadily, they remained calm and did not open fire. The fact they waited so long to commence an attack was that General Prescott had been assumed to give the famous order, "Don't shoot until you see the whites of their eyes." This command was given to help preserve their already low ammunition supplies, and to help keep the men from shooting out of their capable ranges. Once the British came within range, the colonists began firing, British soldiers fell quickly to the Colonial musket fire. The British forces were driven back twice, but on their third and final thrust forward, the British were able to break through the colonists' fortifications. At that time, the British had taken the hill.The colonists had run out of ammunition and supplies. They fled back up the peninsula, since it was there only escape route. This battle, which lasted for approximately three hours, was one of the deadliest of the Revolutionary War. The battle was an outstanding military victory for the Colonists, despite the fact that they had lost the hill. The British had suffered more than one thousand casualties out of the 2,300 or so who fought, while the colonists only suffered 400 to 600 casualties. Besides having fewer deaths than the British have, the colonists believe they had won in other ways as well. The Americans had proved to themselves, and the rest of the world that they could stand up to the British a...
