Today marks the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill, an early turning point in the American Revolution. Although the British ultimately won the battle, Bunker Hill was the moment when many Americans realized that the Colonies could win the war. Before he fell in the fighting, the great patriot Joseph Warren said, “These fellows say we won’t fight! By Heaven, I hope I shall die up to my knees in blood.” Warren’s spirit carried the Patriot army all the way through to freedom. Today, as the challenges America faces are greater than ever, Bunker Hill shows that victory is possible even against the strongest odds.
Hearing that the British intended to strengthen their position outside Boston, Patriot militiamen moved in the dead of the night to seize Bunker Hill. By the time the British woke up the next morning, 3,000 Americans were behind fortified trenches, threatening the British presence in Boston. The British threw everything they had at the American patriots; the disciplined redcoats advanced against untrained militiamen. But just as David defeated Goliath, the Americans held their own. Two waves of British attacks were repelled; 40 percent of the Tories who fought that day were killed or injured.
On the final assault, the Patriots, ever in short supply, ran out of ammunition. British regulars stormed the fortifications, stabbing Patriots with their bayonets. The Americans retreated, but not before inflicting grave casualties among the British troops. The Battle of Bunker Hill shattered the myth of invincibility around the British Army. Their commander-in-chief was fired for the disaster. Americans were inspired by the victory from Georgia to New Hampshire; the Colonists rejoiced, knowing that the British could be defeated after all.
Today, the challenges that face America may seem insurmountable. But mass immigration, foreign wars, the national debt, and even the radical left are simply challenges, nothing more. Now 250 years from the start of the Revolution, the time has come to reforge America in the image of our Founding Fathers. America was born through the determined work of brave men and women who faced and defeated the British Goliath. Today, if we revive the patriotism that Joseph Warren and his countrymen displayed at Bunker Hill, the New York Young Republican Club is confident that America will survive what’s next.
God bless patriotism and God bless the United States of America.