Breed's Hill is a glacial drumlin

Drumlin

A drumlin, from the Irish word droimnín , first recorded in 1833, is an elongated whale-shaped hill formed by glacial ice acting on underlying unconsolidated till or ground moraine.-Drumlin formation:...

 located in the Charlestown

Charlestown, Massachusetts

Charlestown is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and is located on a peninsula north of downtown Boston. Charlestown was originally a separate town and the first capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony; it became a city in 1847 and was annexed by Boston on January 5, 1874...

 section of Boston, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

. It is best known as the location where in 1775, early in the American Revolutionary War

American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

, most of the fighting in the Battle of Bunker Hill

Battle of Bunker Hill

The Battle of Bunker Hill took place on June 17, 1775, mostly on and around Breed's Hill, during the Siege of Boston early in the American Revolutionary War...

 took place. Much of the hill is presently occupied by residential construction, but the summit area is the location of the Bunker Hill Monument

Bunker Hill Monument

-External links:****: cultural context**...

 and other memorials commemorating the battle.

Geography

Breed's Hill is a glacial drumlin

Drumlin

A drumlin, from the Irish word droimnín , first recorded in 1833, is an elongated whale-shaped hill formed by glacial ice acting on underlying unconsolidated till or ground moraine.-Drumlin formation:...

 in the Charlestown

Charlestown, Massachusetts

Charlestown is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and is located on a peninsula north of downtown Boston. Charlestown was originally a separate town and the first capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony; it became a city in 1847 and was annexed by Boston on January 5, 1874...

 neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is located in the southern portion of the Charlestown Peninsula, an historically oval, but now more roughly triangular, peninsula that was originally connected to Cambridge

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...

 in colonial times by an artificial causeway. In the 18th and 19th centuries the peninsula's shape and connections to other landforms were significantly altered, with the waters of the Charles River

Charles River

The Charles River is an long river that flows in an overall northeasterly direction in eastern Massachusetts, USA. From its source in Hopkinton, the river travels through 22 cities and towns until reaching the Atlantic Ocean at Boston...

 between Cambridge and Charlestown heavily filled in.

The hill itself is about 65 feet (19.8 m) high, and is presently topped by Monument Square, site of the Bunker Hill Monument

Bunker Hill Monument

-External links:****: cultural context**...

. The hill slopes fairly steeply to the east and west. In addition to its historic sites and tourist-oriented facilities, the hill is the site of a great deal of residential property, as well as supporting municipal and retail infrastructure.

History

The Americans

Continental Army

The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...

, having caught word of a British

Kingdom of Great Britain

The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...

 plan to fortify the Charlestown peninsula

Peninsula

A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....

, decided to get to the peninsula first, fortify it, and present sufficient threat to cause the British to leave Boston. On June 16, 1775, under the leadership of General Putnam

Israel Putnam

Israel Putnam was an American army general and Freemason who fought with distinction at the Battle of Bunker Hill during the American Revolutionary War...

 and Colonel Prescott

William Prescott

William Prescott was an American colonel in the Revolutionary War who commanded the rebel forces in the Battle of Bunker Hill...

, the Americans stole out onto the Charlestown Peninsula with instructions to establish defensive positions on Bunker Hill.

A redoubt

Redoubt

A redoubt is a fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on earthworks, though others are constructed of stone or brick. It is meant to protect soldiers outside the main defensive line and can be a permanent structure or a...

, a small and usually temporary defensive fortification, was constructed on nearby Breed's Hill, probably due to its closer proximity to Boston compared to Bunker Hill. The next morning, June 17, the British were astonished to see the rebel fortifications upon the hill and set out to reclaim the peninsula. The resulting conflict was called the Battle of Bunker Hill because that is where Prescott originally intended—and was ordered—to build the fortifications. Also, some people considered Breed's Hill a part of Bunker Hill, while others called it Charlestown Hill.

In 1825 the Bunker Hill Monument Association began construction of the Bunker Hill Monument

Bunker Hill Monument

-External links:****: cultural context**...

, acquiring 15 acres (6.1 ha) of land for the purpose.