The first great battle of the Revolutionary War was fought near Boston in June 1775, on which elevated terrain?

While history remembers it as the Battle of Bunker Hill, most of the intense fighting in this early Revolutionary War clash actually took place on nearby Breed's Hill. On the night of June 16, 1775, colonial militia were ordered to fortify the taller Bunker Hill to menace the British troops occupying Boston. For reasons still debated, the commanders instead chose to build their primary earthen fort, or redoubt, on the smaller Breed's Hill, which was closer to the city and a more aggressive position.

The next day, British forces launched a frontal assault to dislodge the colonists. The determined defenders, low on ammunition, were famously ordered not to "fire until you see the whites of their eyes." They repelled two major British charges with devastating effect before their gunpowder ran out. The British finally took the hill on their third assault after the colonists had been forced to retreat.

Though the British won the ground, they suffered over 1,000 casualties, a shocking number that demonstrated the colonists' resolve. The battle was a tremendous moral victory for the Americans, proving their untrained militia could stand up to the professional British army. Because the initial objective had been Bunker Hill, and it was the more prominent landmark, the battle was ultimately named for it, forever linking the two hills in history.