The
Bunker Hill Monument was built to commemorate the
Battle of Bunker
Hill
. The 221 foot (67 m) granite obelisk was
erected between 1827 and 1843 in Charlestown,
Massachusetts
with granite from Quincy, Massachusetts
, conveyed to the site via the Granite Railway
, built specially for that purpose, followed by a
trip by barge. There are 294 steps to the top.
The Bunker
Hill Monument is not on Bunker Hill but instead on Breed's Hill
, where most of the fighting in the misnamed
Battle of Bunker
Hill actually took place. The Monument
Association, which had purchased the battlefield site, was forced
to sell off all but the hill's summit in order to complete the
monument.
The monument, one of the first in the United States, was erected to
commemorate the Battle of Bunker Hill, the first major conflict
between British and Patriot forces in the
Revolutionary War, fought there June 17,
1775. The first monument at the site was created in memory of Mason
and fallen Bunker Hill hero Dr.
Joseph
Warren in 1794 by
King Solomon's Lodge
of Masons and was initially an 18 foot (5.5 m) wooden pillar
topped with a gilt urn. In front of the obelisk is a statue of Col.
William Prescott, a native of
Groton, another hero of Bunker Hill. During the battle, according
to popular stories, he coined the famous Revolutionary War phrase,
"Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes". However, it is
uncertain as to who said it, since various writers attribute it to
Putnam, Stark, Prescott or Gridley.
Doubts have also been
expressed as to how original it was, and whether it was said at
all.
An exhibit lodge built adjacent to the monument in the late 19th
century houses a statue of Warren and a diorama of the battle.
Bunker
Hill is one of the sites along the Freedom Trail
and is part of Boston National
Historical Park
.
The monument site reopened on
April 2,
2007, after completion of a $3.7 million
renovation that included repairs, handicap accessibility
improvements, and new lighting for the Bunker Hill Monument that
was switched on for the first time on
April
20, 2007. The
Bunker Hill Museum, across the
street from the Monument, was dedicated on
June
17, 2007, and includes many exhibits about the battle. No
admission charge applies to this attraction.
Construction of the monument
19th century lodge built near the base
of the monument
1815 Masonic display in the base of
the monument
William Ticknor, a well-known Boston
lawyer and antiquarian, first suggested the memorial and an
interested group of men met for breakfast at the home of Colonel
Thomas Handasyd Perkins.
Among them were
William
Tudor,
Daniel Webster, Professor
George Ticknor, Doctor John C.
Warren, William Sullivan, and George Blake. On
May 10 1823, the first public
meeting was called. Each member subscribed five dollars, and on
June 7 1823, the Bunker
Hill Monument Association was established and the work of raising
money was begun. Famed nineteenth-century philanthropist
Amos Lawrence contributed $10,000 to fund the
building.
In the spring of 1825 the directors had purchased about 15 acres
(61,000 m²) on the slope of Breed's Hill, but had not yet chosen a
design. The first design committee consisted of
Daniel Webster, noted engineer
Loammi Baldwin, Jr.,
George Ticknor,
Gilbert Stuart, and
Washington Allston. One hundred dollars
was offered for the best design; about 50 plans were presented in
response. Choice was soon narrowed to two (a column and an obelisk)
and a new committee was appointed to procure designs and estimate
expenses for each. At the next meeting the majority voted that the
obelisk designed by
Solomon Willard
be used. The directors laid the corner-stone on
June 17,
1825. The
Marquis de Lafayette (
who
was on a 14-month tour of the United States on the 50th anniversary
of the War) performed the ceremony,
Daniel Webster delivered the oration, and the
Grand Master of the
Grand Lodge of
Massachusetts, Ancient
Free and Accepted
Masons, conducted the services. Rev. Joseph Thaxter, who was
wounded in the battle, officiated as chaplain at the ceremony,
offering a prayer in thanks for the colonists' victory.
Perhaps surprisingly, a railroad was created to carry granite to
the monument for its construction.
Work proceeded somewhat slowly at first,
but the Granite
Railway was completed in short order and became operational
on October 7, 1826, as
the first commercial railroad in the United States functioning as a
common carrier.
Construction was frequently halted as available funds were
depleted. To bring the project to completion the Monument
Association in 1838 began to sell off the of the battlefield as
house lots, eventually preserving only the summit of Breed's Hill
as the monument grounds. Neighbors disgruntled with the
construction eyesore were rumored to have plans to raise money to
tear down the partially completed monument.
Sarah Josepha Hale and the readers of her
magazine supplied funds essential to the monument's successful
completion. The capstone was laid on July 23, 1842 with the
monument being dedicated on
June 17 of the
following year, again with a Daniel Webster oration.
The Bunker
Hill Monument Association maintained the monument and grounds until
1919 when it was turned over to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
. In 1976 the monument was transferred to the
National Park Service and
became a unit of Boston National Historical Park.
Details of Construction
The blocks of granite for the monument average two cubic yards each
and were quarried by wedging, and delivered to the site of the
monument at an actual cost of $5.40 per cubic yard, from a quarry
opened for the purpose. The average contract offers for the same
were $24.30.
Image gallery
Image:Bunker_Hill.jpg|Bunker Hill
MonumentImage:BunkerHill.jpg|Bunker Hill
MonumentImage:bunkhillmon.jpg|Bunker Hill Lodge
See also
References
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