c.1823 - BUNKER HILL MONUMENT ASSOCIATION DOCUMENT w ENGRAVING of the BATTLE

Description

c.1823 - BUNKER HILL MONUMENT ASSOCIATION DOCUMENT
This document printed in 1823 is one of the original documents printed to raise money to pay for the Bunker Hill Monument. Each member that joined the Bunker Hill Monument association would have been given one of these documents. The donors name would have been written in just below "
17th of JUNE, 1775".
There is no name on this document the space for the name is blank.
The top of the document features a scene of the battle. The bottom of the document features facsimile signatures of the founders of the Monument Association.
The document measures 11 1/2 x 14 3/4 inches.
William Ticknor
, a well-known Boston lawyer and antiquarian, first suggested the memorial. An interested group of men met for breakfast at the home of Colonel
Thomas Handasyd Perkins
, including
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 ,000 to the monument's erection.
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Bunker Hill Monument
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
U.S. Historic district
Contributing property
Bunker Hill Monument, 2009,
Charlestown, Massachusetts
Location
Boston, Massachusetts
Coordinates
42°22′34.9″N
71°3′38.8″W
Coordinates
:
42°22′34.9″N
71°3′38.8″W
Built
1825-43
Architect
Willard, Solomon
Architectural style
Obelisk
Part of
Monument Square Historic District
(
ID87001128
)
NRHP reference
No.
66000138
Significant dates
Added to NRHP
October 15, 1966
[1]
Designated NHL
January 20, 1961
[2]
Designated CP
June 2, 1987
The
Bunker Hill Monument
is a monument erected at the site of the
Battle of Bunker Hill
in
Boston
,
Massachusetts
, which was among the first major battles between British and Patriot forces in the
American Revolutionary War
. The 221-foot (67 m) granite
obelisk
was erected between 1825 and 1843 in
Charlestown, Massachusetts
, with granite from nearby
Quincy
conveyed to the site via the purpose-built
Granite Railway
, followed by a trip by barge. There are 294 steps to the top.
An exhibit lodge built near the base of the monument in the late 19th century houses a
statue
of fallen hero Dr.
Joseph Warren
. Bunker Hill is one of the sites along the
Freedom Trail
and is part of
Boston National Historical Park
.
The monument underwent a .7 million renovation, completed in 2007, that included repairs, handicap accessibility improvements, and new lighting. The
Bunker Hill Museum
across the street was dedicated in June of that year and includes many exhibits about the battle. No admission charge applies to the museum or monument.
Background
The monument was one of the first in the United States. An earlier memorial at the site had been erected in memory of fallen Bunker Hill hero Dr. Joseph Warren, a Mason, in 1794 by King Solomon's Lodge of Masons, and was initially an 18-foot (5.5 m) wooden column topped with a gilt urn. In front of the obelisk is a statue of Col.
William Prescott
, a native of Groton, Massachusetts, another hero of Bunker Hill. According to popular stories, he coined the famous Revolutionary War phrase, "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes" during the battle. However, various writers attribute it to
Israel Putnam
,
John Stark
, Prescott or
Richard Gridley
, while a few question
whether it was said at all
.
[3]
The 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.
Breed's Hill
Breed's Hill is a glacial
drumlin
located in the
Charlestown
section of
Boston
,
Massachusetts
. It is located in the southern portion of the Charlestown Peninsula, a historically oval, but now more roughly triangular, peninsula that was originally connected to
Cambridge
in colonial times by a short, narrow isthmus known as the
Charlestown Neck
. It is best known as the location where in 1775, early in the
American Revolutionary War
, most of the fighting in the
Battle of Bunker Hill
took place. In the 19th and early 20th centuries the peninsula's shape and connections to other landforms were significantly altered, with the waters of the
Charles River
between Cambridge and Charlestown heavily filled in.
[4]
Much of the hill is now occupied by residential construction, but the summit area is the location of the Bunker Hill Monument and other memorials commemorating the battle.
The hill is about 62 feet (19 m) high, and is topped by Monument Square, site of the Bunker Hill Monument. 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. It is about 700 yards (640 m) from Bunker Hill.
[5]
History
Main article:
Battle of Bunker Hill
The
Americans
, having caught word of a
British
plan to fortify the Charlestown
peninsula
, 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
and
Colonel Prescott
, the Americans stole out onto the Charlestown Peninsula with instructions to establish defensive positions on the hills overlooking Boston.
A
redoubt
, 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.
[6]
British soldiers under Howe sent 2,400 men to attack Breed's Hill. A force of 1,500 colonists held off two British Army attacks, but the third attack, by British Royal Marines, forced the rebels to retreat. 450 colonists were killed or wounded, compared to 1,150 British casualties.
In 1825, the Bunker Hill Monument Association began construction of the Bunker Hill Monument, acquiring 15 acres (6.1 ha) of land for the purpose.
[7]
Construction
[
edit
]
William Ticknor
, a well-known Boston lawyer and antiquarian, first suggested the memorial. An interested group of men met for breakfast at the home of Colonel
Thomas Handasyd Perkins
, including
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 ,000 to the monument's erection.
19th-century lodge built near the base of the monument
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 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 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 cornerstone 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, 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.
[8]
[9]
[10]
More than 100,000 attended the event, including 190 veterans who had participated in the battle.
[11]
Blocks of granite for the monument averaged two cubic yards each and were quarried by wedging. Delivered to the site of the monument at an actual cost of .40 per cubic yard from a quarry opened for the purpose far under the average contract offers for the same of .30.
[12]
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 10 acres (40,000 m
2
) 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.
[13]
[
failed verification
]
Sarah Josepha Hale
and the readers of her magazine supplied funds essential to the monument's successful completion.
[13]
[
failed verification
]
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. According to the
Boston Latin School
Association's "Points of Pride Quiz" for December 2007, BLS boys helped erect the Boston landmark.
[14]
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
. The monument was designated a
National Historic Landmark
in 1961, in part for its architectural significance as a major early war memorial, and the nation's largest-scale memorial prior to the construction of the
Washington Monument
.
[15]
It was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
in 1966, and was included in the
Monument Square Historic District
in 1987.
[1]
[16]