The enthusiasm of the
moment must be turned to good account. The men were all unused to
living in camps, and were peculiarly exposed to camp diseases and camp
vices. Discipline had not yet counteracted the demoralizing tendencies
of army life. The different divisions of the army were ranged under
favorite local leaders, and while there was some show of order there
was little or no concert of action. It was now the middle of June. Two
months had elapsed since Lord Percy was driven back into Boston. All
means to lure General Gage from the town had failed, and an aggressive
movement was devised. It was resolved to take a new position
threatening the town and the shipping in the port. The place selected
was the highland on the Charlestown peninsula known as Bunker Hill,
and the time fixed upon for the enterprise the night of June 16th.
33. Eight hundred men armed with shovels and picks assembled at six
o'clock. The movement was known to be a perilous one, and every man
felt that he took his life in his hand. President Langdon, of Harvard
College, offered prayer with the ancient Puritan fervor. Colonel
Prescott took command of the military operations and Colonel Gridley
conducted the engineering. In early evening they set out. The march
was in profound silence. With suppressed breathing and stealthy tread
they made their way--an army of ghosts entering the land of shadows.
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