The Battle of Bunker's Hill (June 17, 1775)

The soldier highlighted as a martyr here is Joseph Warren, president of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress. Warren died on the heights across the river from Boston as the American troops he fought with repulsed two British attacks, before their ammunition ran low and their lines were broken. Trumbull, who served in the colonial army, watched the losing battle through field glasses from nearby Roxbury. After independence had been secured, he immortalized the event in a painting (Yale University Art Gallery) that celebrates American heroism and British generosity toward a fallen opponent. This 1798 print helped to popularize Trumbull’s elevated conception.