(lively music) - [Narrator] How did American soldiers prove they could challenge the British Army despite taking a loss?

On June 17th, 1775, a group of ragtag militiamen defended Breed's Hill for over two hours from General William Howe and his Majesty's troops.

Allegedly cautioning his men, "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes," William Prescott and over 2,200 Patriots withstood hillside assault after assault until they ran out of gunpowder and resorted to using muskets and rocks as blunt weapons.

After a violent hand-to-hand combat, the British secured Breed's Hill.

Although Breed's Hill, remembered today as the Battle of Bunker Hill, was a British victory, the Americans sustained less than half the casualties as the British.

The battle diminished the King's forces, which eventually led to the evacuation of Boston.