William Prescott
William Prescott commanded the American redoubt at Bunker Hill and is credited with the order not to fire until the enemy's eyes were visible. Born in Groton, Massachusetts in 1726 to a wealthy landowning family, he served as a lieutenant in the provincial forces during King George's War and at the capture of Louisbourg in 1745, and was offered a regular commission, which he declined in order to farm at Pepperell. He led the Pepperell minutemen to Concord in April 1775, arriving after the fighting, and was made a colonel in the Massachusetts forces. On the night of 16 June 1775 he was sent with about a thousand men to fortify Bunker Hill on the Charlestown peninsula. The party instead fortified Breed's Hill, closer to Boston and more exposed — whether by his decision or by a council among the officers is unclear — and dug a redoubt about forty metres square in a single night, undetected until dawn. He remained in the redoubt throughout the following day under naval bombardment, walking the parapet in full view to steady the men, which the British commander Gage is said to have observed through a glass. His men were short of powder, which is the practical basis of the famous order attributed to him and to Israel Putnam. Two British assaults were shot down at close range, and the third took the position with bayonets when the ammunition ran out. Prescott was among the last to leave, parrying bayonets with his sword. The British lost over a thousand men to take the ground. He fought at Long Island and Saratoga, and died in 1795.
- Lived: 1726 CE – 1795 CE
- Nationality: American
- Roles: colonel, soldier
