John Pitcairn, and Cuff Whittemore, a legally free man who historians say was injured in the battle but bravely 'fought to the last.' Those include Peter Salem, an enslaved man credited with killing a top British officer, Maj. Nearly 20 years ago, the National Park Service produced a report that documented the service history of soldiers of color who fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill. An 1851 history text describes the Battle of Bunker Hill as “kindling that blaze of glory which finally triumphed in the deliverance of an oppressed people, and in the foundation of a great empire.”Ī story less told - though now part of exhibit in the museum across the street - is that the 1,500 or so Patriot soldiers in the battle included about 150 people of color, including at least two dozen who were servants or slaves, or who were formerly enslaved.Īnd - like much of the history of enslavement linked to sites on the Freedom Trail - this information isn’t new.

But the British suffered devastating losses, and news of the fight ignited the colonies. The battle was a defeat for Patriot forces who ultimately retreated.