Issue Date: September 9, 1959
City: Los Angeles, California
Quantity: Unknown
Printed by: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method: Rotary Press
Perforations: 10 Vertically
Color: Gray blue
U.S. #1056 Stamp features one of the first major battles of the Revolutionary War – the Battle of Bunker Hill. A 221-foot monument rises above the battlefield – the first major engagement between British and Colonial forces.
The first monument to the battle was an 18-foot-tall wooden pillar with an urn. It was built in 1794 by King Solomon’s Lodge of Masons in honor of Dr. Joseph Warren, a prominent Colonial figure slain in the battle. The current monument was built in 1842.
Battle of Bunker Hill Fought on Breed’s Hill
This historic battle is actually misnamed. The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought between British forces under General William Howe and New England militiamen under General Israel Putnam and Colonel William Prescott on June 17, 1775. When the Americans received intelligence that the British intended to capture certain strategic heights outside Boston, General Artemus Ward ordered the fortification of Bunker Hill. Inexplicably, the forces under his command took position on nearby Breed’s Hill. After several hours of bloody fighting the Americans were dislodged. But the British paid a high price: 228 were dead and 826 were wounded – 42 percent of their total strength.