The first leisure day after my arrival here, I went to Bunker's Hill,
attended by two persons, who were spectators of the engagement, and were
kind enough to point out and explain a number of particulars I wished to
be acquainted with, for the purpose of enabling me to form a tolerable
idea of this famous action. If general Howe meant only to give the
_Yankies_ a specimen of british valour, and his contempt of them and their
intrenchment, he succeeded in both.--His enemies on this side the water
say, "they gave him a _Rowland_ for his _Oliver_; _that_ he paid _too
dear_ for this victory; _that_ a more prudent general would have found a
better place to land the troops, and a safer mode of attack; _that_ the
_price_ he paid for this little redoubt ought to have convinced him, he
could not afford even to _bid_ for Dorchester heights, if once the
Americans got possession of those hills; _that_ he should therefore have
fortified them _himself_; _that_----" But as nothing is easier than to
see all these _thats_ when it is _too late_, I shall plague you with no
more of them, but conclude with an inscription from a monument on the
scene of action.
Yours, &c.
"ERECTED, 1794,
By King Solomon's Lodge of Free Masons,
[Footnote: General Warren was a brother.]
constituted at Charlestown, 1783,
In Memory of
MAJOR GENERAL JOSEPH WARREN,
AND HIS BRAVE ASSOCIATES,
Who were slain on this memorable spot,
June 17th, 1775.
None but they, who set a just value on the
blessings of LIBERTY, are worthy to enjoy
her.
In vain we toil'd, in vain we fought,
We bled in vain, if you, our offspring,
Want valour to repel the assaults of her
invaders."
CHARLES TOWN settled 1628.
------------ burnt 1775.
------------ rebuilt 1776.
_P. S._ I was yesterday introduced to Cox, the celebrated
bridge-architect: he is famous for throwing a bridge over waters, where,
from the _depth_ or _strength_ of the current, this operation was thought
impracticable. He always constructs his bridges of wood, and endeavours to
give as little resistance to the water as possible: his supporters are
numerous, but slender; and there is an interval between each. He tells me
this idea first struck him from reading Aesop's fable of the Reed and the
Oak: the reed, by _yielding_, was unhurt by a tempest, which tore up the
sturdy oak by the roots.
Cox served his apprenticeship to a carpenter; and it was late in life
before he attempted bridge-building. He proved his new theory on a
small bridge in the country, which answering beyond his most sanguine
expectations, he delivered proposals for connecting Boston to the
continent, at Charleston, by means of a draw-bridge. His plan was by some
supposed to proceed from a _distempered brain_. It is usual for the
_ignorant_ to call a projector _insane_, when his schemes exceed
the bounds of _their shallow comprehensions_.
After some time, a subscription was raised; and, to the confusion of his
enemies, he erected a bridge 1500 feet long, by 42 wide, where there was,
at the _lowest ebb_, 28 feet of water, and the flow of the tide was
from 12 to 16 feet _more_. But what is the most surprising, this
bridge has stood the shock of prodigious bodies of ice, sometimes three or
four feet in thickness; which are, every thaw violently forced against it
with a powerful current. He was rewarded with the sum of two hundred
dollars above his contract. He then went to Ireland, where he built seven
bridges; the largest was at Londonderry, 1860 feet long, by 40 wide; the
depth of water 37 feet, and the flow of the tide from 14 to 18 feet more.
He compleated this bridge so much to the satisfaction of the gentlemen who
employed him, that he was presented with a gold medal and one hundred
pounds above his contract.
He speaks feelingly, and with gratitude, of the many favours he received
during his residence in that kingdom.
Farewell, yours, &c.
* * * * *
_Boston, October 9th, 1796._