Revolutionary War Grapeshot, dug many years ago at Battle of Bunker Hill (ON HOLD,DC)

This is another nice early piece coming out of a 60-year collection of French & Indian War, Revolutionary War, and War of 1812 artifacts. Being offered is a Revolutionary War grapeshot. The iron ball measures 1.10” and has “75” and “BH” – this stands for 1775, Bunker Hill.

On June 13, 1775, the leaders of the colonial forces besieging Boston learned that the British were planning to send troops out from the city to fortify the unoccupied hills surrounding the city, which would give them control of Boston Harbor. In response, 1,200 colonial troops under the command of William Prescott stealthily occupied Bunker Hill and Breed's Hill. They constructed a strong redoubt on Breed's Hill overnight, as well as smaller fortified lines across the Charlestown Peninsula.

By daybreak of June 17, the British became aware of the presence of colonial forces on the Peninsula and mounted an attack against them. The Americans repulsed two British assaults, with significant British casualties; the British captured the redoubt on their third assault, after the defenders ran out of ammunition. The colonists retreated over Bunker Hill, leaving the British in control of the Peninsula.

The battle was a tactical victory for the British, but it proved to be a sobering experience for them; they incurred many more casualties than the Americans had sustained, including many officers. The battle had demonstrated that inexperienced militia were able to stand up to regular army troops in battle. Subsequently, the battle discouraged the British from any further frontal attacks against well defended front lines. American casualties were much fewer, although their losses included General Joseph Warren and Major Andrew McClary, the final casualty of the battle.

This ball would be part of a “Stand of Grape”, which when fired was like a shotgun blast. I show an example of a complete stand of grape (see pictures). This collection began in the late 1950s and was created by private acquisitions, closed museums, diggers, and  lake divers. The collector meticulously displayed and cataloged every piece along with its provenance. His markings were crude at the time, but now they have proved to be very important.

This is the first time this item has been on the open market, and it is truly a nice piece of early American History. Any piece from Bunker Hill has always been very desirable and hard to find. As with all the pieces in this esteemed collection, a Certificate of Authenticity will be included. It comes in the acrylic display case pictured.