Bab 4: The Battle of Bunker Hill (Part 1)
"Fire!"
The muskets of the First Marine Regiment cracked in near unison as numerous Redcoats towards the front fell from the steady fire of the colonials. For every volley the colonials fired, Colonel Kim fired four shots at British officers and NCOs. Some of the militiamen in the vicinity looked at him in awe as he shot continuously towards the British lines, firing steadily and surely and downing the British leaders.
Even though he had superior weaponry that could potentially kill every British officer that he could see, he was preserving some ammunition in case the battle turned awry. While he wanted to crush the British right away, he knew that if the Redcoats turned into a disorganized mess without leadership, it could result in a free for all between the colonials and the British. And as of right now, he could hardly afford to engage in melee against the British troops. No, the Patriots needed a solid victory utilizing every militiaman, including the ones at Bunker Hill, and gain a morale boost from delivering a blow against Britain.
By now, the battle had been raging on for nearly half an hour. Casualties had been relatively light amongst the men of the First Marine Regiment so far, with only several men dying from British fire. The defenses that were prepared before the battle had paid dividends and had protected the untrained militiamen significantly. Meanwhile, Colonel Kim witnessed over a hundred British troops laying on the ground completely still or in pain. Despite the lack of training, the militiamen were decent shots and the trenches and stakes allowed them to rest their muskets and steady their aim.
After another volley, the British assault withered and the Redcoats retreated to regroup. This was the moment that Colonel Kim had been waiting for.
"Marines! Remember the plan! You have done excellently and showed the British your resolve! Now is the time to gather the wounded and retreat back to Bunker Hill to join our fellow militiamen! Together, we will march forward and defeat the British!"
The response was muted from the sound of renewed bombardment, but the men spread the word quickly amongst themselves. Within minutes, the survivors of the battle grabbed their weapons and belongings and began to "flee" towards Bunker Hill as a loose unit. The wounded were carried by some of the militiamen and a few recited a quick prayer for the fallen.
While grabbing his bag of supplies, the colonel spotted flag bearer Warren, who was still flying the flag of the Marine Regiment proudly. Colonel Kim trotted up to him and grinned, "Good to see that you are doing well, Dr. Warren. The men put up one hell of a fight."
"Yes, they did, thanks to your leadership. We lost some good lads, but we inflicted heavy casualties on the British," Warren replied, waving the flag while motioning the others to move along, "Now let's hope that our fellow allies at Bunker Hill are able to do the same."
The two of them began to retreat towards Bunker Hill with the others when the Marine officer spotted an African American man on the ground. Colonel Kim clearly remembered that the man was fighting relentlessly and unwavering during the entire battle. The man was clearly alive and was wounded with a noticeable gash on his leg, yet he was alone on the ground with the other colonials moving past him. Colonel Kim frowned at the sight and moved towards the man. Pulling out his medkit, he began to yell at the men in the vicinity, "Why are you not helping this man?"
"We're prioritizing the more important wounded, sir. He's only a Negro." A colonial stated matter of factly.
Colonel Kim's blood began to boil as he glared at the men surrounding him. He began to treat the wounded man with caution, applying rubbing alcohol to his wound and then wrapping with a gaze. Once he finished his emergency treatment, he turned to look at the militiamen under his command, "Whether if someone's white, black, brown, or purple, I do not give a damn. This man fought with you and was wounded. He did not flee upon seeing the enemy, nor did he cower during the fight. Yet you treat him differently because of his skin color. By your logic, if I were to be shot on the battlefield, you would leave me behind because I am not white."
Some of the men began to spout objections, but Colonel Kim continued as he helped the African American man up onto his feet, "We are rebels, gentlemen. We can't pick and choose who we fight with, and we sure as hell will not leave behind men that are willing to fight with us. So do not look at their skin color, but look at their spirit and bravery. If I had 1000 men like this wounded gentleman, then I will be able to take on the entire British Army with them."
As he was holding up the wounded man, the colonel nodded to the doctor and moved forward back to Bunker Hill. The other men followed, albeit a bit more reluctantly this time. Some of them looked livid at the colonel's remarks, but others looked like they were contemplating silently.
When they reached Bunker Hill, General Putnam personally greeted the return of Colonel Kim, "Colonel Kim! Good to see you alive and well! How goes the battle?"
"The British have suffered hundreds of casualties and I managed to take out at least two dozen NCOs and officers. The British have been blunted, but they were regrouping to lead another attack on Breed Hill while we left. They'll start advancing soon, general. Are the men in Charlestown ready?"
General Putnam nodded, "They are ready on your mark, colonel. I see that this Negro is wounded, does he need treatment?"
"No general. I patched him already using my medical supplies. There are a few others that are wounded as well that most likely need treatment," He asked Dr. Warren to carry the wounded man to the medical tent and ensure his well-being before turning back to the general. He pulled ou the medkit and handed it to the general, "This is a medical kit that can help the wounded avoid being diseased from their wounds and ensure they are treated properly. If there are any doctors in the vicinity that can help the wounded, please instruct them to use the rubbing alcohol in the medical kit over the wounds to cleanse them from disease and then apply the bandages and such. If they have any questions regarding the medical supplies, they can always ask me."
"Very well. Thank you, colonel," General Putnam replied, "Lad! Take this to the doctor and tell them to use the rubbing alcohol to clean the wounds of the wounded and then apply the bandages!"
A man from the Connecticut Militia took the box and ran off towards the doctors. The militia general looked towards Breed Hill, which was picking up with activity, and then gazed over the militiamen around him. "Some of the militiamen turned back after the British began to bombard Charlestown Neck, but we still have around 1,200 men with us. An additional 400 are hiding out in Charlestown, under the command of Colonel Prescott. Once the Redcoats start pushing, we will prepare ourselves in the trenches and fight accordingly."
Colonel Kim looked around to spot the men from his unit and found them towards the front of the militiamen. Despite only engaging in one battle, the men looked much more focused than before and held their muskets closely. It seemed like the skirmish with the British had instilled some sort of discipline into the men. He noticed that while the Marine Regiment was hiding in the trenches and prepping for battle, the more raw militiamen were out of the trenches and readying themselves on open ground. Shaking his head, he began to inspect the British troops coming towards him with a pair of binoculars.
From what he saw, he saw at least 2,000 British troops moving down from Breed Hill and towards Bunker Hill. From a militiaman's standpoint, the British soldiers probably looked intimidating and terrifying. Like on Breed Hill, the British bombardment was rattling the hill and to an extent, the men on the hill as well. Some of the men that were outside the trenches were killed instantly when the artillery fire struck home. As the British began to march closer and closer, he saw some of the men panic and flee, despite barking orders from General Putnam and other colonial officers.
When loud booming sounds came from the peak of Bunker Hill, Colonel Kim and the others turned to look at the source of the noise. On the hill were six artillery pieces, all firing towards British lines. From the distance, Colonel Kim was able to see a man with a peg leg loading up another volley to fire upon the British. Seeing this, the Marine officer could, quite literally, feel the spirits of the militiamen lift tremendously. And when the British came into firing range, the colonel did not hesitate to call out his order to the Marine Regiment, "Fire!"
The other officers echoed his order and over a thousand muskets let loose a volley towards the advancing Redcoats, along with several scattered shots from himself and nervous militiamen. Most of them missed, but a good amount of the shots struck the British lines. His shots struck true and hit several of the British officers once more. Unlike Breed Hill, there were over a thousand men on Bunker Hill and they were able to somewhat match the British in terms of volume, and Colonel Kim was hitting the British lines without restraint. When the British returned fire, the few men within the trenches were safe from British fire, though some of the unfortunate militiamen that remained in view of the British were struck down.
Once he saw that the Marine Regiment was ready to fire once more, Colonel Kim pointed towards the enemy, "Fire!"
In addition to the regiment's fire, Colonel Kim pulled out a frag grenade and pulled the pin, counting two seconds before throwing it accurately towards the British lines. After a few more seconds, a small explosion erupted in the British ranks. Immediately afterward, he threw the remaining frags toward the enemy, achieving the same results. With just the five grenades, he saw dozens of British soldiers go down from the fragmentation. As more and more British soldiers were cut down, suddenly, the Redcoats began to turn tail and march away from the battlefield.
Unfortunately, while he was about to pull out his flare gun and call for a charge, he saw that despite the British retreat, some of the colonial units were fleeing as well. That's when he noticed that there were dozens of dead militiamen on the ground. While his regiment remained fairly unscathed, the colonial units that refused to utilize the trenches and fought the British with line formations suffered heavy casualties and were on the run.
Suddenly, he felt a burning sensation in his pocket and he pulled out the piece of paper from before. The previous message on the paper had disappeared and was instead replaced by a single sentence, "Rally the men by singing the song."
For a moment, Colonel Kim was extremely confused at the wording of the sentence. What did the messenger mean about "the song?" Suddenly, his mind drifted that song that seemed relevant to the situation. Somehow, he got the feeling his assumption was correct.
He cleared his throat and recalled the verses before singing,
"Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of angry men.
It is the music of a people who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart echoes the beating of the drums,
There is a life about to start when tomorrow comes.
Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Beyond the barricade is there a world you long to see?
Then join in the fight that will give you the right to be free!
Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of angry men.
It is the music of a people who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart echoes the beating of the drums,
There is a life about to start when tomorrow comes.
Will you give all you can give so that our banner may advance?
Some will fall and some will live.
Will you stand up and take your chance?
The blood of the martyrs will water the soils of Our Land!
Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of angry men.
It is the music of a people who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart echoes the beating of the drums,
There is a life about to start when tomorrow comes!"
He had no idea why "God" wanted him to sing that song, but the song was short and seemed to have an effect on some of the colonial soldiers that were near him. Initially, the militiamen looked at him strangely but had a changed expression on their face as they listened to the lyrics. After he finished the song, he saw that many from his own regiment and from other regiments were singing along as well and began to direct their attention towards him.
It was now or never.
"My fellow militiamen! The British are on the retreat and are fleeing! We are able to cut them off and encircle them with our forces in Charlestown! So move forward!"
Colonel Kim fired his flare gun into the air to signal Colonel Prescott in Charlestown. Immediately, he and his own unit began to move forward with hundreds of the remaining militiamen join in on the charge.
His goal was to move his forces forward and get within firing range to fire at the British if they turned back, or at least divert their attention while the men in Charlestown moved up. The militiamen fired upon a few stragglers that were behind the main retreating force, but it seemed like they had caught the British troops in a full rout. When they climbed Breed Hill, the charging militiamen witnessed hundreds of additional militiamen flanking the British troops and catching them completely by surprise.
The first surrender came several minutes later. While some of the British soldiers were able to return to their ships and boats successfully and flee to the warships in the harbor, hundreds of them surrendered once it became clear that they were stranded and surrounded.
"May I speak to the gentleman in command?" One of the British officers asked as he looked at the surrounding militiamen nervously.
"I am Colonel Kim of the 1st Marine Regiment. Do not worry, your men will be unharmed and will be treated fairly," Colonel Kim replied, giving a stern look to his unit and to the militiamen around him, "I will need to speak to General Putnam about procedures regarding prisoner exchange, but I'm sure you will be returned to Britain in due time."
The British officer looked humiliated, but nodded glumly, "My name is William Howe, General of His Majesty's Army."
Colonel Kim blinked.
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
okmangeez01
okmangeez01 The song will reappear several times, in different languages, throughout the book. Basically, it'll be a cry for revolution. I admit, it's a bit cringe, but it's a good song.
The first British assault (the one that Kim and his regiment fended off) was different than the British assault in our history's Battle of Bunker Hill. In the novel, the British officers attacked through a direct frontal assault to establish superiority and dominance by force as they believed the colonials were on the verge of running from the battlefield (as only 400 men were on Breed Hill, leading them to mistakenly believe that taking Breed Hill would be an easy task).
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