Date: June 17, 1775 Bunker Hill was one of the first battles of the Revolutionary War. Technically, the rebels lost, but it was a pyrrhic victory for the British. Let me set this up a bit: there were two places where rebel forces would have been able to mount attack on British-occupied Boston - one was the Charlestown peninsula to the north, the other was Dorchester Heights, to the south. When rumours started that the British were going to fortify the hills around Charlestown, the rebels decided to act. By which I mean do something; not put on a little play.