Descendants of Battle of Bunker Hill fighters tell about unsung family heroes

CHARLESTOWN, MA – One of the turning points during the Revolutionary War was the Battle of Bunker Hill 250 years ago. 

While it was a British victory, the confidence and morale of the colonial militia were greatly boosted.

The militia were not trained soldiers, but rather ordinary men who were doctors, tradesmen, even farmers. (See the video at the top of this article.)  

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Timothy Riordan, Ph.D., historian and vice president of the Charlestown Historical Society in Massachusetts, said the average age of the men fighting the British Army was 27 years old. 

With Riordan's research, he founded the "Brothers of the Battle" program. 

This print shows four British warships landing troops and firing on Charlestown. A British battery on Copp's Hill in Boston also fires on Charlestown, which is in flames; image shows the assault on Bunker's Hill. (Library of Congress)

It helps to locate and find descendants of militiamen who fought for America's independence, he said. 

"Bunker Hill was thought of as the most important battle because it’s where we proved we could fight the British," Riordan told Fox News.

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Dozens of descendants gathered for events around the 250th anniversary. One of them was a New Hampshire representative of Rockingham 13 in Derry, New Hampshire. 

State Rep. Steve Pearson (R) is a descendant of Lt. John Wheeler, who fought under Doolittle's regiment at the Battle of Bunker Hill. 

State Rep. Steve Pearson talked about a family member who fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill 250 years ago.  (Chelsea Torres/Fox News)

Pearson said the Battle of Bunker Hill "really set the tone in the colonies, set the tone in media propaganda … [It] made people realize, 'There's no going back now.'" 

Another descendant eager to tell the story of a long-admired family member is Matt Woodfin. 

He said he's proud to be the descendant of two men who fought at the Battle of Bunker Hill. 

Just before the Battle of Bunker Hill, 20,000 men from the area decided this was the time to stand up to the British. 

One is Michael Dalton, expected to have been a fife during the battle. 

"He was one that was blowing the flute-type whistle to kind of direct troops, left, right, when to eat, when to march," Woodfin told Fox News.

Just before the Battle of Bunker Hill, 20,000 men from the area decided this was the time to stand up to the British. 

One of those men was Woodfin's eighth great-uncle, Henry Dearborn. 

Henry Dearborn, shown here, was among those who stood up to the British. One of his descendants told the story of how the colonial man went from being a doctor to secretary of war under President Thomas Jefferson.  (Library of Congress)

"He heard about Concord and Lexington and just put down whatever he was doing and just started walking south."

Dearborn was a doctor who became a captain, said Woodfin. 

"Before a formal army, before anything like that, you basically earned your rank by the number of folks you were able to recruit. He came down with 40, 50, 60 men and showed up here as a captain," said Woodfin.

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Dearborn later served under President Thomas Jefferson as secretary of war in 1801. 

Woodfin said Jefferson presented an ornate sword to Dearborn during a ceremony. It has been taken care of by the Woodfin family for generations. 

Matt Woodfin said his eighth great uncle was Henry Dearborn. An ornate sword presented to Dearborn by President Thomas Jefferson has been cherished by the family for generations. (Chelsea Torres/Fox News)

Many more trekked to Charlestown, Massachusetts, including Josiah Puffer. 

Sheila Puffer, a descendant of his, said "he lost a thumb [due to] the explosion of a gun in his hands and was disqualified from military service."

She found a book written by a family member over 100 years ago, telling many stories of Josiah Puffer over the years. He fought in the French and Indian War, then at Bunker Hill. 

"When he enlisted, it is said that he passed the examination by wearing gloves of which the thumb of one was filled with wood," she said. 

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While the British won the battle at Bunker Hill — the colonial militia got the confidence boost. 

"They only lost because they ran out of ammunition," said Riordan. 

The British Army lost twice as many casualties than the American patriots. 

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But Riordan said that proves an undisciplined and untrained militia could stand against the British. 

"It’s not that they stood there and fought — it’s because they stood there and fought for what they believed in," said Riordan.