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Remarks of Lieutenant Governor Timothy P. Murray

Bunker Hill Oration

June 17, 2008

Thank you.

And a special thank you to Jim Conway, and the Bunker Hill Monument Association, for all your good work and dedication over so many years to keep this ceremony an important part of our civic life.

I am honored to speak here today. And frankly, when I think about the people who have given this oration over the years, dating all the way back to Daniel Webster in 1825, I am hard-pressed to feel comfortable in their company.

Since becoming lieutenant governor, it’s been my privilege to participate in many special events, but the history of this moment, of this place, is so palpable that I believe it to be a singular honor.

We gather here to commemorate the battle of Bunker and Breeds Hill—described by many scholars as a pivotal moment in the birth of this nation. On June 17, 1775, more than a year before the colonies would formally declare themselves independent, the revolution was at hand here on these hills.

The fight here came just two short months after the confrontation on Lexington green.

In preparing for this oration, I began to think about the events at Lexington and Bunker Hill, because they gave us two of the most famous quotations in all of US history.

The quotes are both battlefield commands—perhaps stylized a bit by the sweep of history—but accurate at their core none-the-less.

One command came from Captain John Parker, the other from Colonel William Prescott.

We all know these words:  “don’t fire unless fired upon.” That was the command on the Lexington Green.

“Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes.” That was the order on Breeds Hill.

At first glance, these commands seem contradictory—but I would argue that they are complementary, and in fact they both speak volumes about the soul of our nation.

First in Lexington, at the crack of dawn on April 19, 1775, as the British regulars marched into town on their way to confiscate the colonial arms stored in Concord, Captain John Parker assembled the Lexington militia on the green and called out:

“Stand your ground…don’t fire unless fired upon. . .but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here."

By that time, Parker was already an experienced citizen-soldier. He’d fought in the French and Indian War, and he’d returned home to his native Lexington to farm.

Parker knew quite well that his 77 militia men were no match for the nearly 800 regular British troops approaching the green,  so he did not want to provoke a fight that he could not win, and one that would surely cost the lives of many of his men.

Yet Parker led the Lexington militia on to the battle green to block the British advance.

Stand your ground, he said, because their cause was both right and noble, and the time had come to take a stand, if not to fight.

Don’t fire unless fired upon— this was the posture of self-defense.  Even though there had been much turmoil in Massachusetts, and calls for rebellion were thick in the air, Parker and his fellow patriots did not lust for war. They were ready to face war, but only as a last resort.

If they mean to have a war, let it begin here— Parker and all those who stood with him on that day, and in the battles that followed, did not shrink from their responsibilities. 

They were ready to fight for something larger than themselves—a birthright of freedom for all generations.

Now fast-forward two months, to June of 1775 on these hills that overlook Boston Harbor.  After the Battle of Lexington and Concord, thousands of colonial militiamen from around New England converged on Boston. They ringed the city where the British army was garrisoned and the British fleet anchored. The siege of Boston was on.

On June 16, 1775, word came to colonial commanders that the British forces in Boston were preparing an offensive to take this high ground, so 1,200 colonial volunteers, most from Massachusetts and Connecticut, marched here from Cambridge and fortified these hills by night, to prepare for what would become the first full-scale battle of the revolution.

On this day, 233 years ago, as the British regulars came ashore by the hundreds, Colonel William Prescott shouted his famous command: “Do not fire, until you see the whites of their eyes.” This was not a passive posture.  Prescott’s command was a military tactic, not a moral prescription. It was not strictly self-defense, as Parker had commanded in Lexington. But in fact, Parker’s principle was still in place because by the time Prescott gave his order to fire, the colonials had already been fired upon.

The battle was joined. The cause was clear. The men on these hills in 1775 were acting in defense of their lives, and of their way of life.  The time had come to fight, and in this place citizen soldiers rallied to the cause of freedom and self-determination.

We all know what happen on those fateful days in 1775. In the Lexington, a shot rang out, volleys followed, and the British regulars marched on to Concord, leaving colonists dead and wounded on the green. Here on Bunker and Breeds Hill, a thunderous and devastating battle raged.   Twice the colonial militia repelled the British charge, but on the third advance, with the colonists short of ammunition and supplies, the regulars broke through and took the hills.

In both these early engagements of the American Revolution, the colonists lost the battle of the moment—but they won a larger victory.

In Lexington and Concord, the shot heard ‘round the word, as Emerson wrote, touched off a global march toward self-governance.

The bravery and the heroism of the men who fought and died here on Bunker and Breeds hills, stunned the great British Army—it was severely wounded in body, with more than 1,000 casualties, and it was deeply damaged in spirit.

The colonists were not expected to fight so hard and so well, and the battle here turned the tide of the war in Massachusetts.  In their memory, and as the beneficiaries of their sacrifice, we gather here today to re-affirm the truth of the ideals embedded in both Parker’s and Prescott’s commands—we stand on this hallowed ground, and we remember that free people do not wish to fight, do not seek to conquer, but when freedom is threatened, we come together and fight to sustain our way of life, not just for ourselves, but for all people who seek to live in peace and democracy.

In the shadow of this great monument that speaks to the battle long ago, I ask that we also honor all veterans, across the great history of this nation, who have served to protect the ideals of the United States of America.   I ask that we be especially mindful of those who are, at this very moment, in uniform and in harms way, way defending our freedom.

The most solemn duty I’ve had, as lieutenant governor, has been to attend the wakes and funerals of those killed in action in Iraq and Afghanistan.  I join Governor Patrick to bring the hero’s family the collective condolences of a compassionate and grateful Commonwealth.

Just this past Saturday I was in Taunton for the funeral  of U.S. Army Sgt.  Shane Duffy. A young married father with an 8 month old daughter, Shane was killed just shy of his 23^rd birthday, back for another tour of duty in Iraq. He was an incredible example of the strength of this nation.

As the horse-drawn caisson carried Shane’s flag draped coffin through the streets of Taunton, thousands of his friends and relatives stood by to honor him and his family for his sacrifice. For those who are left behind, especially for Sgt. Duffy’s family, it is a difficult moment to bear.

Shane was the 66^th citizen of Massachusetts killed in this war.

While I hope never again to attend such a funeral, I fear that I will because our world remains so dangerous.  There is terror and tyranny in too many places, and the brave men and women of our armed forces remain the steadfast guardians of our freedom, often paying the supreme sacrifice in doing so.

Like those who came before them, today’s citizen soldiers of Massachusetts stand their ground—and when there is no other option, they fight with the intense bravery of a free people who will not give up their God-given rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Thank you all very much.

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