William Prescott
BIRTH
Feb 20, 1726
Groton, Massachusetts
DEATH
October 13, 1795
Pepperell, Massachusetts
FAMILY
FATHER:
Benjamin Prescott
(1717-1778)
##
Prescott, William
(1726-1795)
William Prescott was an American colonel in the Revolutionary War who commanded the patriot forces in the Battle of Bunker Hill.
GRAVE:
GRAVE
Walton Cemetery
4 Main Street, Pepperell, Massachusetts, 01463, USA
3
Places | Image | Address | GPS | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Minute Man National Historical Park | 210 N Great Rd, Lincoln, MA 01773 | MUSEUM | ||
Bunker Hill Monument | 43 Monument Sq, Charlestown, MA 02129 | PARK | ||
Old South Meeting House | 310 Washington St, Boston, MA 02108 | MUSEUM |
DIED:
Pepperell, Massachusetts
Oct 13, 1795
Prescott served in the provincial militia in King George's Warwhere he served in the 1745 Siege of Louisbourg under William Pepperrell, and was a lieutenant in the Provincial troops which were sent to remove the neutral French from Nova Scotia in 1755. After his return he married Miss Hale, as above, and was promoted to the office of captain. In 1755, when the French and Indian War widened, he saw action at the Battle of Fort Beausejour. He turned down an offer to join the British Army for his service in that war.
In 1774, Prescott was appointed colonel of a regiment of “minute men”, enrolled in Pepperell and vicinity. After hearing of the “regulars’” (British) attack on Lexington on 19 April 1775, the alarm was raised that British troops were marching on Concord. The news reached Pepperell about 10 am. Prescott immediately gave orders for the company in Pepperell and the company in Hollis to march to Groton and thence to the scene of action.
When the American military commanders were alerted to British plans to capture undefended high ground at Dorchester Heights and Charlestown, Prescott was chosen to lead 1,200 men onto the Charlestown peninsula and erect defenses on Bunker Hill. The actual defenses were built on Breeds Hill, as it was lower and closer to the harbor.