The American Revolution Started Before 1776
250 is just a number
1776 is a prominent date in U.S. history. It was the year the Declaration of Independence was written and signed1 - the document that would solidify that the Colonies would no longer tolerate British rule.
But the real revolution wasn’t a piece of paper or signatures or even the meeting of wealthy, influential landowners and militiamen called the Continental Congress. The revolution began with farmers and churches and common people rejecting the authority of a king.
The Battle of Bunker Hill happened more than a year prior to the signing of the Declaration of Independence, in June 1775. The colonists who had besieged Boston got word that British forces would be attempting to fortify the hills surrounding the city in order to control Boston Harbor. So the colonists built defenses at Breed’s Hill. The British attacked, pushing the colonists to Bunker Hill. The British won the battle, but with great losses. It was a warning shot that the colonial militias should not be underestimated and many believe it set their cautious tone towards frontal assaults for the war to come.
The consequences of the Battle of Bunker Hill are greater than those of any ordinary conflict, although between armies of far greater force, and terminating with more immediate advantage, on the one side or the other. It was the first great battle of the Revolution; and not only the first blow, but the blow which determined the contest. It did not, indeed, put an end to the war, but in the then existing hostile state of feeling, the difficulties could only be referred to the arbitration of the sword. And one thing is certain: that after the New England troops had shown themselves able to face and repulse the regulars, it was decided that peace could never be established but upon the basis of the independence of the colonies.
-Daniel Webster2
At the time, it was called the battle of Charlestown. The enumeration of colonial losses was given only in numbers - no names:
115 killed
305 wounded
30 captured
The commission formed by the City of Boston in 1889 to name those who were lost in the battle had to start from scratch to find the names. They likely didn’t find them all.
One of the colonists who died at Bunker Hill in that first “arbitration by the sword” was 19-year-old Darius Stevens of Connecticut, a cousin in my Lincoln lineage.
Darius Stevens was born in 1755, the fifth child of Robert Stephens (1720-1791) and Mary Hathaway (1726-1804) of Massachusetts. He was likely born in Massachusetts, as the family is thought to not have settled in Connecticut until 1757 (first Canterbury, then East Thompson, finally Pomfret).3
He would not have been in the list of names had his brother’s eulogy not have included a mention of the brother who fought for independence:
As to Darius Stevens, the evidence is to be found in a sermon preached at Stoneham in 1851, by Rev. W. C. Whitcomb, on the death of Rev. John H. Stevens. Mr. Stevens was born at Canterbury, Conn., Sept. 20th, 1766, and died Aug. 9, 1851, aged 85. In this sermon (p. 31) is is said of him, that one of his brothers served with Gen. Washington, and another, named Darius, fell at the Battle of Bunker Hill, aged only 19 years.
-A Memorial of the American Patriots who Fell at Bunker Hill, p. 87 (footnote).
They confirmed Darius’ participation against the rolls in Hartford - Darius Stevens from Canterbury was part of the march for the relief of Boston in 1775 under Capt. Aaron Cleveland. He was added to the memorial as the 141st name.4
The names are memorialized on plaques in Winthrop Square in Charlestown, Massachusetts. It was formerly known as Training Field, as it was the militia training grounds for Boston.
Like most of the others who fell on June 17, 1775, Darius was likely initially buried in the training field in Charlestown. Whether he was eventually re-interred elsewhere is unclear.
Fun fact, though July 4 is the date we celebrate Independence Day and the day that the Declaration was announced publicly, it had actually been voted on and signatures started to be gathered on July 2. Also, the vote wasn’t unanimous - New York abstained.
A memorial of the American Patriots who fell at Bunker Hill is available from the Library of Congress via HathiTrust.
Clarence Perry Stevens. Stevens–Stephens genealogy and family history... Escalon, California, 1968. p. 94. Available in the Ancestry “U.S., Family History Books” collection.
I have not been able to confirm which brother served with General Washington. The closest I’ve gotten is that Lemuel Stevens (1757-1839, m. Mary Pike) served in the New Hampshire militia during the Revolution.