This affair was followed by the appearance of the whole province in arms;--an immense number of men invested Boston, where the King's troops were stationed, on the land side; and on the morning of the 17th of June, it was ascertained that they had constructed works on _Bunker's Hill_--a high ground beyond the river. A body of troops, of which the FIFTH formed a part, was ordered to attack the heights; and this force, having embarked about noon, landed without opposition and formed up on some high ground near the shore. The enemy appearing resolved to defend this post, the ships of war opened their fire upon the works, while the King's troops, advancing under cover of the guns, went boldly to the attack; and commenced one of the most sanguinary actions on record. The FIFTH, ever emulous of glory, was seen ascending the hill on the side next Charlestown with signal intrepidity, and bravely sustaining its ancient reputation. Captain Harris (afterwards the conqueror of the Mysore) while leading on the grenadier company, was severely wounded, and obliged to quit the field, but he had in Lieutenant Lord Rawdon (afterwards Marquis of Hastings) a successor in command, who emulated and equalled the intrepidity of his disabled captain. Eventually the troops were staggered by the resolute tenacity of the defence, and the superior numbers of the enemy; yet, recovering, they appeared in a moment fired by a new ardour, and with fixed bayonets they went cheering forward with determined bravery and resolution,--encountering the Americans in close combat and driving them, after a sharp contest, out of the works. The King's troops were now established on _Bunker's Hill_, which they afterwards fortified and occupied in force. The loss of the FIFTH was 22 men killed; Captain Harris, Captain Jackson, Captain Downes, Captain Marsden, Lieutenant M'Clintock, Lieutenant Croker, Ensign Charleton, Ensign Ballaguire, 10 Serjeants, 2 Drummers, and 116 rank and file wounded[33]. General Burgoyne, in a letter written at the time to Lord Derby and subsequently published, says, in reference to Bunker's Hill, "The FIFTH has behaved the best, and suffered the most[34]." Notwithstanding this success, the army at Boston remained in a state of blockade, and the troops were eventually so distressed for fresh provisions and other necessaries, that live cattle, vegetables, and even fuel, were sent for their use from England. The shipping with these supplies were, however, many of them wrecked, or fell into the hands of the Americans, and, the distress of the troops increasing, much sickness and loss of life occurred. [Sidenote: 1776]