The winter of 1776 found the American army still encamped at Cambridge and its vicinity. The winter had come on, and found the army with but few tents, scarcely any clothing, very little ammunition, and about two thousand men were without firelocks. The winter, fortunately, proved to be a mild one, and little ice was formed till the middle of February, when it was so strong as to enable the troops to march over it from Roxbury to Dorchester. The Heights were secured and fortified in the night, while the attention of the British was diverted by an incessant cannonading and bombardment, kept up during three nights, from Lechmere's Point, Cobble Hill, and Roxbury. The American army was so posted as to form a complete line of siege, extending from Mystic River to Dorchester, a distance of nearly twelve miles. The far-seeing Washington had arranged his army in three divisions, each consisting of two brigades, or six regiments, and in such a manner as to bring the troops from the same colony together, and under the command of officers from that colony. The right wing, at Roxbury, was under the command of Major-General Ward; the centre division at Cambridge, was commanded by Major-General Putnam; and the left wing at Winter Hill by Major-General Lee. The headquarters of the commander-in-chief were at Cambridge.

It was March, of '76. The attack on Dorchester Heights having been prevented by a violent storm, General Howe had resolved to evacuate Boston; and Washington and his army saw with pride and gratification, that their object was gained. The militia who had joined the army with the expectation of encountering the enemy on Dorchester Heights, and there avenging the blood of their country men, shed on the day of which that was the anniversary, had been disappointed; yet there was still satisfied with the knowledge that their foes were compelled to leave Boston. The night was chilly, and the troops at Cambridge had slight covering. Rudely-constructed tents, and scant clothing were insufficient for the uncertain changes of the weather in that latitude. The moon was shining clearly, but her beams were cold as the smile on the face of the dead. Around a fire in one of the tents, four men were sitting. Each was dressed in the hunting-shirt, adopted by Washington to banish provincial distinctions; but the rest of their clothing differed as much as possible; the coarseness of material being about the only point of resemblance. They were sitting on logs, which they had cut as substitutes for chairs. On the fire, which was contained in the space formed by four large stones, placed at right angles, something was cooking; no doubt intended for their evening meal.

"Jonathan, hand over a little more wood this way, will you? There's no use of bein' stingy about fire to-night; besides, that'ere fodder won't get done afore my appetite's all gone,: said one of the men, whose form may be described as 'linked leanness, long drawn out.'"

"Oh, there's no end to your appetite! It can't all go, Zeb," said Jonathan, as he handed the wood over to the first speaker.

"How near's the vittles done?" asked another of the men, anxiously.

"Pretty near," answered the one who had not yet spoken. "It's done now for some folks. Our Judith used to like her meat very rare."

"I like rare meat myself," said Jonathan. "But I don't suppose that'll zactly suit the rest of you. I think we ought to have somethin' to drink tonight."

"I wonder if they won't get up a glorification in Boston, when the Britishers get out of it?" remarked Zeb; "I think they oughter."

"When are the red-coats goin' to leave Boston?" asked one of the men, called Hiram.

"I think it's on the seventeenth of this month," answered Johnathan. "It's a great pity the folks on the Heights didn't get a chance at 'em. I think they'd have given 'em a little louder tune than was played on bunker Hill."

"Not much doubt about that," said another of the party, named Josiah.

"Yes, there is some doubt about it, though," continued Jonathan. "I was thar at Bunker Hill; I seed it all; and I tell you, that thar would have to be a reg'lar screamer played, to beat the tune we played for 'em that day!"

"Well, you needn't go off so quick," returned Zeb. "I've heerd thar was some shootin' done on Bunker Hill; and it's likely thar would have been some done at Dorchester Heights."

"Yes, but I tell you that thar was mor'n some shootin' at Bunker Hill," Jonathan replied.

It was plain that Jonathan wanted to relate all he knew about Bunker Hill; so his comrades thought they might as well have the story at once.

"Jonathan," said Hiram, "you say you were on the ground, at the battle of Bunker Hill. S'posen you tell us all you know about the affair, and that'll settle the matter in dispute."

"Cert'ainly," replied Jonathan. "I'll let you know all that I know about it, and then you can tell your folks. Take off the meat first, though; and you share it, Zeb, while I go on with the story."

Zeb took the meat off the fire, and laid it on a piece of wood, preparatory to its being divided into four shares with a pocket-knife. Jonathan commenced: ---

"Wall, fellers, you must know, in the first lace that the ginerality of people are mistaken about the place where the battle was fought. They call it the battle of Bunker Hill, when it was fought on Breed's Hill. The reason of it may be, that the continental-allers, --- that is, we, --- were ordered to march to Bunker Hill, and throw up 'entrenchments,' as they call 'em; but it bein' night-time, a mistake was made somehow, and we marched to Breed's Hill, that is just over here, a little nearer to Boston than Bunker Hill. We numbered a thousand men, and Colonel Prescott was at our head. We started pretty soon after dark, and marched as quietly as possible for a thousand men to move, but couldn't begin to get on Breed's Hill, and get to work, before twelve o'clock. The moon shone bright all the time, and we could see the ships of the Britishers standin' a short way out from the land. They didn't seem to know anything about our bein' on the hill. Each man had a shovel, or a pickaxe, or a spade, to throw up the entrenhchments with; and there were a few lanterns taken with us, to be used in case of necessity. Waal, we went to work about twelve o'clock; and the way we threw the dirt about was almost a sin. We worked in that way for about five hours, I guess. Anyhow, it was just daylight when we finished a redoubt about eight rods square. We then set to work to throw up a breastwork extendin' from the east side of the redoubt to the bottom of the hil. We had just fairly got this breastwork under way, when the Britishers discovered us, and then they commenced firin' on us from all parts; from their ships, their floatin' batteries, and from their other fortifications, wherever they could have a chance at us. Waal, we didn't mind it much, but kept on with our work till we got the breastwork finished. They kept up their firin' and bombardin' till noon; but in spite of all the bomb-shells and the cannon-balls, we only lost one man. We continued to work, makin' our redoubt and breastwork stronger, all the forenoon. We got a reinforcement of about five hundred men, and that made our whole force about fifteen hundred; but I think we men that had been at work all night oughter have been relieved. We didn't even get anything to eat before the battle. About one o'clock, I guess it was, we saw the red-coats cross the river from Boston, and land near Charlestown. There must have been a good deal more of 'em than we could muster. Waal, they formed on the shore at Moreton's Point, but stayed there. While they were waitin', a party of our men, under Captain Knowlton, pulled up a post-and-rail fence, and puttin' it right square with another one, filled up the space with some new-mown hay that was lyin' near. This was a slender concern; by the party that held it kept the Britishers from cuttin' off our retreat. We soon saw that another detachment of the red-coats was comin over the river; and when they all got landed, I guess there must have been twice as many of 'em as there was of us. I don't really think we had, mor'n fifty bagonets among the whole of us. Old, rusty firelocks, and powder-horns, were the most we could muster. Some of the guns looked as if they'd been in the old French war. We had five pieces of cannon, and the Britishers had four or five times that many. Waal, they come on slowly after they had formed, to give their cannon time to blaze away at our works. They come up the hill in two columns. We were all at our posts behind the breastwork and in the redoubt. I was put behind the breastwork. I know there was goin' to be a bloody time of it, and I kept my eyes fixed on the army that was comin' up the hill."

"Where was Putnam and Prescott then?" interrupted Zeb.

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12/24/06.