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- Named after the supposed famous quote of Col. William Prescott in the Battle of Bunker Hill: "Don't fire 'til you see the whites of their eyes!" This was justified at the time because they were using notoriously inaccurate 18th-century muskets and they had almost no ammunition, so every bullet had to count.
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Jun 17, 2020 · For over a century, American popular culture attributed the “whites of their eyes” line to Col. Israel Putnam of Connecticut. In more recent decades, however, a new pattern emerged.
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May 3, 2024 · Historian J.L. Bell, in a 2020 article in the Journal of the American Revolution, argues that don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes actually originated from the British side...
- Jordan Friedman
"The whites of their eyes" The famous order "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes" was popularized in stories about the battle of Bunker Hill. [113] It is uncertain as to who said it there, since various histories, including eyewitness accounts, [114] attribute it to Putnam, Stark, Prescott, or Gridley, and it may have been said ...
Mar 10, 2019 · So what could have been the origin of ‘don’t fire until the whites of their eyes’ and what could have been cried out that day and by whom? In reality, the Americans opened fire at about 50 yards, much too distant to see anyone’s eyes.
"don't fire until you see the white of their eyes." The origin of this alleged command to the American patriots at Bunker Hill on 17 June 1775 may have been Col. William Prescott 's order to reserve fire and aim low because powder was scarce.
Waiting to see the whites of their eyes would mean you don't miss basically. There were still instances where sides would stand some distance apart and volley at each other. But a well trained british infantryman could fire 3 shots in a minute, or that was what was expected from them.
Nov 9, 2009 · ‘The Whites of their Eyes' Battle of Bunker Hill. On June 17, some 2,200 British forces under the command of Major General William Howe and Brigadier General Robert Pigot landed on the...
