32 Facts About William Prescott

William Prescott was an American officer in the Revolutionary War best known for his service at the Battle of Bunker Hill.

William Prescott owned a house in Pepperell, Massachusetts, on what was later named Prescott Street.

The now-disincorporated town of William Prescott, Massachusetts, was named after him.

William Prescott was the father of future Massachusetts senator William Prescott Jr.

William Prescott was the grandfather of eminent historian William H Prescott, after whom Prescott, Arizona, is named.

William Prescott hastened ahead with as many of his regiment as he could collect to Concord and thence to Cambridge but did not overtake the retreating British troops.

William Prescott, directing them to proceed to Bunker Hill and there erect a fortification.

Colonel William Prescott being a very tall man, six feet and two or three inches in height, his head and shoulders and a considerable portion of his body must have been exposed during the whole of the engagement.

William Prescott wore a three-cornered cocked hat and a ban-yan or calico coat.

William Prescott's clothing was repeatedly spattered with the blood and the brains of the killed and wounded.

William Prescott ordered the Connecticut men under Captain Knowlton to defend the left flank, where they used a crude dirt wall as a breastwork, and topped it with fence rails and hay.

William Prescott was one of the last men to leave the redoubt, parrying bayonet thrusts with his ceremonial saber.

William Prescott was always confident that he could have maintained his position, even with the handful of men under him, if he had been supplied with ammunition.

William Prescott told General Artemas Ward, the Commander-in-Chief, that he would retake the place that night or perish in the attempt, if Ward would give him three regiments, with bayonets and sufficient ammunition.

William Prescott is widely seen as having played a key role in the battle, keeping the relatively poorly trained militia under his command well-disciplined.

William Prescott received a colonel's commission, and his unit became the 7th Continental Regiment.

William Prescott was courteous and benevolent, and possessed a strong mind.

William Prescott continued in the service until the end of 1776.

William Prescott was elected a member of the Provincial Congress held at Salem.

William Prescott served in the Massachusetts General Court in later years.

William Prescott served in the militia called out in 1786 to suppress Shays' Rebellion.

William Prescott took the bowl, but before he had time to partake of its contents a cannon ball passed through the house, upon which the men immediately fled, leaving Colonel William Prescott to drain the bowl by himself and at his leisure.

Dr O William Prescott further relates that Colonel William Prescott was a true patriot.

William Prescott died of dropsy of the chest, in Pepperell and was buried with military honors suitable to his rank, life and character at Walton Cemetery.

William Prescott fell at a ripe old age, full of honors, and highly esteemed and respected.

William Prescott's widow died October 21,1821, aged 88 years.

William Prescott never owned slaves, and spoke out against the practice of slavery.

William Prescott was outspoken about his praise for African-American soldier Salem Poor who fought with William Prescott at Bunker Hill, going so far as to sign a letter to the court of Massachusetts praising his conduct in battle and advocating that he be rewarded for it.

William Prescott's likeness was made into a statue for a memorial for the Battle of Bunker Hill in Charlestown, Massachusetts and was dedicated in 1881.

The former town of William Prescott, Massachusetts, was named in his honor.

In 1856, the William Prescott School, named in his honor, was built on the northeasterly portion of the Bunker Hill Burying Ground in Charlestown, Massachusetts.

The city of William Prescott, Arizona, is named in honor of the scholarly grandson.