Descendants of Battle of Bunker Hill fighters tell about unsung family heroes

While it was a British victory, the confidence and morale of the colonial militia were greatly boosted.

The militia were not trained soldiers, but rather ordinary men who were doctors, tradesmen, even farmers. (See the video at the top of this article.)  

Timothy Riordan, Ph.D., historian and vice president of the Charlestown Historical Society in Massachusetts, said the average age of the men fighting the British Army was 27 years old. 

With Riordan's research, he founded the "Brothers of the Battle" program. 

"Bunker Hill was thought of as the most important battle because it's where we proved we could fight the British," Riordan told Fox News.

Dozens of descendants gathered for events around the 250th anniversary. One of them was a New Hampshire representative of Rockingham 13 in Derry, New Hampshire. 

State Rep. Steve Pearson (R) is a descendant of Lt. John Wheeler, who fought under Doolittle's regiment at the Battle of Bunker Hill. 

Another descendant eager to tell the story of a long-admired family member is Matt Woodfin. 

One is Michael Dalton, expected to have been a fife during the battle. 

"He was one that was blowing the flute-type whistle to kind of direct troops, left, right, when to eat, when to march," Woodfin told Fox News.

Just before the Battle of Bunker Hill, 20,000 men from the area decided this was the time to stand up to the British. 

One of those men was Woodfin's eighth great-uncle, Henry Dearborn. 

Dearborn was a doctor who became a captain, said Woodfin. 

"Before a formal army, before anything like that, you basically earned your rank by the number of folks you were able to recruit. He came down with 40, 50, 60 men and showed up here as a captain," said Woodfin.

Woodfin said Jefferson presented an ornate sword to Dearborn during a ceremony. It has been taken care of by the Woodfin family for generations. 

Many more trekked to Charlestown, Massachusetts, including Josiah Puffer. 

Sheila Puffer, a descendant of his, said "he lost a thumb [due to] the explosion of a gun in his hands and was disqualified from military service."

"When he enlisted, it is said that he passed the examination by wearing gloves of which the thumb of one was filled with wood," she said. 

While the British won the battle at Bunker Hill - the colonial militia got the confidence boost. 

"They only lost because they ran out of ammunition," said Riordan. 

The British Army lost twice as many casualties than the American patriots. 

But Riordan said that proves an undisciplined and untrained militia could stand against the British. 

"It's not that they stood there and fought - it's because they stood there and fought for what they believed in," said Riordan.