Dr. Joseph Warren: Passionate Patriot

During the afternoon of June 17, 1775, the British troops had twice marched up
Now came the third assault on the American redoubt. This time British general Sir Thomas Gage ordered his troops to take off their heavy packs and to attack the redoubt head-on with their bayonets. Short of ammunition, and lacking bayonets themselves, the Americans were forced to retreat. They gave up the ground they had fortified and defended, but the British were the real losers of the battle. Two hundred twenty-six of them fell to the Americans' musket fire, while another 828 were wounded, the greatest losses suffered by their army for the rest of the long war. More than 100 of these casualties were commissioned officers.
In addition to their own casualties, the Americans had also suffered an additional grievous loss. Ardent patriot and long-time advocate of liberty Dr. Joseph Warren died while trying to rally the Americans during that final attack. After the battle, the British buried him in a common grave with the other colonials. Months later, when the bodies were exhumed, Paul Revere helped
The Physician and the Patriot
Portrait of Joseph Warren when he was a physician in Boston, by John Singleton Copley, circa 1765.
Public Domain
Though not as well-known today as early American founders like Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams,
A farmer's son—his father died when Warren was still a boy. In 1759, he enrolled at Harvard University, taught for a brief time at Roxbury Latin School, and then took up the study of medicine, following in the footsteps of his maternal grandfather. In 1764, he married Elizabeth Hooten, who brought to their union both beauty and a large dowry. Together, they had four children before Elizabeth's untimely death in 1773.
As a physician, Warren treated men like John Hancock, John Adams, and his cousin, Samuel Adams. The population of Boston was only about 16,000, which explains why he was acquainted with so many patriots known to us today. He also gave medical assistance to the poor, including slaves, and provided the newly introduced smallpox vaccination free of charge to those who sought him out for this treatment.
Related Stories
4/10/2025
4/1/2025
From 1766 to 1767, in order to help pay for the French and Indian War, the British government imposed the
The Warrior
Joseph Warren, 1781, by John Norman. Etching and line engraving on paper. National Portrait Gallery.
Public Domain
By 1774, Warren had also taken a hand in building up the militias around Boston, helping to recruit men to the cause and urging them to train in case of war. The next year, when he received word that British forces intended to march from Boston into the countryside to search out and destroy the colonials' stores of gunpowder and weapons, Warren
In his
A Model of Heroism and Resolve
Three days before the Battle of Bunker Hill, Warren was appointed second in command of the American forces. Yet when he realized that the British had landed at Charlestown and were aligning for an attack on the Americans, he threw away that commission and joined the ranks of Massachusetts men as a common soldier. When British troops on that third attack drove the colonials before them with their bayonets, Warren was attempting to rally this collection of tradesmen, farmers, and day laborers before being shot through the head. By all accounts he died a hero.
Warren (R) offering to serve as a private before the Battle of Bunker Hill.
Public Domain
Years later, artist John Trumbull, who had witnessed the battle from afar,
In his First Inaugural Address, President Ronald Reagan
As we begin our celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, we, too, should hold fast Joseph Warren's injunction to his listeners: 'Act worthy of yourselves.'
What arts and culture topics would you like us to cover? Please email ideas or feedback to

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

American Military News

4 hours ago

• American Military News

Captain Cook's lost ship found off Rhode Island coast

The Australian National Maritime Museum recently announced the discovery of Captain James Cook's iconic shipwreck off the coast of Rhode Island, bringing a conclusion to a 250-year-old mystery. In a report published on June 3, the Australian National Maritime Museum explained that historical and archaeological evidence collected as part of an extensive project that spanned over two decades has led researchers to conclude that the RI 2394 shipwreck site in Newport Harbor, Rhode Island, is Cook's 'HMS Endeavour,' which was later renamed the 'Lord Sandwich' when the ship was used by the British. 'This final report is the culmination of 25 years of detailed and meticulous archaeological study on this important vessel,' Australian National Maritime Museum Director Daryl Karp said. Karp described the report as a 'definitive statement' regarding the search for the HMS Endeavour, which the Australian National Maritime Museum launched in 1999. The museum's director added that the search has 'involved underwater investigation in the US and extensive research in institutions across the globe.' According to The New York Post, the HMS Endeavour became famous for becoming the first European ship to circumnavigate New Zealand and land in the eastern part of Australia as part of an expedition that took place between 1768 and 1771. READ MORE: Pics: Two shipwrecks confirmed as slave ships by archaeologists Fox News reported that the iconic ship was later intentionally sunk off the coast of Newport, Rhode Island, in an effort to prevent attacks by America and France. The outlet noted that while researchers have known that the shipwreck of the HMS Endeavor was located off the coast of Rhode Island, the exact location of the shipwreck remained a mystery for roughly 250 years. According to the report, the shipwreck, which is located between 39 and 43 feet underwater, features a 'linear stone ballast pile, the eastern periphery of which features a line of partially exposed frame ends that are closely spaced and of substantial size.' 'Four iron cannons are also present on the site,' the museum added in the report. 'Two are largely exposed above the seabed and lie immediately adjacent to one another on the western side of the site.' The museum's report explains that by 2019, an investigation of the different shipwrecks located in the region led researchers to believe that RI 2394 was the 'most likely candidate' for the HMS Endeavour shipwreck. According to the report, the shipwreck's location satisfies 10 criteria previously agreed upon by different experts. According to the report, the measurements of the RI 2394 shipwreck also match the measurements recorded in a 1768 survey of the iconic ship.

Refinery29

4 hours ago

• Refinery29

These Archive Photos Honour The Windrush Generation's Legacy Of Style

My grandfather, originally from Barbados, passed away when I was 2. It didn't leave much time to get to know him outside of family stories, but elders in my community would tell me that they could see him – a very tall man whose suits were always razor sharp — in me. 'Look, she!' they would laugh in patois as I walked past. 'She is Mr Blackett, himself.' I recently began searching through old photographs of my grandparents — they have all 'gone to glory' now, as they would say — and marvelled at their elegant and immaculate presentation. My grandmother on my mother's side, originally from Antigua, passed away earlier this year. She was a woman known for her faith, a powerful voice that turned everyone's heads in church, but also for her style. She was known to wear a fascinator with a long matching dress on an average Wednesday. Like many Caribbean people who migrated to this country in the 50s and 60s, my grandmother's adjustment to the UK wasn't easy. But she took extra special pride in her appearance — a value that was passed down to my entire family. I've been thinking a lot about the legacy of style left behind by this generation. It's soon Windrush Day (June 22), and more than 75 years ago, the first Caribbean migrants arrived on the HMT Empire Windrush in 1948. It's said there were 1027 passengers on board hailing from Jamaica, Trinidad, St Lucia, Grenada, and Barbados. Many of those who arrived had served in the British armed forces during the war and were recognised as citizens of the United Kingdom — part of the 'Empire'. As they arrived in England, hopeful for the life and opportunities promised by the 'Mother Country', many wore their Sunday Best as they traversed to this new frontier. It's said that Caribbean migrants received a pamphlet ahead of going to Britain, documenting how they should dress for the cold (freezing weather my grandma would describe as 'wicked!'). Yet, as was reported in The Thurrock Gazette in 1948, they arrived via the Empire Windrush 'Dressed in an odd assortment of clothes, many wearing ties of dazzling designs.' ' The origins of the Black British aesthetic — the fusing of Caribbean and African influences in British fashion, music and culture — arguably began here. ' You may have seen the incredible photos from this arrival and the other ships that followed over those years: Caribbean men, like my grandfather, in tailored suits, wide-brimmed hats and Fedoras, overcoats, and shined-up shoes. Women, a picture of sophistication, in frilled blouses, dresses, and bold jewellery. In many ways, these photos capture the start of the Caribbean's influence on British culture. The origins of the Black British aesthetic — the fusing of Caribbean and African influences in British fashion, music and culture — arguably began here. Today, we continue to see echoes of that original elegance in contemporary fashion. Cast your mind back to May, when Vogue unveiled the theme for the 2025 MET Gala, fashion's biggest night of the year: ​​' Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.' With its chair of stylish Black men — Colman Domingo, A$AP Rocky, Pharrell Williams, and Lewis Hamilton — the event successfully introduced the fashion world to Black Dandyism. As Unbothered writer Taryn Finley explained at the time, a Dandy is, by its official definition, 'a man unduly devoted to style, neatness, and fashion…' However, during the transatlantic slave trade, 'enslavers dressed Black people in extravagant clothing and paraded them around, calling them 'luxury slaves.' It was used as a dehumanising form of minstrelsy that further objectified Black men.' Taryn explained that as time went on, Black people reclaimed Black dandyism. The Met Gala intended to illustrate this reclamation, and it largely achieved this. As celebrities stepped out in flamboyant suits, exaggerated wide-brimmed hats, perfectly rounded afros, prints and more in honour of the MET Gala's theme, my immediate thoughts went back to those photos taken on the Windrush ship (Lewis Hamilton's suit, made by Black British designer Grace Wales Bonner, paid a subtle homage in its small details). Though they may not have described their style by the same name, the Windrush generation also embodied the spirit of Black dandyism. The Sunday Best suits and tailoring (from my parents' accounts) gave them an unmistakable swagger that disrupted the common status quo of British fashion. They were seen, and this visibility formed part of the resistance. Mahoro Seward put it best for British Vogue back in April, 'Black contributions to Britain's sartorial canon are as extensive as the existence of Black communities on these isles, with dressing long serving as a crucial means of resisting against and rising above diminishing perceptions – and defiantly asserting an empowered, dignified sense of identity.' Indeed, for the Windrush generation and the generations that followed, dressing wasn't just about style but dignity in a time when they faced the ugliest sides of Britain; from Notting Hill slumlord Peter Rachman's discriminatory housing policies, race riots and rampant racism. Like the best of fashion, it can reflect a time and space — economic stability or instability, social unrest, a disillusionment in government, etc. In this case, by dressing with intention, Black men and women helped challenge dominant ideas about race; tailored clothing was a point of pride, in a time when your skin colour made you both visible and vulnerable. And so, they gave them something to look at. Now, where the injustices of the Windrush scandal — when Caribbean immigrants were wrongfully threatened with deportation and denied rightful citizenship in 2018 — are still felt, looking through these photos has felt like a balm. I am reminded that here in the UK, Black Brits continue to shape culture. Our legacy isn't just stitched into the seams of sharp suits and Sunday hats — it's woven into the very fabric of British culture.

New York Post

8 hours ago

• New York Post

Catholicism sees major resurgence among Gen Z, led by men

Young men are driving a growing surge in Catholicism among Gen Z, as they turn to faith as an answer to loneliness, cultural drift and a search for purpose. A Harvard University study shows that Gen Zers who identified as Catholic rose by 6% between 2022 and 2023, a shift that Father Michael Tidd — headmaster of Delbarton School, a Benedictine Catholic school for young men in grades 7-12 in Morristown, New Jersey — says he has witnessed himself. 'We present our students with an experience of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. We propose, we don't impose, and they come to us, and that seems to be really resonant with them,' he shared with 'Fox & Friends' on Thursday. 'For the last several years, we have also had students be received into the church, either be baptized as Catholics for the first time or to receive all of their sacraments, because the experience that they have had here… of what it means particularly to be a man in our society, what it needs to be a believing man, a Catholic Christian man, really resonates with our students. And the larger things that you read about in our society about how… what it means to be man, is really a difficult question for a lot of young men to answer. I think our school and the Catholic Church more broadly and the Catholic faith more broadly provide a compelling answer to that.' 3 A Harvard University study shows that Gen Zers who identified as Catholic rose by 6% between 2022 and 2023. Getty Images Father Tidd said he sees students responding to that question in a faith-based way 'every day.' Students at Delbarton come from a variety of backgrounds – some from practicing Catholic families, others from non-Catholic families – but all are presented with what it means to be a Catholic Christian both in the theology classroom and while doing service out in the world. Father Tidd described the school's retreat experiences as a 'real game-changer' for students as well as the 'common worship' at mass and morning prayer that brings together all students. 3 Father Michael Tidd, headmaster of Delbarton School, a Benedictine Catholic school for young men, says he has witnessed this increase. FOX 3 Pope Leo XIV recently sent a message of encouragement to young Americans in his hometown of Chicago a part of the faith. Maria Grazia Picciarella/Shutterstock The sense of community is an answer to disturbing findings like a recent Gallup Poll, which found that younger men in the U.S. were 'among the loneliest in the West.' More specifically, one in four men under the age of 35 reported feeling lonely the prior day, the data revealed. In a video address last week to the faithful in his hometown of Chicago, Pope Leo XIV sent a message of encouragement to young Americans. 'So many people who suffer from different experiences of depression or sadness — they can discover that the love of God is truly healing, that it brings hope,' the newly elected pontiff said. Father Tidd suggested that young men affected by loneliness take initiative and find others who share common experiences, dreams, ambitions and, together, work to find answers to questions about meaning and purpose. 'That's one of the benefits of coming to a Catholic school, is that we have that structure that if a student wishes to take advantage of – particularly not just in class, but on athletic teams or extracurriculars – when you form those tight bonds, then you can begin to ask those deep questions,' he added.