Last updated: August 9, 2023
Place
The Retreat and the Pursuit Wayside
NPS Photo/M Mark
Quick Facts
Location:
Northwest Corner Lawn
Significance:
Stop 5 of Remembering Revolution Tour
Remembering Revolution
The Retreat and the Pursuit
When British forces breached the redoubt that stood on this hill, desperate and bloody carnage ensued. Peter Brown, no longer able to hold his ground, fled for his life. Peter Salem kept firing at British soldiers and officers alike in the retreat.
John Waller and his fellow British marines and soldiers pursued, but not without continued casualties. His commander, Maj. John Pitcairn, fell with four bullet wounds to his body. According to some accounts, Peter Salem landed one of those ultimately fatal shots before fleeing for his own life.