[Footnote 148: About nine o'clock on Sunday morning, the 27th, the British opened a heavy cannonade from Bunker's hill (where they had built a strong redoubt), and from a ship and floating battery in Mystic river. The firing was directed upon the American works on Winter, Prospect, and Ploughed hills. They continued to bombard these works daily until the 10th of September.]
the 28. But they still hold up their firing at Bunkers hill nothing more remarkable this day.
the 29. I went upon the piquet down to the george tavern and the enemy fired several small arms at us but did us no Damage.
the 30. Very rainy nothing extraordinary this day.
the 31. Nothing extraordinary this day only it was rainy at night Lieutenant Foster and four men went down to the piquet.[149]
[Footnote 149: There was a famous tree in Boston, under which the patriots had often held meetings since the time of the stamp-act excitement. On that account it was called "Liberty-Tree." It was a noble elm, and stood at the corner of the present Washington and Essex streets. On the 31st of August, 1775, the British cut it down, with no apparent motive but the indulgence of petty spite. An eye-witness of the event says: "After a long spell of laughing and grinning, sweating, swearing, and foaming, with malice diabolical, they cut down a tree, because it bore the name of liberty." A tory soldier was killed by its fall. A poet of the day wrote:--
"A tory soldier, on its topmost limb-- The Genius of the Shade looked stern at him, And marked him out that same hour to dine Where unsnuffed lamps burn low at Pluto's shrine. Then tripped his feet from off their cautious stand: Pale turned the wretch--he spread each helpless hand, But spread in vain--with headlong force he fell, Nor stopped descending till he stopped in hell!"]
the 1. This morning very early just past one o clock the enemy began to fire from their Brest Work and their floating batery which ocationed an alarm their fireing Semed to be at our main guard and piquet they fired a number of guns and threw several bombs and they were permitted to kill too men the one belongd to Col Huntingtons[150] Regement and the other belonged to col Davidsons Regement and one of the riflemen was slitely wounded but see the Providence of god in it when 6 or 7 hundred men were before the mouths of their canon there was but too men killed We should not have thought it strange if they had killed 20 considering the Situation that they were in too of the regulars centrys deserted about a hour before the firing began this was the smartest fireing that ever has been this campaign in the afternoon they fired upon our fatigue party but did no Damage also about Sunset there was several guns fired on board the Ships there was several Ships came in to the harbour thus far the proceding of the 1 day.