Boston, Dorchester Heights, and a missed defensive position

British control of Boston Harbor depended on keeping heavy artillery off Dorchester Heights, where guns could challenge ships using the approach channels. A proper fort on the heights could itself have been supplied by sea and made the position extremely difficult to reduce. Howe still had roughly five to eleven thousand soldiers after losing about one thousand at Bunker Hill and only about sixty more during the rest of the siege. Artillery, engineers, Royal Marines, and a powerful local squadron also remained available. HMS Boyne, HMS Somerset, HMS Asia, and HMS Preston alone provided substantial heavy naval power before the smaller warships are counted. The failure to secure the heights came from command and preparation rather than a simple lack of resources.