William Prescott
Colonel William Prescott's House (looking NW) in Pepperell, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Photographed on June 18, 1941. John Trumbull's Surrender of General Burgoyne. Prescott stands right of center wearing all brown, just behind Captain Morgan in white William Prescott (February 20, 1726 – October 13, 1795) was an American colonel in the Revolutionary War who commanded the rebel forces in the Battle of Bunker Hill. Prescott is known for his order to his soldiers, "Do not fire until you see the whites of their eyes", such that the rebel troops may shoot at the enemy at shorter ranges, and therefore more accurately and lethally, and so conserve their limited stocks of ammunition. It is debated whether Prescott or someone earlier coined this memorable saying.