In February, 1818, a committee of the legislature of Massachusetts was appointed to consider the expediency of building a monument of American marble of the memory of General Warren, but this proposal was not carried into effect.

As the half-century from the date of the battle drew toward a close, a stronger feeling of the duty of commemorating it began to be awakened in the community.  Among those who from the first manifested the greatest interest in the subject, was the late William Tudor, Esq.  He expressed the wish, in a letter still preserved, to see upon the battle-ground “the noblest monument in the world,” and he was so ardent and persevering in urging the project, that it has been stated that he first conceived the idea of it.  The steps taken in execution of the project, from the earliest private conferences among the gentlemen first engaged in it to its final completion, are accurately sketched by Mr. Richard Frothingham, Jr., in his valuable History of the Siege of Boston.  All the material facts contained in this note are derived from his chapter on the Bunker Hill Monument.  After giving an account of the organization of the society, the measures adopted for the collection of funds, and the deliberations on the form of the monument, Mr. Frothingham proceeds as follows:—­

“It was at this stage of the enterprise that the directors proposed to lay the corner-stone of the monument, and ground was broken (June 7th) for this purpose.  As a mark of respect to the liberality and patriotism of King Solomon’s Lodge, they invited the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts to perform the ceremony.  They also invited General Lafayette to accompany the President of the Association, Hon. Daniel Webster, and assist in it.

“This celebration was unequalled in magnificence by any thing of the kind that had been seen in New England.  The morning proved propitious.  The air was cool, the sky was clear, and timely showers the previous day had brightened the vesture of nature into its loveliest hue.  Delighted thousands flocked into Boston to bear a part in the proceedings, or to witness the spectacle.  At about ten o’clock a procession moved from the State House towards Bunker Hill.  The military, in their fine uniforms, formed the van.  About two hundred veterans of the Revolution, of whom forty were survivors of the battle, rode in barouches next to the escort.  These venerable men, the relics of a past generation, with emaciated frames, tottering limbs, and trembling voices, constituted a touching spectacle.  Some wore, as honorable decorations, their old fighting equipments, and some bore the scars of still more honorable wounds.  Glistening eyes constituted their answer to the enthusiastic cheers of the grateful multitudes who lined their pathway and cheered their progress.  To this patriot band succeeded the Bunker Hill Monument Association.  Then the Masonic fraternity, in their splendid