who said don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes

The famous phrase "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes" is most commonly attributed to the American Revolutionary War, specifically to the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775. The origin is debated, but the scholarly consensus leans toward Colonel William Prescott of Massachusetts as the most likely source of this order. It was an instruction to conserve gunpowder and hold fire until the enemy was very close to maximize the damage of each shot. Israel Putnam, another American commander, has also been credited with relaying or repeating the order, but evidence suggests he was farther from the front lines during the battle. The phrase itself was not original to the American Revolution; it echoed earlier European military advice, particularly from Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus and other 18th-century military leaders. Modern historians now often regard the quotation as a legend or a dramatized version of battlefield tactics rather than a precise historical utterance.