The monument is located near where George Washington ordered the construction of a redoubt, an area which has since been developed as a public park.

[1] This siege ended in 1776 when, on March 17, American General George Washington constructed a redoubt atop Dorchester Heights in what is now South Boston.

[4] In June 1898, the Massachusetts General Court passed a resolution appropriating $25,000 for the creation of a monument at Dorchester Heights to commemorate the construction of the redoubts that led to the British evacuation.

[2][5] Following this, the Governor of Massachusetts assembled a committee with his Executive Council and in May 1899 opened a limited competition for designs for the monument.

[10] The celebrations began around noon with a procession of members of the United States Marine Corps, with Governor Winthrop M. Crane and other guests of honor riding in a carriage.

Afterwards, Governor Crane gave an address to the crowd and a tablet in the front of the monument, which previously had been covered with American flags, was unveiled, after which the band played "America".

The orchestra then performed "Narcissus" before noted singer Alice May Bates Rice gave a solo rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner".

[10] The inscription reads:[16] ON THESE HEIGHTS / DURING THE NIGHT OF MARCH 4 1776 / THE AMERICAN TROOPS BESIEGING BOSTON / BUILT TWO REDOUBTS / WHICH MADE THE HARBOR AND TOWN / UNTENABLE BY THE BRITISH FLEET AND GARRISON / ON MARCH 17 THE BRITISH FLEET / CARRYING 11000 EFFECTIVE MEN / AND 1000 REFUGEES / DROPPED DOWN TO NANTASKET ROADS / AND THENCEFORTH / BOSTON WAS FREE / A STRONG BRITISH FORCE / HAD BEEN EXPELLED / FROM ONE OF THE UNITED AMERICAN COLONIESThe monument is one of several in the city related to events from the American Revolution, including the Beacon Hill Monument and the Bunker Hill Monument.