who said dont shoot until you see the white of their eyes
Israel Putnam He was one of the primary figures at the Battle of Bunker Hill, both in its planning and on the battlefield. During that battle, Putnam may have ordered William Prescott to tell his troops, "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes." (It is debated exactly who said these words first; they are attributed to a number of officers.) This command has since become one of the American Revolution's notable quotations. It was given to make the best use of the low ammunition stocks that the troops had.
Shot heard round the world The phrase comes from the opening stanza of Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Concord Hymn" (1837) and refers to the first shot of the American Revolution. According to Emerson's poem, this pivotal shot occurred at the Old North Bridge in Concord, Massachusetts, where the first British soldiers fell in the battles of Lexington and Concord.