The Battle of Bennington
In the summer of 1777, the British Army conducted a campaign created and executed by General John Burgoyne, to invade the state of New York. Burgoyne’s intent was to gain control of the important Hudson River valley, separate the New England states from the others, and to raise Loyalist support he believed to be widespread in New York.
By August, Burgoyne’s army, in spite of earlier, fairly easy conquest further north, had stagnated near Ft. Edward, New York. A stubborn problem for him was sustaining his army with food, horses, and ammunition.
Informed that such resources were available in Vermont, he decided to send a detachment to procure those items from the local population. First directing Col. Friedrich Baum, a German officer, to proceed to Manchester, VT, for that purpose, he changed the order upon hearing such supplies were stockpiled in Bennington, VT.
Ira Allen, brother of Ethan Allen, contacted the state of New Hampshire to send militia to help defend Bennington. The veteran soldier of the French and Indian War and earlier engagements in the Revolution, John Stark, was asked to raise troops to meet the threat. About 1500 New Hampshire men rallied to his call, and he began to proceed toward Bennington.
Marching through the countryside with about 1000 German, British and Canadian soldiers, and two three-pounder cannons, Baum first encountered American forces near a flour mill in “Sancoick,” a hamlet about 3 miles north of the current Battlefield park. After a brief skirmish, the Americans went back to their camp to report to Stark. Baum penned a request to Burgoyne for reinforcements, and moved his troops forward, establishing defensive positions in the hamlet known as Walloomsac.
By August 14, Baum had positioned his army along the river of the same name. German dragoons were placed on top of a steep hill, (called “Hessian Hill” today); Loyalists were sent to a small hill on the other side of the river (the “Tory fort”); and Baum placed the rest of his forces at the site of a bridge crossing the river, where the Barnett House is today. After placing both cannons at this location, he sent one of them to Hessian Hill at the request of the German troops there.
Stark, meanwhile, had amassed nearly 2500 troops, composed of New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and New York militia. He set up camp on high ground outside what is North Bennington today, where he could observe the location and movements of the enemy.
Rainy weather prevented any action on the 15th. The next day, Gen Stark made his move. He chose to execute an enveloping attack, sending troops under Col. Nichols to the north, Col. Herrick to the south, and another group under Cols Stickney and Hobart to move upon the Tory fort. Proceeding under cover of the local terrain, Nichol’s and Herrick’s troops met behind the German dragoons on Hessian Hill at about 3 pm. Instructed to send a signal by firing their muskets, their attack on Hessian Hill signaled the other American forces to attack the Tory fort and for Stark to lead his troops on a frontal attack of Baum’s men at the bridge.
Stark described the Battle as “one of the hottest engagements I have ever witnessed.” German dragoons on Hessian Hill were swiftly overrun and retreated down the hill toward Baum’s position. The Canadians at the Tory fort were likewise dispatched, with only a few managing to cross the river and escape. Baum’s forces at the bridge were engaged in heavy, hand-to-hand fighting, during which, Baum was mortally wounded.
Victorious in this first phase of the Battle, the Americans began to gather up the wounded, collect prisoners of war, and refresh their thirst. Many also took advantage of the opportunity to collect British and German weapons and personal items, which was not unusual in warfare of the times.
Col. Baum’s requests for reinforcements had been attended to by Gen. Burgoyne, and another detachment of German troops under Col. Breymann appeared on the scene, with two more cannons, at about pm. Starks’ men, hot and exhausted, were rallied to meet this new attack.
Seth Warner, commander of the extra-Continental regiment, the “Green Mountain Boys,” had been present at the earlier stage of the Battle, but his men were still enroute from Manchester, VT. They arrived upon the scene in Walloomsac at the right time to help defeat the second contingent of the enemy.
Stark ordered fighting to cease at twilight.
This victory in Bennington led to factors that were crucial to the eventual American victory at Saratoga two months later. Gen. Burgoyne lost nearly 2000 men in the unsuccessful venture, and he did not secure the supplies he needed.
Stark’s men, being militia, went home after the Battle. At Saratoga, Burgoyne’s final retreat corridor on the Hudson River was cut off by-- Gen. Stark, who, with another body of militia he raised after Bennington, occupied “Stark’s Knob,” a rocky outcropping by the river.