Battle of Bennington

The Battle of Bennington was a battle of the American Revolutionary War, part of the Saratoga campaign, that took place on August 16, 1777, on the John Green farm in Walloomsac, New York, about from its namesake, Bennington, Vermont. An American force of 2,000 men, primarily New Hampshire and Massachusetts militiamen, led by General John Stark, and reinforced by militiamen from the independent Vermont Republic led by Colonel Seth Warner and members of the Green Mountain Boys, decisively defeated a detachment of General John Burgoyne's army led by Lieutenant-Colonel Friedrich Baum, and supported by additional troops under Lieutenant-Colonel Heinrich von Breymann.

Baum's detachment of 700 men consisted of Hessian and British Army troops, Canadian and Loyalist irregulars and a number of Iroquois warriors. The western pincer, proceeding eastward from Lake Ontario under the command of Barry St. Leger, was repulsed when the Siege of Fort Stanwix failed, and the southern pincer, which was to progress up the Hudson valley from New York City, never started since General William Howe decided instead to capture Philadelphia.

The northern pincer, proceeding southward from Montreal, enjoyed the most success. After British victories at Fort Ticonderoga, Hubbardton, and Fort Anne, General John Burgoyne proceeded with the Saratoga campaign, with the goal of capturing Albany, New York and gaining control of the Hudson River valley, where Burgoyne's force could (as the plan went) meet the other pincers, dividing the colonies in two. In response to a proposal first made on July 22 by the commander of his Hessian troops, Baron Riedesel, Burgoyne sent a detachment of about 800 soldiers under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Friedrich Baum from Fort Miller on a foraging mission to acquire horses for Prince Ludwig's Dragoon Regiment, draft animals to assist in moving the army, and to harass the Americans. Baum's detachment was primarily made up of dismounted dragoons from Prince Ludwig's Dragoon Regiment. Along the way, 150 local Loyalists, 58 Canadian irregulars, around 100 Iroquois warriors, and 48 soldiers from the British Army's Company of Select Marksmen joined the detachment. Baum was originally ordered to proceed to the Connecticut River valley where they believed horses could be procured for the dragoons. However, as Baum was preparing to leave, Burgoyne changed the goal to be a supply depot at Bennington, having received intelligence reports that the town was defended only by 400 demoralized militia from Warner's command.

thumb|upright=.75|left|General [[John Stark, by Ulysses Dow Tenney]]

American forces

Unknown to Burgoyne, the citizens of the New Hampshire Grants territory (now Vermont, which was then disputed between New York and the Vermont Republic) had appealed to the states of New Hampshire and Massachusetts for protection from the invading army following the British capture of Ticonderoga. New Hampshire responded on July 18 by authorizing John Stark to raise a militia for the defense of the people "or the annoyance of the enemy". Using funds provided by John Langdon, Stark raised 1,500 New Hampshire militiamen in the space of six days, more than 10% of New Hampshire's male population over the age of sixteen. They were first marched to the Fort at Number 4 (modern-day Charlestown, New Hampshire), then crossed the Connecticut river border into the Grants and stopped at Manchester, where Stark conferred with Warner. Stark refused, stating that he was solely responsible to the New Hampshire authorities. Lincoln returned to the American camp at Stillwater, where he and General Philip Schuyler hatched a plan for Lincoln, with 500 men, to join with Stark and Warner in actions to harass Burgoyne's communications and supply lines at Skenesboro. Baum's movements significantly altered these plans.

Prelude

Baum's troops left Burgoyne's camp at Fort Edward on August 9 and marched to Fort Miller, where they waited until they were joined by the Iroquois and the Company of Select Marksmen. The company marched off toward Bennington on August 11. In minor skirmishes along the way they learned from prisoners taken that a sizable force was in place at Bennington. On August 14 Baum's men encountered a detachment of Stark's men that had been sent out to investigate reports of British-allied Indians in the area. Stark's men retreated, destroying a bridge to delay Baum's advance. Stark, on receiving word of the approaching force, sent a request to Manchester for support, and then moved his troops out of Bennington toward Baum's force, setting up a defensive line.

thumb|right|300px|An early 20th-century map depicting the battlefield

It rained for the next day and a half, preventing battle. During this time, Baum's men constructed a small redoubt at the crest of the hill and hoped that the weather would prevent the Americans from attacking before reinforcements arrived. Reinforcements for both sides marched out on the 15th; travel was quite difficult due to the heavy rains. Burgoyne sent 550 men under Heinrich von Breymann, while Warner's company of about 350 Green Mountain Boys came south from Manchester under Lieutenant Samuel Safford's command.

Late on the night of August 15, Stark was awakened by the arrival of Parson Thomas Allen and a band of Massachusetts militiamen from nearby Berkshire County who insisted on joining his force. In response to the minister's fiery threat that his men would never come out again if they were not allowed to participate, Stark is reported to have said, "Would you go now on this dark and rainy night? Go back to your people and tell them to get some rest if they can, and if the Lord gives us sunshine to-morrow and I do not give you fighting enough, I will never call on you to come again." Stark's forces again swelled the next day with the arrival of some Stockbridge Indians, bringing his force (excluding Warner's men) to nearly 2,000 men.

Stark was not the only beneficiary of unexpected reinforcements; Baum's force grew by almost 100 when a group of local Loyalists arrived in his camp on the morning of August 16.

Battle

thumb|right|225px|Battle of Bennington,

On the afternoon of August 16, the weather cleared, and Stark ordered his men to be ready to attack. Stark is reputed to have rallied his troops by saying they were here to fight for their "natural born rights as Englishmen" and he added "There are your enemies, the Red Coats and the Tories. They are ours, or this night Molly Stark sleeps a widow." Upon hearing that the militia had melted away into the woods, Baum assumed that the Americans were retreating or redeploying. However, Stark had decided to capitalize on weaknesses in the widely distributed position of the Hessians, and had sent sizable flanking parties to either side of his lines. The Loyalist and Iroquois positions were quickly overrun, causing many of them to flee or surrender. This left Baum and his dragoons trapped alone on the high ground. The Hessians fought valiantly, even after their ammunition wagon was destroyed. As their powder ran low, they resorted to hand-to-hand combat. In desperation, Baum ordered the dragoons to remount their horses and charge the Americans hoping to break through and escape. The Americans held fast and fired on the charging Hessians, killing many and shattering their morale. The remaining Hessians surrendered, while Baum soon died from a mortal wound.]]

thumb|upright|The [[Bennington Battle Monument in Bennington, Vermont]]

Total Hessian, Loyalist and Iroquois losses at Bennington were recorded at 207 dead and 700 captured; American losses included 30 Americans dead and 40 wounded. The prisoners, who were first kept in Bennington, were eventually marched to Boston.

Burgoyne's army was readying to cross the Hudson at Fort Edward on August 17 when the first word of the battle arrived. Believing that reinforcements might be necessary, Burgoyne marched the army toward Bennington until further word arrived that Breymann and the remnants of his force were returning. Stragglers continued to arrive throughout the day and night, while word of the disaster spread within the camp.

The effect on Burgoyne's campaign was significant. Not only had he lost nearly 1,000 men, of which half were irreplaceable regular troops, but he soon lost his Indian allies as well. In a council following the battle, the tribesmen (who had traveled with him from Quebec) gave up on Burgoyne and deserted him. This loss severely hampered the general's reconnaissance efforts in the days to come. The shortage of supplies was a significant factor in Burgoyne's decision to surrender at Saratoga, following which France entered the war.

American Patriots reacted to news of the battle with optimism. Especially after Burgoyne's Indian screen left him, small groups of local Patriots began to emerge to harass the fringes of British positions. A significant portion of Stark's force returned home and did not again become influential in the campaign until appearing at Saratoga on October 13 to complete the encirclement of Burgoyne's army.

John Stark's reward from the New Hampshire General Assembly for "the Memorable Battle of Bennington" was "a compleat suit of Clothes becoming his Rank". A reward that Stark likely valued the highest was a message of thanks from John Hancock, president of the Continental Congress, which included a commission as "brigadier in the army of the United States". His numbers are generally consistent with other sources on the British units, although there is disagreement across a wide array of sources on the number of troops under Breymann, which are generally listed at either approximately 550 or 650. Morrissey also failed to include the Massachusetts militia, and misidentified Langdon's company, erroneously believing they may have been from Worcester, Massachusetts. (Militia companies from the Worcester area marched on Bennington, with some companies arriving the day after the battle.) Langdon originally raised his company in 1776, but it did not become a cavalry unit until 1778.

American units

;New Hampshire Militia

: Hobart's Regiment of Militia (150)

: Nichols' Regiment of Militia (550)

: Stickney's Regiment of Militia (150)

: Langdon's Company of Light Horse Volunteers (unknown)

: Other New Hampshire Militia units (1,000)

;Vermont Militia

: Herrick's Regiment (300)

: Other Vermont Militia units (200)

;Massachusetts Militia

: Simonds' Regiment of Militia (unknown)

;Continental Army

: Warner's Additional Continental Regiment (350)

British units

;Baum's forces

: Prince Ludwig's Dragoon Regiment (205)

: Von Breyman's Grenadier Battalion (24)

: Von Barner's Light Infantry Battalion (57)

: Riedesel's Musketeer Regiment, Specht's Musketeer Regiment and Von Rhetz's Musketeer Regiment (37)

: Pausch's Company of Artillery (13)

: Queen's Loyal Rangers (150+)

: Company of Select Marksmen (48)

: Loyalist irregulars (150+)

: Canadian irregulars (56)

: Iroquois warriors (100+)

;Breymann's forces

: Von Breyman's Grenadier Battalion (353)

: Von Barner's Light Infantry Battalion (277)

: Pausch's Company of Artillery (20)

Commemorations

thumb|left|upright|150th anniversary of Battle of Bennington commemorative stamp

thumb|[[List of New York State Historic Markers in Rensselaer County, New York|Historic Marker marking the Bennington Battlefield Park]]

August 16 is a legal holiday in Vermont, known as Bennington Battle Day. The battlefield, now a New York state historic site, was designated a National Historic Landmark on January 20, 1961, and added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966. In the 1870s, the local historic society in Bennington commissioned the design and construction of the Bennington Battle Monument, which was complete in 1889 and dedicated in 1891 with ceremonies attended by President Benjamin Harrison. The Monument, an obelisk high, is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Although the monument was not ready in time to mark the centennial of the battle, the 100th anniversary of the battle was marked by speeches attended by President Rutherford B. Hayes.

Every year on Bennington Battle Day there is a firing of the Molly Stark Cannon, the oldest firing cannon in the United States. The cannon was captured at the Battle of Bennington.

Notes

References

External links

The Battle of Bennington: An American Victory, a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan
Official Battlefield page from New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
The Riflemen's Song at Bennington
Bennington Battlefield on the Historical Marker Database