The Battle of Bennington - There Are Your Enemies

 

During the afternoon hours of August 16, 1777, the skies finally cleared after two days of heavy rain over the small town of Hoosick, N.Y., just ten miles west of Bennington, Vermont. Eyeing one another across an interval of a few hundred yards, Hessian elements of the British Army under Lt. Colonel Friedrich Baum and a contingent of New Hampshire militia commanded by General John Stark checked their powder, loaded their muskets, and prepared for battle. Stark, addressing his troops while pointing directly at the Redcoats across the way, is reputed to have inspired his men by shouting, “They are ours, or this night Molly Stark sleeps a widow!” Within moments of Stark’s declaration, the Americans advanced, initiating one of the more violent and impactful engagements of the American Revolution.

The battle at Hoosick (forever after known as The Battle of Bennington) had its origin in the British high command’s decision to reevaluate their original strategic approach. The war – now two years old – was not going as the British had anticipated, thus a new strategy to subdue the colonies appeared in order. The decision was to sever New England from the other colonies by utilizing a three-pronged assault. One of the prongs would move up the Hudson River from New York City under General William Howe. A second prong would march east from Lake Ontario under the command of General Barry St. Leger. Finally, the third movement was to proceed south from Montreal under General John Burgoyne, ultimately to meet the other two forces on the Hudson River, somewhere near Albany, N. Y., effectively cutting-off New England from the other warring colonies.