Soon after Stark proceeded to Manchester, twenty miles north of Bennington, where Colonel Seth Warner, the former associate of Ethan Allen, had taken post with the troops under his command. Here he met General Lincoln, who had been sent by Schuyler to lead the militia to the west bank of the Hudson. Stark refused to obey Schuyler's orders, and Congress, on the 19th of August (1777), passed a vote of censure upon his conduct. But Stark did not know of this, and as his course was clearly that of sound policy, and his victory two days before the censure cast upon him showed it to be so, he had the proud satisfaction of knowing that the Commander-in-Chief approved of his plan of harassing the rear of the British, and that the victory of Bennington paralyzed the entire operations of Burgoyne.
On the day that Baum set out Stark arrived at Bennington. The progress of the German troops, at first tolerably prosperous, was soon impeded by the state of the roads and the weather, and as soon as Stark heard of their approach he hurried off expresses to Warner to join him, who began his march in the night. After sending forward Colonel Gregg to reconnoiter the enemy he advanced to the rencontre with Baum, who, finding the country thus rising around him, halted and entrenched himself in a strong position above the Wollamsac river and sent off an express to Burgoyne, who instantly dispatched Lieutenant-Colonel Breyman with a strong reinforcement.
During the 15th of August (1777) the rain prevented any serious movement. The Germans and English continued to labor at their entrenchments upon which they had mounted two pieces of artillery. The following day was bright and sunny and early in the morning Stark sent forward two columns to storm the entrenchments at different points, and when the firing had commenced threw himself on horseback and advanced with the rest of his troops. As soon as the enemy's columns were seen forming on the hill-side, he exclaimed, "See, men! there are the red coats; we must beat to-day, or Molly Stark's a widow." The military replied to this appeal by a tremendous shout and the battle which ensued, as Stark states in his official report, "lasted two hours, and was the hottest I ever saw. It was like one continual clap of thunder." The Indians ran off at the beginning of the battle; the Tories were driven across the river; and although the Germans fought bravely they were compelled to abandon the entrenchments, and fled, leaving their artillery and baggage on the field.
As Breyman and his corps approached they heard the firing and hurried forward to the aid of their countrymen. An hour or two earlier they might have given a different turn to the affair, but the heavy rain had delayed their progress. They met and rallied the fugitives and returned to the field of battle. Stark's troops, who were engaged in plunder, were taken in great measure by surprise, and the victory might after all have been wrested from their grasp but for the opportune arrival of Warner's regiment at the critical moment. The battle continued until sunset when the Germans, overwhelmed by numbers, at length abandoned their baggage and fled. Colonel Baum, their brave commander, was killed, and the British loss amounted to some eight or nine hundred effective troops, in killed and prisoners. The loss of the Americans was 30 killed and 40 wounded. Stark's horse was killed in the action.
Too much praise, as Mr. Everett well remarks, {4} cannot be bestowed on the conduct of those who gained the battle of Bennington, officers and men. It is, perhaps, the most conspicuous example of the performance by militia of all that is expected of regular, veteran troops. The fortitude and resolution with which the lines at Bunker Hill were maintained by recent recruits against the assault of a powerful army of experienced soldiers have always been regarded with admiration. But at Bennington the hardy yeomen of New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts, many of them fresh from the plough and unused to the camp, "advanced," as General Stark expresses it in his official letter, "through fire and smoke, and mounted breastworks that were well fortified and defended with cannon."
Fortunately for the success of the battle Stark was most ably seconded by the officers under him; every previous disposition of his little force was most faithfully executed. He expresses his particular obligations to Colonels Warner and Herrick, "whose superior skill was of great service to him." Indeed the battle was planned and fought with a degree of military talent and science which would have done no discredit to any service in Europe. A higher degree of discipline might have enabled the general to check the eagerness of his men to possess themselves of the spoils of victory, but his ability, even in that moment of dispersion and under the flush of success, to meet and conquer a hostile reinforcement, evinces a judgment and resource not often equaled in partisan warfare.
In fact it would be the height of injustice not to recognize in this battle the marks of the master mind of the leader, which makes good officers and good soldiers out of any materials and infuses its own spirit into all that surround it. This brilliant exploit was the work of Stark from its inception to its achievement. His popular name called the militia together. His resolute will obtained him a separate commission—at the expense, it is true, of a wise political principle, but on the present occasion with the happiest effect. His firmness prevented him from being overruled by the influence of General Lincoln, which would have led him with his troops across the Hudson. How few are the men who in such a crisis would not merely not have sought but actually have repudiated a junction with the main army! How few who would not only have desired, but actually insisted on taking the responsibility of separate action! Having chosen the burden of acting alone, he acquitted himself in the discharge of his duty with the spirit and vigor of a man conscious of ability proportioned to the crisis. He advanced against the enemy with promptitude; sent forward a small force to reconnoiter and measure his strength; chose his ground deliberately and with skill; planned and fought the battle with gallantry and success.
The consequences of this victory were of great moment. It roused the people and nerved them to the contest with the enemy, and it also justified the sagacity of Washington, whose words we have quoted on a previous page. Burgoyne's plans were wholly deranged and instead of relying upon lateral excursions to keep the population in alarm and obtain supplies, he was compelled to procure necessaries as best he might. His rear was exposed, and Stark, acting on his line of policy, prepared to place himself so that Burgoyne might be hemmed in and be, as soon after he was, unable to advance or retreat. When Washington heard of Stark's victory he was in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, whence he wrote to Putnam: "As there is now not the least danger of General Howe's going to New England I hope the whole force of that country will turn out and by following the great stroke struck by General Stark, near Bennington, entirely crush General Burgoyne, who, by his letter to Colonel Baum, seems to be in want of almost everything."
The defeat at Bennington was not the only misfortune which now fell upon the British arms. We have noted on a previous page that Burgoyne had detached Colonel St. Leger with a body of regular troops, Canadians, Loyalists, and Indians, by the way of Oswego, to make a diversion on the upper part of the Mohawk river and afterward join him on his way to Albany. On the 2d of August (1777) St. Leger approached Fort Stanwix, or Schuyler, a log fortification situated on rising ground near the source of the Mohawk river, and garrisoned by about 600 Continentals under the command of Colonel Gansevoort. Next day he invested the place with an army of sixteen or seventeen hundred men, nearly one-half of whom were Indians, and the rest British, Germans, Canadians, and Tories. On being summoned to surrender Gansevoort answered that he would defend the place to the last.
On the approach of St. Leger to Fort Schuyler, General Herkimer, who commanded the militia of Tryon county, assembled about 700 of them and marched to the assistance of the garrison. On the forenoon of the 6th of August a messenger from Herkimer found means to enter the fort and gave notice that he was only eight miles distant and intended that day to force a passage into the fort and join the garrison. Gansevoort resolved to aid the attempt by a vigorous sally, and appointed Colonel Willet with upwards of 200 men to that service.