В Вермонте под командованием Джона Старка формируется отряд для сдерживания британского вторжения

IN THE SUMMER of 1777, the cause of American independence was in jeopardy. An invading British army was descending southward from Quebec, commanded by Gen. John Burgoyne. His goal was to reach Albany, New York and to connect there with other British forces to effectively cut New England off from the remainder of the rebellious states. Burgoyne’s troops reached the abandoned patriot outpost of Fort Edward on the Upper Hudson River on July 29. Albany was now only 50 miles to the south, but Burgoyne was hampered due to a lack of provisions, horses, carts, and wagons. He decided that he would send troops into Vermont to plunder what was needed from the local population. While Burgoyne contemplated his next steps, he was unaware that a brigade of 1,500 New Hampshire militiamen had been sent into Vermont in anticipation of just such a British incursion. In early August, this force was encamped in Manchester, Vermont when its commander, Brig. Gen. John Stark, refused to allow his unit to be taken over by Maj. Gen. Benjamin Lincoln of the Continental Army, who was under orders from his commander, Maj. Gen. Philip Schuyler. Stark remained in command of the militia force, but his intention was to collaborate with the army. While in Manchester, Stark conferred with Col. Seth Warner, commander of a regiment of the Continental Army with ties to Vermont. The two men had served together in the disastrous Quebec campaign in 1776 and respected each other’s opinions. Warner would play a role in the drama that would later unfold. Warner had a storied history as a captain of the Green Mountain Boys, a Vermont militia unit led by Ethan Allen that was founded in 1770 to oppose the encroachment of New York settlers into the Vermont territory. The unit supported the patriot movement, famously capturing Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain from the British in May 1775. In July of that year, the organization became a Continental Army regiment, with Seth Warner as its commander. It would be known as Warner’s Regiment. On Aug. 9, after marching 23 miles south from Manchester, Vermont, Stark and his men arrived in Bennington, a village of around 1,500 inhabitants located in southwestern Vermont on the New York border. According to Stark biographer Howard Parker Moore, “The hamlet had grown substantially in recent years and contained numerous stores, a fair-sized church, a number of small shops and many modern houses…” Stark likely lodged at an inn, and his troops set up camp outside the village. Moore wrote, “The men had come from New Hampshire without tents. Hardly any of the recruits had provided themselves with more than an extra pair of stockings, as the period was for only two months and it would be no hardship to sleep in the open, keeping up campfires in rainy or unusually chilly weather.” While at Bennington, Stark, putting any feelings of animosity aside, communicated through dispatches exchanged with Lincoln and Schuyler who were headquartered in the Hudson River Valley. Their correspondence was focused on developing a coordinated plan of defense against the British army. Stark agreed with Schuyler’s idea that his and Warner’s units should attack the British east flank to stall the army’s progress. Schuyler was particularly cordial to Stark, appealing for his cooperation in a letter, writing, “Be assured that I would not wish you to do anything inconsistent with your Honor, but in this critical conjuncture, if a Gentleman, while he asserts his Rights, sacrifices his feelings to the good of his country, he will merit the thanks of his country.” In his response, sent on Aug. 13, Stark assured Schuyler that he would “…throw away all private Resentment when put in Balance with the Good of my Country.” In that same letter Stark also communicated that he could not meet Schuyler’s request to move his troops to the Hudson River Valley before marching northward to harass Burgoyne’s army as this was logistically impossible. Stark must have sensed that he needed to stay close to Bennington. He would soon learn that hundreds of enemy troops were already marching southward from Fort Edward with orders to raid the town. Next week: Stark’s New Hampshire militia and reinforcements encounter the enemy along the Walloomsac River near Bennington.