In August 1777, Brigadier General John Stark and 1400 New Hampshire men assembled at Fort Number Four in Charleston, New Hampshire, crossed the Green Mountains to aid the defense of the newly established State of Vermont, and fought near Bennington as Stark, commanding all the American forces from New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and New York, had approximately 2000 men in the first phase of the battle. Stark’s army defeated and captured a British detachment led by Col. Fredrich Baum. Shortly afterward, with the assistance of Col. Seth Warner and his Green Mountain Boys, a relief column under Col. Heinrich Von Breymann was repulsed. By denying the enemy sorely needed supplies, these twin victories near Bennington on August 16, 1777, contributed notably to the total British surrender at Saratoga two months later and to the subsequent military alliance with France, a turning point in the war for American Independence.

Photo: Bill Coughlin

Photo: Barry Swackhamer