The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1875-04-16
the towns In this country. had "church,

the towns In this country, had Church"
and religious societies had been organized,
In other parts of the state, onlyin Benning-
ton, Arlington, Pownal, SALISBURY, New
bury, Westminster, Guilford, Windsor,
Norwich, Brattleboro, Rockingham, Thet-
ford, Newfane, Putney, Marlborough, and
Mr.. Hutchinsons church In the three towns
of Pomfret, Woodstock and Hartford.
After the fast, the gloom, for a time,
seemed to deepen. Ticonderoga succumbed.
Burgoyne was believed to be invincible.
Schuyler wrote can event 70 alarming
has not yet happened since the contest be-
gum" Even Washington lost heart and
wrote Gas matters are going on, General
Burgoyne will find little difficulty Ia pene-
trating to Albany" New England troops
deserted st. Clair, and denounced him and
Schuyler as "treacherous, incapable and
imbecile." Burgoyne's army ravaged YER
mont Fort George, Fort Edward and Cas-
Teton were garrisoned scouts ranged the
Otter creek valley; attachments were sent
to besiege Fort Stanwix, and to overrun
the "debatable ground" between New York
and Massachusetts almost every "whig"
house in Vermont, north of Manchester,
was deserted east of the mountain, the
people crossed over into New Hampshire !;
and the inhabitants of Stockbridge, Mass.
complained "We are greatly burdened
with people who have fed from the New
Hampshire Grants" All was confusion
and dismay. Had the God of battles, in
deed, deserted our fathers
"God moves in mysterious way, His
wonders to PERFORM" and we are not per-
mitted to know how or in what way He
works. We do know, however, that lie
intcrposed in our behalf, and may we not
believe that it was in answer to the prayers
of that Fast Day ? The constitutional con-
vention was in session on the 9Th of July,
when intelligence of the evacuation of Ii
conderoga, and Burgoyne's invasion of
Vermont was received. The greatest
alarm and anxiety was occasioned, aud, as
the families of many of the members in
Guiding that of the presdent-Joseph
Bowker of Rutland - were within the
encmy's line of march, they made ready to
"lcave the bushes unfinished, and fly 10
the defense of their homes" But God in
tcrposed A "furious thunder Storm as
the chroncler describes it, came up, COM
peling them to remain. The business OF
the convention was concluded and the con-
stltution of Vermont was adopted-a con-
stitution substantially the same as that
under which we now live. Burgoyne soon
found, as he said, the inhabitants of the
New Hampshire Grants-that is, of
Vermont most active and re-
belious race on the continent
hanging 'like a gathering storm on his
cleft" These were the instrumentalities
that God raised up, perhaps in answer &c
the Fast Day prayers, and with them He
interposed at Bennington, August 10th,
1777. We all know the result of that con.
flict-the disastrous defeat of Baum, the
capture of the Hessians, and the results
that followed. Hope revived, the enemy
was dismayed, how the tide of battle was
turned back, the surrender of Burgoyne al
Saratoga, how Clinton said "since the af
"fair at Bennington not an Indian has
"becn heard of, scalping has ceased" how
Washington said "One more such stroke,
"and we have no great cause for anxiety,
''as to the future designs of Britain, how
Zone more such stroke" was obtained and
America was free. May we not fondly be
lieve that all these, and all the other bless
ings we now enjoy, are, under God, the
fruits of that first Vermont Fast Day.