The Bennington daily banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1877-1877, 1877-08-17

uouttAh IuttI kulhs QUIZ nearer Inel
! came, until the flashes met The ammuni
tion cart exploded within the entrench
G ments, aud at the sound our men rushed up
4 scaled the breastwOrks, and leaped dowI
!, within. Then came terrible olashing o.
4 sword and gun-stGck and bayOnet. Gigantic
b John Mcneil strikes down four Hessianl
with the butt of his gun. In five minutes
twenty men broke through to the forest
The rest were all prisoners, or dead and dy-
ing. They fought gallantly aud their leader
, died soldiers death.
I The work was done and the soldiers dis
persed FOR rest and the promised plumber.
john Culef was hunting up his kettle and
saddle, Samuel Small his horse, and Parson
Allen his surgeons panniers with the bottles.
Stark rallied his men to secure the victory.
A hogshead of rum was ordered up. Before
lt eouldbe served out, word came that a
British reinforcement was but two miles
away The weaTied troops left the rum uu-
! tasted, 9nd marched to the new conflict
lThrou9e bottom roads, with ill-fed horses
and upsrtting wagons, Breyman had crawled
along scarce half mile an hour" but in
season 70 meet his doom. From Sancoick
Mill. the Tory Colonel Skene hurried him up,
but never hint did he give that Baum's
fate was sealed Half mile this side Of the
mil, he saw through the woods, armed men
in jackets aud shirt sleeves, for the day was
lintOlerably warm, climbing the hillside on
his left. A call 70 them from Skene was an
swered by vOlley of musketry from the
birches and the sumachs, and the second bat
tie began battalion of chasseurs moved
up the heights and two cannon poured grape
shot along the road, but the shot struck the
tree tops and our men from behind the tree
| trunks fired down into the full ranks with
deadly aim. But at length wearied, Oppress-
ed with heat, some of them chewing on their
bullets for thirst, outnumbered and out
fianked, our troops were slowly falling back.
when Major on a black horse rode up,
shouting, Fight on, reinforcements close
by" With the word, a grape-shot struck out
two teeth from the black horse's mouth, but
the rider spurred on, Behind him up came
Warmers fresh troops, They opened right
and lett, anil the tide of battle turned. The
| Tory Skene, sword in hand, still waved on
the artillery. But Thomas Melhn dropped
his musket, too hot 10 hold seized dead
| Hessians gun, and down came the TOry's
horse. Skene cut the traces Of an artillery
horse and disappeared. The fight was long
and obstinate. Many Of the Germans on
their knees called for quarter. Tue main
body was driven back and their cannon cap
tured. The pursuit continued till 8 o'clock,
and darkness alone saved the remnant of
BurgOynes force. Our troops slept that
night under the open sky, some of them with
corn bill for o pillow, In the morning
they woke SO stlff they could scarcely, move.
The forces of Stark and Of Captain Webster,
are said to have been as black as Indians af-
| ter the battle. But those Bwarthy faces
beamed with honest JOY and patriotic pride
and as the news rolled away to Lincoln and
Schuyler and Washington, to the council of
Safety in New Hampshire and Vermont, and
to congress in session, it came like q flash of
bright sunlight, after the gloom of an Arctic
winter. Stark thought he had paid the
enemy proper compliment for the affair at
Hubbarton. Lincoln called it "a capital
blow" :" A great strOke,N said Washin gtOn,
A signal exploit" said Massachusetts and
congress,
Yes it was greater, more signal, more capi- |
tai, than any Of them then knew. The num-
bers engaged were not great, though larger |
than they are commonly given. The whole
force OF Baum and Breyman's appeared to |
nave been not far from 1900. OF the Ameri- |
eau forces there are no complete records |
We only know from the roll in the office of |
the Adjutant-General of New. Hampshire. |
that Starks brigade consisted of exactly |
1928 officers and privates, of whom one COM |
pany was probably at Charlestown. The |
diary OF Capt Peter Kimball of BOscawen, |
also inlofms us that tho spoil was divided |
among ., S950 men. OF these not less |
at at the battle. nov" The % Numbers fbe
we're small, but It was great thing for raw
militia 10 meet the best trained soldiers OF
Europe, gteaier yet TO sloim their entreneh- |
mentH. grealsst OF all Tor nen almost destitute
Il bayonets 70 charge and destroy a body
armed , the teeth behind their broastYorkn
aud oadiion. II was the most remars abfs al
tair OF the war. Is there more brilliant ex-
Jloit nesled in tho annals Of warfare.
II was "siSnal exploit" II sgniaed
what the Yankee soldiers could do when he
fought for his home. 1t signihed what a
Yankee General could do backed by trusty |
aud trusting baud OF his neighbors and
friends, and left to the guidance OF his own
military genius. 1t siguihed second time TO
The Brlllst what Lexington had told them be-
tore that no enemy could move through New
England, except on bis bier. II si2nihed to
ihe British General what he confessed nine |
weeks later, that his opinions OF the rebel
troops were "delusve." 1t signIied to the |
indians hat it was time 10 abandon the Brit |
sh service It siguifod to insnrgent' Tories |
that they better depart or be still. 1t tslgnihed
10 the neiglboring Safes and to Congress that
the New h,mpshire Grants were certainly to |
become Vermont, aud on the spirit oil the ma |
ion the ntmy and the people--the effort was
magical. Well did criers proclaim It round |
be street IL Boston and all the bells ring out |
the victory. II was ''cdpital' exploit. II |
vas the dofalte beginning OF The distant, but
low certain end, couiessiug It at onoe para |
lzed BnrgOynes operations. 1t rallied IN
locks the iorces thut stopped him at Still |
water. Bennington meant Saratoga, too |
Sheu Bnrsoyne looked northward. John |
Stark lay 10 the rear. This cluster OF events |
determined the treaty with France and thus
furnished openly the arms. ammunition and |
aid which before we're given only in secret II
astounded The ministry into conciliatory Bills,
TOO soon for King George. aud too late for |
America, 1t probably stimulated Span into |
var with Great Britain, encouraged the DIS
ifection OF ireland, iostered the British |
opposition ut home, and thus embarrassed the |
Government. 1t hasiened hither tie foreign |
military skill witch did 80 much for our ar-
mics. II cooled off the hope OF Canadian
tnd Tory help, aud detached tue last band OF
Indian allies. THE very existence of the in
tnut STATE OF Vermont" wrots Ira Allen long
ltterward, "their families and property were
all pending on the event" We might almes'
call it our Thermopyl@. only that our
Lsonidas and most OF his troops survived to
strike other blows for their county.
Il is a singular token OF the skill OF eur
marksmen. and the bewilderment OF the foe,
hat while the British "leit 2O7 dead on tue
,oot." and many others moitllly wounded,
onr lost was about thirty killed. and about
iorly wounded. Thirteen tories, "buried In
one bola" mostly shot through the head "a
they looked over their breastwork, told OF tue
aim Of the New Hampshire sharp.shooters,
aud tue bayonet of William Clement, that
never was withdrawn from the skull OF another
told OF the hand to-haud conflict that closed
the strife Bu, there was mourning on our
Nichols which gave The signal and opened the
Hght on the hill. In each OF four honored
homes in Bennington, there were orphans and
d. widow. Four New Hampshire officers were
killed and two died OF their wounds. Ten Of
their townsmen. privates, were laid with them
in the grave. Chaplain Hubbard in bis old
zoe. remembered well Tint "burial service" as
The most mournful occasion of his life New
Dam oshire sent two OF her foremost men,
Josiah Bartlett and Stephen Peabody, "to do
everything in their power to assist the sick
and wounded" Let the names OF those dead
be carved here on a monument that shall be
co-eval with this State and this nation, and
while the grass grows green on these noun
tain side, aud the granite rock lies Arm aud
solid beyond the Conuecticnt let the name OF
Seth Warner be craven 10 Vermont, and the
name Of John Stark lie embedded in the heart
IT New Hamushlre.
Ir~;o,ds aud feilovv eitizene. The regofds