The Bennington daily banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1877-1877, 1877-08-17
SOME REFLECTIONS ON THE BATTLE
OF BENNINGTON.

The story of the famous little battle
of Bennington, fought one hundred
years ago to-day, is graphically told in
all its detailsin another column by our
distinguished fellow citizen, Elk,
Inland Hall, and to his elaborate mar
rative we refer our readers for an accu-
rate description of the field and the
conduct of the fight. Stated with cold
simplicity, the first battle of Benning-
ton was the destruction by 1900
farmers of a foraging party of some
800 British troops, Hessians, Tories,
Canadians and Indians, entrenched up
on hill that overlooks the Walloom-
sac, near the crossing of the Cambridge
road, while the second fight of the day
was the severe repulse of the supports
of Col. Baume, numbering 800 men I'M
der Col. Breyman who arrived just
too late to save Baume, and yet early
enough to at one time seriously threat
en- the victors of the first fight with
defeat. The importance Of this victory
was out ofall proportion to the num-
bers engaged; it was paralytic shock
to Bugoyne, for it revealed to his
officers and men the startling fact that
the sinews of war; food and transporta-
ton, would have to be wrested from. n
country, whose sturdy yeOmanry fear
lessly charged regular troops entrench-
ed, opposing the brown fire-locks of the
settler, to cannon musketry and
bayonets, and coming as it did, on the
heels of st. Leger's failure ITO capture
TT. Stanwix and deserned the Mohawk
to Albany, no wonder Burgoyne, who
was soldier of talent, and keen OBJ
server of human nature, at once de-
cided that it was impossible for Eng
land to onquer America. Burgoyne's
English officers. tried to- ): explain ;nway
Bennington by sneering at the heavy
armed Hessians, and their ponderous
hats and weighty broad-swords, as
assuring failure in advance through
their unaptness for the work of light
troops, but this excuse will not stand
examination. Of Baume's whole de-
tachment but two hundred and fifty
were Hessians, and they were the same
soldiers, who under Riedsell had, by
good marching and stout fighting,
made victory certain for General Fra
ger and his light troops, when Col.
Seth Warner and his Green Mountain
Boys, were making it hot for the Eng
lishmen; the Hessians fought with
confessed courage, their commander,
Col. Baume, seems to have been as
skillful and prudent as he was "a gal
liant soldier; he was aided effectually
in his knowledge of the country by the
Tory recruits that had joined him, and
the position he selected was admirably
chosen and desperately defended, and
there seems no reason to believe that
the result of the battle would have
been otherwise, had the gallant and
enterprising Frazer with his English
men been given Baumes work to do,
for Frazer and his men Jared no better
afterwards when opposed to yeoman-
~ similarly armed and led at Saratoga.
Indeed the campaign OF Burgoyne,
more than any other during the Rev
dictionary struggle, was marked by
desperate valor on the part OF the
Americans, who charged up TO the
mouth of the cannon with uneXampled
fury and success, and to this desperate
mood ofopposition may be ascribed the
failure of the best planned and the most
ably conducted campaign on the part
of the British during the war; Gen,
Burgoyne lacked neither excellent
ability, energy, prudence or valor, and
yet he was overwhelmed by disaster.
The cause of this burning hate for
the enemy, which converted the peace.
full farmer into so bitter and forInida.
BILE fighter, was owing in great meas
sure 70 the employment of Indians by
Burgoyne and st. Leger. The murder
of Miss McCrea is justly estimated by
Irving, who says, " 1t was not shed in
vain; armies sprang up from it; Il wa
a rallying word among the Greer
Mountains of Vermont, and brought
down all this hardy yeomanry." The
ettlers knew by tradition IL not by
actual experience the horrors of Indiar
warfare, and the menace of these hos
tilities to their children and wives
produced that feeling OF terrible exas
peratIOD which made such an astoupd
ing feat of arms as Bennington, posi-
BILE to crowd of cornstalk militia
The glory of the day has clustered
around the name of Gen. John Stark
but although he was true patriot anC
a sinewy soldier, Injured to peril in tn
old French war, and at Bunker Hill
Trenton and Princeton, nevertheless
with suck a soIdiery as he led, facing
an army guided and composed to {
large extent of his old Tory neighbors
and the recent Hessian. slayers of thu
sons of Vermont at Hubbardton, th'
result ofthe battle could hardly have
heen different. There was need o