The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1877-09-27

in session previous to and during the bat
tie and through the year. 1t gathered
in the old CatamOunt Tavern, which
stood a few rods north of the present
Congregational church at the Center, and
whose site is now marked by granite
base, for which Artist T. H. Bartlett, of
Paris, native of Dorset in this country,
has just completed life-like bronze fig
ure of catamount. AS BurgOyne's
forces proceeded south ward, the Council
of Safety called out the State militia to
strengthen Colonel Warner at Manches-
ter, confiscated the property of those who
had joined the enemy, and organized a
company of rangers under Colonel Samuel
Herrick to patrol the frontier and attend
to the Torres. New Hampshire and
Massachusetts were called on for aid, and
the Assembly of the former State organ
lied brigade of militia for General
Stark. Happily he was granted discre-
tionary command of this little army,
raised "for the defense of this and the
neighboring States to prevent the en-
croachments of the enemy thereinto," and
when he reached Manchester, Aug.7 and
found General Lincoln with an order
from Schuyler that the New Hampshire
men march into New York, John Stark
fatty refused to obey-he was an ADLER
soldier than General Schuyler, and for
tunately he knew it. He went down to
Bennington, reaching there the 9th, the
same day that General Burgoyne, finding
himself embarrassed for provisions, or
dered Lieutenant Colonel Baum q see
that ex Governor Hiland Hall, excellent
local historical authority, spells this name
Baume, which is not good GERMANY to
capture the storehouse at this place.
The town of Bennington at this time
consisted only of the Center village and
probably about 1900 inhabitants. Though
it boosted saveral frame structures, the
town was largely primeval forest, Mt.
An hony, whose summit is $500 feet
above the level of the sea, five or six
miles southwest of the village, being
wooded down to near the meeting house,
but the land to the north and west was
largely cleared and as remarkably pro-
ductive AS it is to-day. 1t is not gener-
ally known that the battle-f field, half
dozen miles northwest Of the meeting
house, is in the town of HoOsac, N. Y,
thus making the Hubbardton fight the
only battle of the Revolution fought in
Vermont Meantime Colonel Baum had
set off with his force of probably 500
400 Brunswick dismounted dragons, a
detachment of artillerists with two field
pieces, British, Canadian and tory marks
men and 400 Misunderstanding Cambride,
sixteen miles from Stark, on the 18th.
The next morning he pushed on to what
is now North Hoosac, where some Ameri-
cans abandoned mill, and thence to
where the battle was afterward fought, a
thickly wooded hill on the west bank of
the Walloomsac, where he encamped.
General Stark and the Council of Safety
had been busy the while. On the morn
ing of the 14th he had rallied his brigade
sent to Manchester for Colonel Warmers
men and to Berkshire for recruits, and
with Colonies Warner, Williams, Her
rick and Brush marched out toward the
enemy. That night the council decided
with Stark and his officers in the old
Catamount Hotel, plan of attack which
would have been carried out the next
morning but for a pouring rain. So was
Berkshire saved her share in the victory
Her people had become thoroughly
aroused to the crisis, and Colonel Bepja-
min Simonds, of WiIliamstown, Parson
Thomas Allen, of Pittsield, and Lieuten-
ant Colonel David Rossiter, of Richmond,
led her militia, who had kept their pow
der dry through their long, wet march,
into Bennington on the night of the 10Th.
General Stark had fallen back little
and encamped two miles from Baum
in the northwest part of the town, on
the hill-farm, now occupied by Lewis
Northouse, a heavily wooded hill hiding
the hostile camp.
Baum had entrenched himself on the hill
selected for his main defense, which rises
some four hundred feet to the southeast,
but slopes away to the rear, and whose
base is washed by the Walloomsac River,
running very nearly south here. At the
southern base of the Hill the road from
Cambridge, n. Y, crosses the river; and
the bridge was defended by breastworks
and minor Notifications, while southeast
and on rising ground, less than a
quarter of mile away, were consider
able tory breastworks.
Saturday, the 10th, was a rarely perfect
day, with nature fresh washed and dewily
fragrant. General Stark got his perhaps
1000 men-the New Hampshire militia,
Green Mountain boys and Berkshire
farmers, all fresh from the bayfield,
early in motion, but the attack was not
begun until p. NJ. This was the plan
of battle: Colonel Moses Nichols. a