Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-08-09

mont in the days immediately preceding the epoch of 1876 and was dreaded like q pestilcnce, especially as many of the most reputable families who lived in this sec ton and made the backbone of society in the moro thickly settled part were loyal ists It was to this class that Ethan Allen delighted in showing his sCamy side and perhaps exaggerated his own bad quail ties. Yet when all Is said there is no doubt that the hero of Ticondrroga was n prototype of many of the d,Spcradots who have made the social history uf th" west picturesque, but none the less disagrrCablc to timid and orderly people" That Aliens later history largely redeemed the license of his turbulent manhood can scarcely affect the essential estimate of the man.
 The circumstances of the Bennington fight nccd be only briefly rrhcarsUd. It was the British plan of campaign that Burguync's army marching from Canada should pierce the center of the northern colonies, crushing all in his path and Ut . tcrly cutting of New England. Had he followed his original purpose of sending n heavy detachment down through the Green mountains he would probably have succeeded. As it was, after his successes at TicondcrOga and Hubhartituwn, Vt, he | found himself at Fort Edward master of Lakes George and Champlain, but utterly without tho supplies necessary for an on | ward movement. He was confronted only | by General Schuyler at Albany. where Burgoync made no doubt of sweeping the | insufficient and dcmoraliZed Americans | from his path and makinga n junction with | the British forces expected from New York. The New EnElanders wCr,' com | pletcly discouraged and their militia very slow in coming to the tackle schuyler ; | little force was the forlurn hope.
 Burguync burned to get on. but his | men must eat. It seemed easy tn Captur' the large depot of stores located at Ben | ningtun known tO have bc'n collected for
 Schuylcr's trnops. So Colonel Baum. at
 the head of n detachment of about l.5uu
 Hcssians, was dispatched tn make this
 essential capturr. The news "f the cxpc-
 dition got abroad. A regiment of militia from Massachusetts and another from New
 Hampshirr-if such undisciplinCd mulns
 could bc called rcgimCntS-hastCnrd to
 join the Vermont battalion. and to these | were added large numbers of the GpCu | mountain boys, who had no organization
 at all each man fighting for his own hand. | Colonel John Stark of the Vermont Cun- | tingent took command of this motley array | and headed off the IIV>>inns about four
 miles west Cf Huntington in what is now
 known as the township of White crvCk, N. Y.
 | sh | crows, but each scarvCruw held iirt'luck, | with which he had picked out the eyes ui hundreds of squirrels. Tho HCssians | fought with machinclikc courage, but
 could not stand the pelting of lead that | went straight home for human life from | every tree and bush. So they scnsibly laid down their arms. Tho curious fact Is that this celebrated Vermont victory was | fought in what was then and always had
 been the domain of New York and not ir | Vermont.
 The result of the Bennington battle de
 prived Burgoyne of his expected supplie:
 and anchored him at Fort Edward. Ii
 put fire into the people of New England
 which inspired them to the raising of many
 new regiments. So General Gates was on
 abled two months later to take the fielC
 with equal or superior numbers and defeat
 Burgoync at the battle of Saltwater ol
 Saratoga. It is not without rcason, then
 that the Bennington affair may be called
 Q parting of the ways in the war of indc
 pendence. G. T. FERRIS.