Bennington banner and reformer. (Bennington, Vt.) 1903-19??, 1903-10-01
NAMING A BATTLE.
Letter From Il. D. Hall Reprinted From the
Troy Times.

The following article is from a
letter written last July by Hon H. D.
Hall TO the Troy Times with few ad-
ditious and corrections made since by
Mr. Hall;
The article in The New York Times,
growing out of the telegram from Hoo
sick Falls MY. Of the celebration
which is to occur in the latter place
on the 10Th of August, that the rights
of the people of the town may
be protected in the future and
the glory of their ancestry
be indicated, has interested the atten-
ton of so many that perhaps it will
not be out of place to refer to one
point which has been source of
annoyance to some of the present and
late generations of the town, and like
Banquo's ghost will not "down
The immediate need of provisions
and also of cattle and carriages,
which had been collected at Benning-
ton where the monument stands, was
the objective point where he hoped to
supply his scanty larder, and had Cen
eral Stark waited Baums arrival, in
stead of exhibiting the shrewd general.
ship he did in venturing into the pres
emit limits of the state of New York for
battle, the result might possibly have
been less satisfactory.
The accurate map used in Burgoy-
mes State OF the Expedition" drawn
by Lieutenant Dumford, engineer, from
measurements, says: "WalmscOck near
bennington" The country in the vic
unity of the battlefield was in dispute
between New York and Vermont and
relatively was of so little consequence
that the name of the region had to be
connected with that of Bennington in
order that Congress or even General
Washington and others of the Amer
lean Army might know in what part
of the country it was located and so
be able to Judge of its actual import
ance.
A few years since S. D. Locke, Hoo
sickss champion historian made
claim that the name of place where
the battle was fought should be the
name of the battle, contending that the
name should be the battle of Walloom-
sac" He also said in the same paper:
''The last or decisive engagement,
when the largest number OF the enemy
were fighting was at Sancoik." II his
theory be correct, why did he not claim
it should be called "the battle Of San
coik?" But further to show the fallacy
of such claim, we will repeat what
has before been said on the subject in
a reply to Mr. Locke's wild and futile
assumption;
"But what does give the name to bat
tie or has from time immemorial? There
has been no fixed rule for their banning
but like the naming of children circum-
stances and surroundings govern, and
a name suggested by its adaptation to
the event meets the views of those con-
cerned and acquiescence determines it,
and then David or Jonathan, Patience |
or Dorothy, battle of Bennington or
Walloomsac is the proper one and be-
comes Interchangeable after a period of |
one hundred and fifteen years. And |
the location of monument depends |
upon what is to be perpetuated with /
the circumstances which brought about |
the event or battle, or whatever may |
have taken place. Such ever has been !
the rule, and such undoubtedly always /
will be although it does not meet with
entire appreciation in this case.
Sin looking at the names given some !
of the fifteen battles, which Professor
Cressey pronounces "as having had |
the most decisive influence" what has
given them their names? Not always |
the field or ground upon which they
were fought but other circumstances or
have determined many of them.
Arbela has given the name battle of
Arbela to a battle fought ( BOZ B. c..
between Alexander the Great and OAR
ius, though in fact the scene of the con-
flict was "Guagamela" and twas only !
in the subsequent pursuit that the con-
queror arrived at Arbela, where Dari-
US had left his baggage and treasure
forty to fifty miles distant. Varu's de-
feat by the Germans. A. ID. 9 in a bat
tie near Kreutzberg, rolled back the
tide of Roman conquest, and the battle
was called Herman Schlacht" that is
Herman's fight. The battle of Blenhe-
i'm didnot actually take place here,
but at village in the vicinity called
Hochstadt This important battle was
fought August 10, 1904 where France
and Bavaria on the one hand, with So,