A few miles west of Bennington, Vermont, approximately 2,000 New England militia under General John Stark defeated about 1,200 Germans, British, Loyalists, and Indians under the non-English-speaking German colonel Friedrich Baum. Stark also forced a relief column of approximately 600 German grenadiers to retreat back to General John Burgoyne's main army. This action not only cost the British close to a thousand men (207 dead and more than 700 captured); it also compelled Burgoyne to continue to rely on his long and vulnerable supply line from Canada on his thrust into New York State, ultimately contributing to the disaster that led to Burgoyne's surrender at Saratoga (October 17, 1777). The Revolutionaries lost only about 30-40 killed.

British arrogance and Baum's ineptness and bad luck led to the revolutionary victory. Burgoyne's plan for the raid was too ambitious: He ordered Baum not only to gain horses, cattle, and grains but also to rouse the countryside to the king's banner. As Baum moved against Vermont, he decided to head for Bennington because of a reported cache of supplies there under a militia guard of only a few hundred. Meanwhile, after the British capture of Fort Ticonderoga in June 1777, New Hampshire had appointed John Stark as its general; the veteran Stark had left the Continental army after he had been passed over for promotion. General Philip John Schuyler, in command of the revolutionary forces opposed to Burgoyne, sent General Benjamin Lincoln to order the New Hampshire men to the Hudson, but Stark insisted on keeping his militia in New England for protection. Lincoln and Schuyler decided not to press the issue, and Stark marched to Bennington. By August 14, as Baum drew near to Bennington, both forces had become aware of each other. Although Baum knew he was outnumbered, he assumed that the militia would withdraw once he began his advance. He did ask for reinforcements but did not press the case for urgency.

It rained all day on August 15, and Baum spread his men out across a mile-and-a-half front in entrenchments west of Bennington and in groups ranging from 50 to a couple of hundred. With his men divided, it would be difficult for the units to act in support of one another. Stark decided to attack on August 16, after it stopped raining, and, taking a risk, he also divided his men. He hoped to pull off a double-enveloping maneuver that would neutralize the discipline of German and British regulars. Colonel Moses Nichols circled around the enemy left to attack a weakly manned position on a hill overlooking the battlefield. Another force under Colonel Samuel Herrick circled around Baum's right to ford the Walloomsac River at the enemy's rear. Stark and the main force attacked the center. Amazingly, this maneuver worked as Nichols overwhelmed the Germans stationed on the high ground. There was fierce fighting on the right, especially in a redoubt held by Loyalists, many of whom were neighbors of the New England militia. The Germans in the middle fought bravely and held the Revolutionaries at bay until Baum was killed. The Revolutionaries then swept the field.

The German relief column under the command of Colonel Heinrich Breymann took too long to march the 25 miles to Baum's assistance, making only eight miles on the 15th in the rain. In late afternoon of the 16th, they were only four miles from the battlefield; by then Baum's force had been annihilated. Fortunately for the Revolutionaries, they too had some reinforcements arrive under Seth Warner. The militia's discipline had broken down after their victory over Baum: Men were drinking and looting, and many were separated from their units. As Breymann's troops advanced toward Bennington, they were harassed by groups of militia. Stark considered withdrawing but then decided to attack with Warner's men, and a fierce engagement ensued. Although Breymann almost surrendered when his ammunition ran low, at sundown he managed to withdraw most of his men (he lost 20 dead and over 100 as prisoners), bringing them back to the safety of Burgoyne's army the next day. With his men exhausted from marching and fighting, Stark did not pursue the Germans.

Bibliography:

Richard M. Ketchum, Saratoga: Turning Point of America's Revolutionary War (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1997)

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