Once upon a time, on a wintry Valentine’s Day Eve, Beth and I traveled across southern Vermont en route to a charity fundraiser in New York’s Catskill Mountains. Caught in a major blizzard, we took refuge at the Four Chimneys Inn in Bennington, on the New York border. It was there I decided to offer Beth a diamond engagement ring, which she accepted to my great joy.
As Bennington thus became a special place in our life journeys, we decided to return there for a private wedding ceremony 15 months later. Somehow, Bennington seemed to call to us.
As a former history teacher, perhaps part of the appeal for me was that greater Bennington was the site of an important Revolutionary War battle in 1777, where New Hampshire’s Gen. John Stark led American forces to an improbable victory over the British that changed the course of history.
Beth and I were married in front of the old First Congregational Church in Bennington. The adjacent cemetery included the final resting place for New Hampshire’s famous poet Robert Frost. As Beth was also a published poet, we paid a visit to Frost’s grave for a special photo.
Years later, as a New Hampshire legislator, I was informed by Secretary of State Bill Gardner – a renowned Granite State historian – that that cemetery also included a mass grave that held the remains of scores of British, Hessian and Tory soldiers who were killed by Stark’s New Hampshire men on Aug. 16, 1777.
This sobering information only increased my fascination with Bennington. Concurrently, a friend and amateur genealogist informed me that I was a direct descendant of Nathaniel Balch Sr., who was first deputy of the New Hampshire Provincial Congress in 1775 – a forerunner to the N.H. Legislature in which I now serve. I asked Gardner if he knew of Balch and the secretary of state said he’d have his staff look into him.
True to his word, Gardner brought me into his office on June 22, the Legislature’s last session day for 2017, and handed me a folder with fascinating information on Nathaniel Balch Sr. Not only was Balch a senior member of the revolutionary legislature, but was a contemporary of patriots such as William Whipple, Matthew Thornton and Josiah Bartlett (signers of the Declaration of Independence), as well as the likes of Gen. Enoch Poor, John Langdon and others.
(Included in the information Gardner shared with me was the fact that Balch also served on a committee tasked with finding ways to collect taxes from out-of-staters. Clearly he was a man ahead of his time in New Hampshire!)
These Granite State revolutionaries collaborated on a state constitution, which was declared in January 1776, six months before the Declaration of Independence.
Inspired by Gardner’s research – and perhaps by certain spirits – I took it upon myself to better understand the monumental significance of Bennington.
The United States of America celebrated its first birthday on July 4, 1777. But it seemed likely that the young country would never celebrate another one.
The fledgling nation was in dire straits. Most “Americans” either remained loyal to the British Crown or were uncommitted in the ongoing revolutionary struggle. The Southern states in particular stayed out of the conflict.
Patriotic fervor remained strongest in New England, so the British devised a plan to isolate the region from the rest of the country, crush the rebellion and re-establish the king’s authority throughout the “colonies.”
A gigantic British fleet landed a mighty army in New York, chasing away George Washington’s outgunned American forces. With autumn approaching, Washington’s demoralized army withered away on the Pennsylvania/New Jersey border – barefoot and unpaid. The British soon occupied the revolutionary capital of Philadelphia, which Washington was helpless to defend.
America’s hopes traveled with Ben Franklin, who went to Paris to plead for French assistance and an alliance. But as much as the French wanted to counter their British rivals, they were reluctant to support a lost cause.
The British were utterly confident that the rebellion was in its death throes and sought to deliver a coup-de-grace to end the revolution and then hang its leaders.
A huge pincer movement would feature the large Redcoat army under Gen. Clinton moving north from New York City to link up around Albany with an even larger British force moving south from Canada under Gen. Burgoyne. This would effectively sever New England from the rest of the colonies, to be then punished and ravaged. With no significant army in New England and with Washington helpless to assist, the rebellion would be crushed.
King George III and his ministers were utterly confident of their plan. The war was all but over.
And then New Hampshire changed everything.
Bad news travels fast – even in 1777. New Englanders were in a panic. When the giant British armies joined forces and turned east toward Boston, there’d be no hope of stopping them.
Terrified settlers in what is now Vermont desperately pleaded with New Hampshire authorities for help. The Granite State’s revolutionary legislature convened and spirited debate ensued. Defeatists argued that here was no hope of stopping the British and counseled accommodation and appeasement. There was no time, money or leadership to do otherwise.
But some legislators – like Nathaniel Balch Sr. – refused to give up. They turned their eyes to the Granite State’s top military man – John Stark, a hero of Bunker Hill. An officer with the legendary Rogers’ Rangers during the French and Indian War, Stark had also excelled with George Washington’s army in the months after the Declaration of Independence. But in March of 1777 Stark resigned his commission in disgust when lesser men were promoted ahead of him due to political connections.
But Stark was a true patriot who could not say no when his state called. He agreed to return to uniform as a brigadier general under the condition that he answer only to New Hampshire – not to any political generals in the Continental Army.
News of Gen. Stark’s return to duty thrilled local patriots who’d not yet given up. Within six days, more than 1,200 men from all over New Hampshire had gathered, ready to fight. Langdon provided personal funds to support Stark’s force.
Among those who fell in behind Stark was Nathaniel Balch Jr. – my fourth great-grandfather, and son of that first deputy of the Provincial Congress. Balch Jr. signed up with Stickney’s Militia on July 20, 1777, and was soon marching westward, musket in hand.
As Stark and his troops trudged on, they picked up more and more volunteers. The poignancy of the time can scarcely be imagined today, as wives and family members – tears streaming down their cheeks – pleaded with their men to stay home. But hundreds more fell in behind Stark – ill-clad, ill-equipped and ill-trained, yet eager to take on the most powerful army in the world.
True patriots, these men believed in America, but equally important, they believed in John Stark. When the bedraggled column reached Fort No. 4 in Charleston, N.H., Stark had more than 1,500 men. They then ferried across the Connecticut River into what is now Vermont.
By the second week in August, Stark’s force had reached Manchester, Vt., where they met Gen. Benjamin Lincoln of the Continental Army. Lincoln ordered Stark to move his men to the Hudson River Valley to reinforce Gen. Philip Schuyler, who was desperately trying to organize a force to slow down Burgoyne.
Lincoln was one of the political generals for whom Stark had such contempt. Stark refused Lincoln’s order, explaining that he answered only to the New Hampshire legislature.
Instead Stark headed toward Bennington, where he’d link up with over 300 Green Mountain Boys, led by Col. Seth Warner. Stark had received intelligence that Burgoyne’s big army had slowed in its march and needed supplies that could be commandeered in Bennington. Stark and Warner got there first and prepared to engage a large force sent by Burgoyne, who did not anticipate that Bennington would be well-defended.
Leading the British force was Lt. Col. Freidreich Baum, a Hessian mercenary who commanded hundreds of brave, well-trained regulars, along with many more Canadians, Tory/loyalists and Indians.
Stark’s Granite Staters were untrained and undisciplined, but comfortable in the woods and confident in their leader. Knowing of his men’s limitations, Stark ingeniously split his forces to outflank Baum.
With the enemy now harassed by Granite Staters on either side, Stark personally took charge of his remaining men – including Nathaniel Balch Jr. – on Aug. 16 and famously cried, “There are your enemies, the Red Coats and the Tories. They are ours, or this night Molly Stark sleeps a widow!”
The subsequent battle resulted in more than 200 enemy deaths, 10 times as many as Stark’s force suffered. Around a thousand prisoners were taken. A relief force sent by Burgoyne was routed by Col. Warner’s men, further enhancing a marvelous victory.
That you’re reading this narrative is living proof that Nathaniel Balch Jr. survived the battle.
Burgoyne was stunned by the defeat at Bennington. The needed supplies didn’t materialize and the loss of 1,000 men was a huge blow. His movement southward slowed to a crawl. The myth of Redcoat invincibility was shattered, and Burgoyne’s Indian allies abandoned him.
On Aug. 28, Burgoyne learned that major British reinforcements coming east through the Mohawk Valley under Col. Barry St. Leger had turned back toward Canada. News of the American victory at Bennington similarly unnerved Gen. Clinton in New York, who dithered and delayed his move north to link up with Burgoyne.
Washington replaced Schuyler with Gen. Horatio Gates and ordered troops commanded by Israel Putnam to reinforce Gates’s forces. Stark also marched his men into New York to augment the growing American army, whose numbers were further swelled by other militiamen, who – inspired by Bennington – rallied to the cause. Numerous sharpshooters soon picked away at the increasingly demoralized British.
By October, Gates’s force finally outnumbered Burgoyne’s, and the Americans closed in and surrounded the British at Saratoga. Burgoyne surrendered an army of 7,000 men on Oct. 17.
Historians rate the Battle of Saratoga as one of the most significant battles ever – anywhere. The American triumph breathed life into a moribund cause. New England was safe. Washington and his men took heart, and the revolution would continue. When news of the Americans’ stunning triumphs reached Paris, Franklin convinced the French to recognize the United States and form an alliance. With French help, the Americans eventually prevailed at Yorktown in 1781, guaranteeing total victory and independence.
Many factors influenced the outcome at Saratoga, but none more than Stark’s victory at Bennington. Had Stark and his New Hampshire men not responded as they did, history would have unfolded quite differently. Without French help the revolution almost certainly would have failed, and without the victories at Bennington and Saratoga, a French alliance would have been very unlikely.
Nathaniel Balch Jr. and most of the Granite Staters mustered out right after Saratoga and marched back to New Hampshire, hailed as heroes all along the way. Gen. Stark stayed with the Continental Army and helped see the American cause through to victory. He then retired to New Hampshire and died in 1822 at the age of 94. The last surviving American Revolutionary War general, Stark arguably saved the young country with his actions during the summer of 1777.
Invited to a reunion of Bennington survivors, Stark demurred due to the infirmities of age. He did send a famous message to the commemoration that included the immortal phrase, “Live free or die,” which became New Hampshire’s motto.
Aug. 16 marks the 240th anniversary of Stark’s heroics at Bennington, and hopefully people throughout New Hampshire and beyond will reflect on how the Granite State’s citizen legislature and its citizen soldiers came through to save the country when America’s prospects were never bleaker.
As a state representative, I’m especially proud that my fifth great-grandfather was a leader in that revolutionary legislature. And as a U.S. Marine, I’m equally proud that my fourth great-grandfather picked up a musket and was in the middle of the fight at Bennington.
Maybe it was more than a blizzard that stopped us in Bennington on that snowy February night, once upon a time.
(Michael Moffett, a professor, author and retired Marine Corps officer, serves in New Hampshire’s citizen legislature and lives in Loudon.)