Battle of Bennington

The Battle of Bennington was a catastrophic defeat for Burgoyne's invasion that severely weakened his army before the decisive battles at Saratoga. Facing acute supply shortages, Burgoyne sent a mixed force of 800 Hessians, Loyalists, Canadians, and Native Americans under Lieutenant Colonel Friedrich Baum to seize supplies at the American depot at Bennington, Vermont.

General John Stark had assembled 1,500 New Hampshire militia who had been passed over for promotion by Congress and had returned to service for the defense of his home state. Before the battle, Stark reportedly pointed to the British position and declared: 'There are the Redcoats, and they are ours, or this night Molly Stark sleeps a widow.'

On August 16, Stark launched a double envelopment of Baum's position while the Hessians were still waiting for the weather to clear. The attack was devastating. Baum's force was surrounded and destroyed in two hours. Baum himself was mortally wounded. Of his 800-man force, about 700 were killed or captured.

A relief column under Colonel Breymann arrived in the afternoon, but Seth Warner's Green Mountain Boys had arrived to reinforce Stark. After a brief engagement, Breymann's force was also routed, losing another 100 killed and wounded. Total British losses exceeded 900 men. The significance of Bennington extended far beyond casualties — it stripped Burgoyne of irreplaceable troops, eliminated his entire German dragoon arm, boosted Patriot morale throughout New England, and helped recruit the militia forces that would surround Burgoyne at Saratoga.