The Battle of Bennington took place on August 16, 1777, in Walloomsac, New York, about 10 miles (16 km) from Bennington, Vermont. An American force of 2,000 men, primarily New Hampshire and Massachusetts militiamen, led by General John Stark, and the Green Mountain Boys led by Colonel Seth Warner decisively defeated a detachment of General John Burgoyne’s army led by … Continue reading →

Second of two battles that led to the British surrender at Saratoga (American War of Independence). After failing to even reach the American lines in his previous attack (Battle of Freeman’s Farm, 19 September), Burgoyne had waited in the hope that a supporting attack from New York would force General Gates to split his army. When it was clear that … Continue reading →

Fort Stanwix (site of modern Rome, New York) occupied a strategic western portage known as the Oneida Carrying Place between the Mohawk River, which flowed southeast to the Hudson River, and Wood Creek leading to Lake Ontario. Built by the British in 1758 during the French and Indian War, the fort had fallen into disrepair. The site again became strategically … Continue reading →