Better Late than Never: Seth Warner Saves the American Cause at Bennington

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In August of 1777, some New Englanders feared America was losing its Revolutionary War.  American forces had surrendered Fort Ticonderoga without a fight, and the British had successfully harassed Seth Warner and his troops out of Hubbardton, Vt.

Gen. John Burgoyne was on the march to New York, part of the British strategy to cut off rebellious New England from the rest of the colonies.

The surrender at Ticonderoga was a strategically wise move. The valuable cannon had already been removed from the fort. But at Hubbardton, after a spirited fight, the British forced Col. Seth Warner’s troops to make a hasty retreat. While the loss of life on the British and American sides was roughly equivalent, the British took far more prisoners.

The Americans had to try to re-gather their forces to mount a battle in the Hudson Valley to stop Burgoyne’s march to New York City.

Stark Reaches Bennington

Gen. John Stark then arrived on the scene in Bennington, Vt. , with 1,500 New Hampshire militiamen he’d raised in six days. Stark, a veteran of the French and Indian Wars, had fighting skills matched only by his stubbornness. He had chosen Bennington believing it the best way to support the American forces aligned farther north.

Stark had orders to move his troops north and west toward an eventual engagement with Burgoyne as the British general slowly moved down the Hudson River Valley. But Stark dragged his feet. He believed his flanking position was stronger.

A German lieutenant, Friedrich Baum, had been dispatched by the British to gather supplies, such as horses, draft animals and food. He also recruited local Loyalists to join up with the British cause. Baum had 700 men, including Canadians and Indians. They happened on the Sancoick Mill about eight miles west of Bennington. A small contingent of revolutionaries scattered at his arrival. Baum then learned Stark was in nearby Bennington with 1,800 men.

And, he was informed, Stark would take flight if the British approached the town. That intelligence confirmed Baum’s keen contempt for the Americans. “The savages cannot be controlled,” he wrote to Burgoyne, describing the colonists arriving at the mill seeking food. But he confidently assured Burgoyne he would move on Bennington and roust the Americans.

Parson Allen Joins Stark

Rev. Thomas Allen of Pittsfield,  Mass., had  gathered his Berkshire men to join with Stark. He reached Stark on August 15, just in time to participate in a major turning point of the war. The next day, the Stockbridge Indian militia would arrive, bringing Stark’s forces to 2,000.

Thomas Allen knew Stark’s character better than Lt. Baum. Allen had been disgusted by the surrender of Ticonderoga. Stark, he knew by reputation, was a fighter. When he finally met with Stark, he said the entire revolt would collapse if they didn’t start fighting.

But Stark had learned Baum was nearby, and he had made plans to attack.

Arriving late on the rainy afternoon of August 15, Allen, with his small contingent of militia, was direct: “The Berkshire militia have often been summoned to the field, without being allowed to fight; now if you don’t give them a chance this time, they will never turn out again.”

Stark’s answer: “If the Lord will give us sunshine in the morning, and I do not give you fighting enough, I will never ask you to come out again.”

Sunshiney Victory

The sunshine came and Stark rallied his men with words still remembered: “There are your enemies, the Red Coats and the Tories. They are ours, or this night Molly Stark sleeps a widow.”

Stark and the Americans brilliantly routed the Hessians under Baum. Indian soldiers witnessing the early fighting withdrew and, after a council, abandoned Burgoyne altogether as a bad risk. Baum himself died in the fighting.

One astonished German account of the fighting recorded how row after row of German soldiers would load their muskets and rise up to shoot, only to be slaughtered before they could fire.

But the British side almost saved the day. Late in the fighting, Col. Heinrich von Breymann arrived to bolster Baum’s forces with another 600 men.  By this point, the American forces under Stark had lost all discipline.

Stark had promised his soldiers that they could have whatever spoils of war they could recover from the British and German troops.

Men searched for valuables among the captured troops. Others simply lay down, resting after the vigorous fight. Still others tended to the wounded. Breymann’s reinforcements marched into this chaotic scene. Breymann immediately ordered his troops to begin firing.

Seth Warner Saves the Day

Stark tried to rally his men, but chaos reigned. He was nearly forced to order a retreat when Vermont’s Col. Seth Warner stepped up and uttered his famous orders:  “Stand to it, my lads; you shall have help immediately.”

Warner’s 350 men, fresh and ready, joined the battle. A rest period at Manchester following their retreat at Hubbardton had left them eager and ready for another crack at the British army. The fight began to turn, and hours later the British side retreated.

In the darkness, the Americans dared not pursue for fear of shooting their own men. The final tally was astounding. Thirty dead and forty wounded on the American side. On the other side, more than 200 Hessian soldiers killed and 700 taken prisoner.

The losses deprived Burgoyne of a significant number of soldiers and shook British confidence. Perhaps more importantly it also convinced the Indians to jump ship from Burgoyne. His weakened army would, weeks later, have to surrender at Saratoga, and the seeds of the defeat were sewn at Walloomsac in the Battle of Bennington.

Why Was Seth Warner So Late?

The battle would establish Seth Warner as a genuine war hero. But why had his forces arrived so late? It puzzled historians for a while. Edward Everett Hale wrote a charming story of 15-year-old Luke Varnum, who had to stay out of the fighting because of a lame foot.

Luke was on his family’s farm when approached by soldiers, one of them riding a horse that had thrown a shoe. The young boy had fired up the forge and crafted a shoe that he fitted to the horse, allowing its rider to proceed to the battle. In his telling of it in the book Boys’ Heroes he wrote:

“One of the horsemen tarried a minute, and said, “Boy, no ten men who left you today have served your country as you have. It is Colonel Warner.”

The story was used for years to show young people how great service could emerge from unexpected places.

The reality, however, was a bit different. Seth Warner had left the soldiers under his command at Manchester, Vt., in case the fighting turned in that direction. He had ridden on with Stark because of his knowledge of the countryside. Then he summoned his men expecting they would be needed.

When it appeared the British had lost, Warner’s men were well on their way and might well have arrived in time to join a victory celebration. But as it turned out, they arrived in time to win the battle themselves.

Today, August 16 is a state holiday in Vermont, Bennington Battle Day.

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Images: Statue of Seth Warner By Jkb24 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=61464961. Illustration of blacksmith’s forge from Grandfather’s Stories by John Johonnet. Battle of Bennington Monument By King of Hearts – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=111044817.

This story last updated in 2024.