Battle of Bennington Battlefield
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
The Battle of Bennington battlefield is the location where British General John Burgoyne and Colonel Friedrich Baum fought against American forces led by Brigadier General John Stark and Colonel Seth Warner in August 1777. It was a British effort to capture American storehouses to replenish dwindling rations and ammo. The British underestimated the American forces, eventually losing the battle with heavy losses.
Images
Map of the Battle
Battle of Bennington Plaque
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
By August 1777, Major General John Burgoyne and his army had pushed their way from Lake Champlain in Canada to Fort Edward on the Hudson River where General Schuyler and the American army had setup defense of New York's capital Albany. The Colonist rebels had just abandoned Fort Ticonderoga and seemed weakened by persistent fighting in the North.
Burgoyne's army was not in good conditions either, after weeks of fighting the British army lacked supplies and ammunition. The British army had also had to cut a trail and build roads to carry artillery and supplies from Canada, leaving the army tired and spent. Mixed with the fact that the British army also lacked enough horses, most of the troops had to walk by foot. This was a present example of how hard British forces had in fighting through North America's thick and vast forests.
After reports by scouts sent to find supplies, Bennington seemed like an appropriate town to take considering the amount of supplies, horses, and rations available for the taking. The American forces, after being pushed from Ticonderoga were headed to Bennington for fear that the town may be attacked for it's supply stores. The American forces set up in the town in anticipation for a fight. General Schuyler and General St. Clair , who were suspected of treason for giving up Fort Ticonderoga so easily, now wished to prove themselves in battle for their own personal honor. On August 16th, 1777, the British forces moved to take the town of Bennington, but the American forces who had already constructed hastily-made defenses were on home turf and anxious to prove Americans could stand up to the British/German forces.
Poor weather conditions kept movement to a minimum. As British General Baum's forces moved to overtake the American entrenchment, the American forces assaulted the British forces from the flank and the sides, encircling the British/German army. General Baum's army began to panic and most of the men escaped into the forest, but the German dragoons were surrounded with no ammunition and utterly annihilated. The Battle at Bennington gave the colonist's the much needed success that convinced the Americans they could defeat the British overall.
Burgoyne's army was not in good conditions either, after weeks of fighting the British army lacked supplies and ammunition. The British army had also had to cut a trail and build roads to carry artillery and supplies from Canada, leaving the army tired and spent. Mixed with the fact that the British army also lacked enough horses, most of the troops had to walk by foot. This was a present example of how hard British forces had in fighting through North America's thick and vast forests.
After reports by scouts sent to find supplies, Bennington seemed like an appropriate town to take considering the amount of supplies, horses, and rations available for the taking. The American forces, after being pushed from Ticonderoga were headed to Bennington for fear that the town may be attacked for it's supply stores. The American forces set up in the town in anticipation for a fight. General Schuyler and General St. Clair , who were suspected of treason for giving up Fort Ticonderoga so easily, now wished to prove themselves in battle for their own personal honor. On August 16th, 1777, the British forces moved to take the town of Bennington, but the American forces who had already constructed hastily-made defenses were on home turf and anxious to prove Americans could stand up to the British/German forces.
Poor weather conditions kept movement to a minimum. As British General Baum's forces moved to overtake the American entrenchment, the American forces assaulted the British forces from the flank and the sides, encircling the British/German army. General Baum's army began to panic and most of the men escaped into the forest, but the German dragoons were surrounded with no ammunition and utterly annihilated. The Battle at Bennington gave the colonist's the much needed success that convinced the Americans they could defeat the British overall.
Sources
http://www.britishbattles.com/battle-bennington.htm
http://www.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/107bennington/107bennington.htm