Battle of Bennington: American Revolution’s Unsung Pivot

The American Revolution was far more than the Declaration of Independence, of course. In 1777, in southwestern Vermont, my little, rural postage stamp of a home, shots not exactly heard round the world were fired. The Battle of Bennington unfolded on August 16 about 20 minutes from my house. There, an impromptu Patriot militia, farmers, teens, craftsmen, and adventurers, discrepant in character, whipped General Burgoyne’s army and threw the Brits into a tizzy. They lost at Saratoga weeks later largely because they lost at Bennington.

Burgoyne was fresh from recapturing Fort Ticonderoga from the Patriots, who’d seized it in 1775, led by Ethan Allen, his corps the Green Mountain Boys, and the skunk-to-be Benedict Arnold. Around 1770, Allen had formed the local militia, initially called the Bennington Mob, to harass New Yorkers challenging Vermont land titles. By 1777, Allen and his crew were back home. Ticonderoga fell to the British with barely a fight.

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Brian T. Allen

Brian T. Allen is National Review’s art critic.

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The American Revolution was far more than the Declaration of Independence, of course. In 1777, in southwestern Vermont, my little, rural postage stamp of a home, shots not exactly heard round the world were fired. The Battle of Bennington unfolded on August 16 about 20 minutes from my house. There, an impromptu Patriot militia, farmers, teens, craftsmen, and adventurers, discrepant in character, whipped General Burgoyne’s army and threw the Brits into a tizzy. They lost at Saratoga weeks later largely because they lost at Bennington.

Burgoyne was fresh from recapturing Fort Ticonderoga from the Patriots, who’d seized it in 1775, led by Ethan Allen, his corps the Green Mountain Boys, and the skunk-to-be Benedict Arnold. Around 1770, Allen had formed the local militia, initially called the Bennington Mob, to harass New Yorkers challenging Vermont land titles. By 1777, Allen and his crew were back home. Ticonderoga fell to the British with barely a fight.