It is said that Stark was obliged personally to show his men how to load and fire the cannon taken from Baume, as they did not know how to do it.

Some of the volunteers came to Bennington armed with scythes and axes, according to a resident of Bennington who was a boy at the time of the battle and saw the militia arrive.

After the battle Lieut. James Claghorn of Rutland counted seven bullet holes in his hat and clothes.

Stark had ordered a hogshead of rum to be distributed to the men after the first engagement, but they left it untasted to meet Breymann's troops.

It is said that Colonel Baume's cap was worn to the Legislature for many years by the Representative from Pownal.

The whole expenses of Stark's brigade amounted to four hundred ninety-one pounds, one penny.

Some of the American troops slept in a cornfield the night after the battle, each man using a hill of corn for a pillow.

Forty-two out of one hundred and nine poll taxpayers of Salisbury, N. H., were in the battle, their Captain being Daniel Webster's father.

Ten Tories were buried in a common grave, most of them shot through the head, an indication of the accuracy of the aim of the American riflemen. In the old cemetery at Bennington Center, in a common grave, lie American, British and Hessian soldiers, over which has been erected a marker of Barre granite.

A few days before the battle of Bennington a scouting party of Tories and Indians was sent out to operate

between Fort Edward, N. Y., and Bennington. Among the captives taken was the wife of Capt. Elisha Coon. Although in a delicate condition she was compelled to travel on foot. During the night of the second day following her capture she gave birth to a child. Notwithstanding her weakness she was compelled to resume her journey the next morning to the place where Baume's troops were encamped previous to the attack by the forces under General Stark. When the Indians fled at the opening of the battle, she was taken with them until Breymann's reinforcements were met. Compelled to follow the German troops, after their defeat she accompanied them in their hasty retreat to Cambridge, N. Y. Here she became ill, and being left without a guard, she hid herself and child until the retreating soldiers had departed, and with much difficulty returned home. Nothing was left for food except a little salt pork, which had been concealed, and some ripe cucumbers. All other provisions, the cooking utensils and the furniture had been taken away. She kindled a fire, roasted the cucumbers in the embers and ate them, although fearful that such a diet might prove fatal. Three weeks after her return home she was made prisoner again by another party of Tories and Indians and was taken to Stillwater, but once more managed to escape, this time while the battle of September 19, was being fought.

It is asserted that Burgoyne was influenced by Major Skene to advance upon Bennington, being assured by him that large numbers of the yeomanry would flock to his standard. Skene was strongly disliked by the Americans and strenuous efforts were made during the battle

to kill or capture him. Four horses were shot under him and a fifth was so seriously wounded that the animal died soon after it had carried its rider to a place of safety. After Burgoyne's surrender, Skene went to England, not daring to return home. His property was confiscated and sold.

General Burgoyne, in his account of the battle, endeavored to convey the impression that Stark and his forces were at Bennington purely by accident, a claim which the facts of history are far from justifying. While Stark did not know of Baume's approach until the latter was a few miles away, he was at Bennington in response to the appeal made by the Vermont Council of Safety, in order to meet just such an attack as that which the German troops intended to make.

An account of the battle in the Pennsylvania Evening Post, said that on the way to Bennington eighteen Massachusetts soldiers deserted and went over to the enemy, and that after the battle fifteen of the deserters. were found dead upon the field. It is also stated that "a good number (of the German troops) deserted and joined us."

Parson Allen found a German soldier's horse laden with panniers full of bottled wine, which he distributed to wounded and exhausted soldiers, retaining two large bottles as trophies.

Heman Allen, oldest brother of Ethan and Ira Allen, a member of the Vermont Council of Safety, went to the battle field, became greatly fatigued, caught a severe cold, and contracted an illness from which he never recovered, dying May 18, 1778.

In a newspaper of the period it is related that Stephen Fay, landlord of the Catamount Tavern, sent five sons to the battle of Bennington. Following the engagement he was informed that he was unfortunate in one of

his sons. He inquired if the son had misbehaved, or deserted his post. "Worse than that," was the reply, "he is among the slain; he fell contending mightily in the cause.' "Then I am satisfied," said the father, and he asked that his son's body might be brought to him. When this request was complied with the bereaved father washed his son's wounds, saying, "I thank God I had a son who was willing to give his life for his country!"

On the day of the battle of Bennington, Capt. Isaac Tichenor, then Deputy Commissary General for purchases for the Northern Department of the army, afterward Judge, Governor and United States Senator, arrived at Capt. Elijah Dewey's tavern. Although large kettles filled with meat were boiling over the fire, Mrs. Dewey declined to get dinner for him. Her attention being called to the contents of the kettles, she said: "That is for the men who have gone to fight for their country, where you ought to be." When the traveller explained the manner in which he was serving his country, dinner was forthcoming.

Many other incidents and anecdotes might be gathered, for they formed an important theme of conversation for many years after the engagement, and a large number of them found their way into print.

Just three days after Stark had won his notable victory, the Continental Congress having received no news

of the battle of Bennington, gravely declared that the liberal instructions given to Stark by virtue of which he was not subject to the Continental authorities, were "destructive of military subordination and highly prejudicial to the common cause," and requested the New Hampshire Council to revoke the orders immediately. That there was an element of truth in the criticism cannot be denied. Had such a policy been followed generally, lack of discipline and subordination, one of the most serious evils of the time, would have been even more serious. And yet it may be said in all fairness that Congress had treated Stark unjustly in the matter of promotion, and that in all probability Burgoyne would have secured the Bennington stores, and would have made Vermont a British province, if Stark had been subject to Schuyler's instructions. When the news of Baume's defeat reached Philadelphia, Stark's conduct was viewed in a different light, and on October 4, Congress, by a unanimous vote, thanked General Stark, "and the officers and troops under his command, for their brave and successful attack upon, and signal victory over the enemy in their lines at Bennington." At the same time Stark was appointed a Brigadier in the army of the United States.

There has been some discussion concerning the correct name of this engagement, and in this connection it is interesting to note that in a communication to the Massachusetts Legislature, January 8, 1778, General Stark referred to it as the "battle of Bennington."

One year after the battle, a public celebration of the anniversary was held at Bennington, with a speech by