Bennington

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Bennington

Burgoyne, the British General operating in northern New York, in the Revolutionary War, heard that the Americans had collected some military supplies at Bennington, Vermont. He sent an expedition of 1,000 men to capture them.Colonel John Stark, a hero of Bunker Hill, with 2,000 Americans set out to oppose the British. They fought under the Bennington Flag. When Stark saw the British advancing down the road he pointed them out to his brave troops and said: “Boys, there they are. We beat them today, or Molly Stark’s a widow.”The Green Mountain Boys, fighting Indian fashion, practically annihilated the British Regulars. Only about 100 of them ever got back to Burgoyne’s Army. It was the loss of these 900 men that contributed much to the failure of Burgoyne’s campaign, which ended in disaster with the surrender of his Army at Saratoga, New York, October 7, 1777, a death blow to the British.The Bennington Flag was presented to Colonel Stark’s Army by Nathaniel Fillmore, the father of the future President. It was made of homespun linen and hand sewed.