American Victory at the Battle of Bennington 

U.S. #643 – This Vermont sesquicentennial stamp pays tribute to the Green Mountain Boys that participated in the Battle of Bennington, though it wasn’t actually fought in that state.

On August 16, 1777, American troops won the Battle of Bennington – though the battle didn’t actually take place in Vermont.

In 1777, British General John Burgoyne’s Saratoga Campaign pushed through New York to Fort Edward, with the goal of capturing Albany and then New York City. However, the farther south he traveled, the longer and less secure his supply lines were. Burgoyne was told that American storehouses in Bennington, Vermont, were poorly defended and sent Lieutenant Colonel Friedrich Baum to capture them.

However, Burgoyne had been misinformed. John Stark and his 1,500 New Hampshire troops, as well as Seth Warner and a small Vermont militia, were stationed in Bennington. Following a brief encounter with an American scouting party, Baum set up camp on a hill five miles from Bennington waiting for an American attack.

U.S. #1348 – Historians believe the Bennington flag wasn’t actually carried at the battle, but was created years later as a commemoration for one of the soldiers.

Stark launched an attack at 3 p.m. on August 16. Upon sight of the British army, Stark called out “There are your enemies, the Red Coats and the Tories. They are ours, or this night Molly Stark sleeps a widow!” Many of Baum’s Native American, Canadian, and Tory allies quickly fled, while his dragoons remained. The Americans took the hill in two hours, just as Hessian reinforcements arrived to aid the British. But a Vermont militia rode in at the same time and prevented their advance.

The American victory at Bennington drastically reduced Burgoyne’s forces. This allowed for another American win at the Second Battle of Saratoga two months later – a major turning point of the Revolution.

Click the images to add this history to your collection.

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12 Comments

  1. The engraved stamp commemorating the Green Mountain Boys at the Battle of Bennington is historically informative, and bought very easily. The stamp is a great piece of engraving. It and the “76” flag stamp are easily recognizable as postage stamps too. Modern stamps, often simply look like stickers. Some very colorful like the seed package stamps and the different birds. But no more denomination, except on special issues. There is something lost for the hobby. I hope Mystic can boost interest, at least in the older issues. Thanks for all you do for the slowly dying hobby.

  2. idn’t realize that there was TWO Battles for Saratoga. Something that the school system forgot to mention.

  3. The history that you bring to each stamp is absolutely fascinating. Having collected stamps for over 60 years this brings stamp collecting to a whole new level. I have this Bennington flag and as a veteran it has such a significant part of our countries history. What else is U.S. stamp collecting, but a treasure of history of our great country.

  4. Really enjoy your “This day in History” series. I’ve learned a lot about history and geography over the years from stamps. Keep up the good work.

  5. Very nice article,I have been a customer of Mystic for a few years and this is the first time I have seen your news articles,very interesting. Keep it up………..

  6. The Britishers were in no position to win this war and gave in easily to loose the power in Saratoga war.

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