USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > Manchester > Willey's semi-centennial book of Manchester, 1846-1896, comprised within the limits of the old Tyng Township, Nutfield, Harrytown, Derryfield, and Manchester, from the earliest settlements to the present time > Part 34
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As mid-day approached, the Americans were massed to
receive orders : the locality was a large field, the entrance to which was by sliding bars and tall posts peculiar to the vicinity. Stark leaped to the topmost rail, steadied himself by the tall post, and harangued his troops in the well-known sentences : " Now, my men, yonder are the Hessians ; they were bought for seven pounds tenpence a man. Are you worth more ? Prove it. Tonight the American flag floats over yonder hill, or Molly Stark sleeps a widow !" Throwing knapsacks, jackets, and all baggage in heaps, and placing a guard over them, the force started. Col. Herrick's Rangers, with the Bennington militia, three hundred strong, were sent to make a detour to Baum's right : Col. Nichols, with three hundred and fifty men, was sent to the rear of the enemy's left - the two forces, when joined. to make an attack : two hundred men, under Col. Stickney and Col. Ho- bart, including part of the Berkshire militia. were sent against the Tory works with direc- tions to keep concealed in a corn field near by and await the opening of the action at Baum's hill. Foreseeing that there would be close work with the Tories. who were in citizens' dress. like his own force. Stark gave directions to the attacking party that a corn husk in the hat-band should be the badge of his own men. A guard under a sergeant was posted near the bridge to prevent communication between the two wings of the enemy during the movements of the flanking parties, and the disposal of the forces was complete.
BENNINGTON BATTLE MONUMENT.
As a cover to his designs, Stark now moved forward his reserve and employed the time in marching slowly around a hill in full view of the enemy. This seemed to perplex Baum. As his servant, Henry Archelaus, afterward said : "He scanned the movement with a field-glass, and directed his artillery men to fire
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WILLEY'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD.
on the column." This cannonade did no great harm, and the ruse was continued with a variety of movements for nearly three hours. At length, about three o'clock, the flanking parties had reached their coveted position and communicated with each
STARK RUNNING THE GAUNTLET. (See page 16.)
other. Nichols was the first to open fire. The Indians retired before the advancing line, and, panic-struck, fled to the redoubt, reporting that the forest was full of Yankees. Seeing the columns closing with a tightening coil around the hill, the savages dashed through the opening between the two detachments in single file, and, yelling like demons, made their escape, leaving a few of their number dead or prisoners. As the line pressed up to musket range, Baum opened a fire of small arms, and brought one of the cannons forward to the angle left exposed by the flight of his savage allies. The action became hot on both sides, but the assailants being sheltered by trees and brush, received little injury from the Hessian fire, delivered breast-high, without aim. New developments and attacks now rapidly ensued in every quarter ; the discharge of musketry was rapid, continuous, and obstinately maintained for nearly an hour, · when an explosion occurred in the redoubt that shook the hill by its violence, sending blinding smoke and flying fragments among the combatants. Appalled at the detonation, there was a momentary lull among both parties. The tumbril, or ammuni- tion cart, of the Hessians had exploded. Comprehending
instantly the accident, the Americans, with a cheer along the whole line, made a dash for the parapet. No troops could with- stand such a tide ; it poured in at every angle with an impetu- osity that defied resistance.
Muskets clubbed were opposed to bayonets ; sabre and pike came into full play. Baum was driven back, unable to use his artillery, and all discipline in both forces seemed lost, except where the German commander and a few sturdy Hessians charged with sabre when unable to load muskets. Part of Fraser's marksmen rushed over the parapet and, leaving a few of their number dead and wounded, escaped. Baum was mortally wounded by a shot, and the force around hin, panic- struck, fled down the hill to the south, where Stark's forces were advancing to meet them.
The action on the plain below, with the Tories under Pfister and the Canadians in the log houses, was but the san- guinary counterpart of the scene at the redoubt. At the first discharge from Nichols's column the concealed troops rushed through the corn, receiving three volleys, which they did not deign to return until they emerged from their cover upon a field of flax at the foot of the breastwork. Here girdled decayed trees gave them partial shelter, and behind these some of the men placed themselves, while others sought the cover of the rank flax and corn. A rapid and continuous fire now com- menced on both sides. A small platoon of Hessians in the breastwork delivered at rapid intervals their fire, without aim, giving way at each discharge to the Tories who, with hanker- chiefs tied as turbans, appeared, alternating their volleys rapidly with the regulars. At the explosion in the large redoubt up the stream a charge was made, with a whoop and hurrah, on the Tories. It was now corn husk against turban in a desperate death-grapple. Musket stocks supplied the place of bayonets on both sides. The enemy was pushed back; Pfister fell,
CATAMOUNT TAVERN, BENNINGTON, VT.
mortally wounded, and the remnant around him called for quarter. The Canadians, seeing the capture of the two strong- holds, surrendered with the chasseurs, who, hemmed in, made little or no resistance. The first fight was won.
301
WILLEY'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD.
A hasty disposal was made of the prisoners. The Tories, numbering about one hundred and sixty, were tied by pairs to a leading rope, with a horse attached ; the remaining captives, about four hundred and fifty, were permitted the honors of war, being marched in close ranks with a strong flank guard to Ben- nington. Here they were quartered in the church.
It was now nearly six o'clock. Stark and Warner hastened to the redoubt. Baum, attended by his faithful servant Henry and a Hessian surgeon, was being removed from the field. Looking around at the fearful work made in the redoubt, Stark remarked that the Americans had fought like hell-hounds. " Truly," said Baum, " they fought more like hell-hounds than
Col. Safford and Major Rann. Halting a few moments at the river to take a hasty draught and fill their canteens, the troops pressed forward to meet the new danger. Every available man was hurried to the front.
Skene had been posted by Baum about mid-day at the Sancoic Mill to communicate with Breyman and hurry forward the relief column. As the artillery in the redoubt had been playing on Stark's reserve for several hours, Skene appears to have taken the din of the battle for a continuance of the can- nonade. Posted on the line of retreat of the few who escaped, it seems impossible that the guard at the mill should be in igno- rance of the issue of the engagement ; but Skene afterward averred
HOME OF ELIZABETH B. STARK, GEN. STARK'S GREAT-GRANDDAUGHTER, MANCHESTER.
soldiers." Baum and Pfister were taken to the same house, a mile distant, in Shaftsbury, where both died the following day. The Hessian commander has always been held in great respect. The best surgical care and nursing failed to save him; but friend and foe uniformly testified that a braver man than Frederick Baum never lived.
The force now remaining on the field were somewhat separated. Random firing was heard on the Cambridge road, in the vicinity of Sancoic Mill, two miles distant, and tidings soon came that a body of Hessians, six or seven hundred in number, was advancing, with two cannon. Nearly at the same moment the drums of Warner's regiment announced its advance, with Emer- son's scouts from Bennington, the column being led by Lieut. -
that he knew not, when Breyman arrived, that Baum's fate had already been decided. He accordingly pressed the innocent Breyman on to the rescue.
Groups of militia now appeared in the undergrowth near the road to the left of the Hessians ; Skene declared them royal- ists, and galloped his horses into an intervening clearing, and hailed them. The answer was a volley of bullets. Instantly the column was halted, the cannon brought up to the front, and the whole force deployed across the road. The forest to the right and left now revealed bodies of militia, and both sides endeavored by flanking parties to get the vantage-ground. The Americans lacked unity of purpose in their movements, and officers were hurrying to and fro trying to form some semblance of a line of
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WILLEY'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD.
battle ; but before this could be accomplished the troops were obliged to fall back. When they had thus been pressed for half a mile, an officer from Warner's corps dashed among them, entreating them to hold out, for help was just at hand. Hardly were the words spoken ere a grape-shot tore the mouth of his horse ; but notwithstanding the plunging of the animal, he kept his seat and urged on the wavering line. In a moment Warner's and Emerson's men, with strong flank guards, ap- peared advancing in line of battle. This was the nucleus wanted as a gather- ing point ; it was at once made available, and a most obstinate and bloody contest ensued. A dash was made, and one of Breyman's cannon cap- tured ; a countercharge, and it was retaken. Our forces were pressed back to within three quarters of a mile of the captured redoubt ; but the earnest efforts of Stark and Warner in bringing up Baum's captured cannon with more troops now gave strength for a brilliant charge, in which Breyman again lost a cannon, and began to fall back, contest- ing every inch of ground. In about a mile he de- ployed into a field on his left and made a desperate effort to use his remaining cannon ; but the active militia were there before him in the undergrowth, skirting the clearing. Skene galloped to the cannon to encourage the artillery men, when his horse was shot, and fell, entangling his rider. Ex- tricating himself, he seized one of the artillery horses, cut the traces that held the plunging animal to the pole, mounted, and fled, leaving behind him the Hessians and Breyman fol- lowing in full retreat, The second fight was practically ended, and the day was won !
Private Soldier .
Drill Master. HESSIAN SOLDIERS.
The fruits of the victory were four brass cannon, about one thousand stand of arms, two hundred and fifty sabres, eight loads of army supplies, four ammunition wagons, twenty horses, and the instruments of two drum corps. Two of the cannon are now in the state capitol at Montpelier,, one is held at New Boston, N. H., and the fourth is lost. The prisoners, aside from officers, surgeons, and servants, were abont seven hundred, nearly one hundred of whom were captured in the second action ; two hun- dred and seven of the enemy were found the next day (Sunday) dead on the field of battle. Burgoyne's instructions to Baum and Skene were among the captured papers found on the officers.
The American loss was proportionately small to that of the enemy, a large part of it being before the Tory breastwork. Stark, in his official report to the New Hampshire authorities, states that his brigade-nearly two thirds of the fighting force - lost forty-two wounded and fourteen killed. If Vermont and Massachu- setts lost in the same ratio, the aggregate would be less than one hundred.
Among the incidents of the battle not hitherto found in print is the loss of Stark's horse while he was engaged in a recon- naissance on foot during the action. Professor Butler records it, having found the advertisement in an old file of the Hartford Courant, of date Oct. 7, 1777. It is as follows:
The fugitives pressed down the road, some falling in the mud before their pursuers, and begging in their foreign speech for mercy ; others, entangled by their armor in the bushes, sur- rendered to the groups following them. The darkness had now become so great that friend could hardly be distinguished from foe. The pursuers were recalled.
[From the Connecticut Courant, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 1777.]
TWENTY DOLLARS REWARD.
S TOLE from me the fubfcriber, from Walloomfcock, in the time of action, the 16th of Auguft last, a brown MARE, five years old, liad a ftar in her forehead. Also, a doe fkin feated faddle, blue houfing trim'd with white, and a curbed bridle. It is earneftly requested of all committees of fafety and others in authority, to exert themselves to recover faid thief and mare, so that he may be brought to juftice, and the mare brought to me ; and the perfon, whoever he be, fhall receive the above reward for both, and for the mare alone one half of that fum. How fcandalous, how difgraceful and ignominious muft
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WILLEY'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD.
it appear to all friendly and generous fouls to have fuch fly artful, defigning villains enter into the field in the time of action in order to pillage, pilfer and plunder from their brethren when engaged in battle.
JOHN STARK, B. D. G.
Bennington, IIth Sept. 1777.
August 22, Stark sent his official report to Gates, thus recog- nizing the authority of his Continental superior officer ; but he sent no report to Congress, " thus," says Everett, in his biogra- phy (Sparks), " disdaining to make his success the instrument of a triumphant accommodation."
The day before the news from Bennington was received at Philadelphia, Congress passed a resolution censuring Stark's course with Lincoln ; shortly after, it made honorable amends by giving him his full rank as brigadier in the national forces, accompanied with a vote of thanks to himself, officers, and soldiers.
Stark left Bennington Sept. 14 with his brigade to join Gates, who had superseded Schuyler three days after the defeat of Baum and Breyman. Three days later the Northern army was again made glad by the news of the retreat of St. Leger from the investment of Fort Stanwix, and the union of Arnold's force with the garrison.
HESSIANS IN NUTFIELD.
The heroism of the force under Gen. Stark at Bennington is more apparent when it is considered that the greater part of the enemy were veterans of the seven years' war in Germany, and had been subjected to the severe discipline of the armies of Frederick the Great. The Hessians received their name from the Hesse provinces of central Germany, a mountainous region, producing a stalwart soldiery, brave and inured to the hardships of war. Seventeen thousand of these troops were obtained by King George III. at the reputed price of seven pounds tenpence a man, with a provision of further compensation to the families of such as should be killed or die of disease in the service.
The formidable part of the British force at Bennington was the Hessians, and their pertinacious bravery and efficiency might have given a different turn to the fortunes of the day if they had not been handicapped by the irregulars, who were attached to them as allies. The greater part of our prisoners were Hessians, and they were treated with due respect, being marched to Ben- nington Centre, with flank guards, while the Tories were tied in pairs to a long rope which, in front, was attached to a stout horse. The whole crowd of prisoners were taken into the village church with a relay of guards on the outside. The little edifice was not made for so large a congregation, and the floor timbers cracked ominously. A panic was created, and several prisoners rushed for the door. The guards, thinking it an attempt to escape, fired, and nine fell at the first volley. As soon as the true state of affairs was known and quiet restored in the crowd, great regret was expressed by the citizens and soldiers. The fallen prisoners were honorably buried in the church yard, and the position of their graves is still pointed out to visitors.
The Hessians of the Bennington battle were evidently a better class of soldiers, and morally superior to the troops cap- tured by Washington at Trenton. Stark had evidently a good opinion of them, and when he returned to his own state with his
victorious troops, brought also a number of Hessian soldiers with him. Several of these formed a prosperous farming colony in Merrimack township, on the road leading to the centre of the town, and their descendants are yet living in that vicinity or in the confines of old Nutfield. The families of Longa, Ritterbusch, Schillenger, and Archelaus will be readily recalled by our older citizens. The last mentioned of these settlers, Henri Archelaus, was the body servant of Col. Baum, helped carry the wounded leader from the field, and attended him at his death the follow- ing day, Sunday, at the farmhouse hospital in the adjoining town of Shaftsbury. Archelaus lived in Weare, and died at an advanced age.
Gen. Stark sent examples of Hessian trophies, uniforms, armament, and band instruments, to the authorities of the several states represented by troops in the battle. For more than a hundred years Hessian caps, swords, drums, and muskets have been displayed in the senate chamber of Massachusetts at Boston. Two small bronze guns mounted are at the capitol in Montpelier, Vt., and one of the larger guns, " Molly Stark," as is well known, is at New Boston. Some of our old military records mention the remaining cannon, the mate of the last named, and assert that it was assigned to a privateer in the war. of 1812, and lost at sea.
STARK AT HOME .- No personality has left a deeper impress upon New Hampshire than that of John Stark. His was one of those massive, rugged, robust natures that are great of them- selves, not as the result of outward eireumstanees. He was one of the men who ereate events, not one of those who are created by events. His military eareer is more or less familiar to all readers, and has to some extent overshadowed the simple but interesting story of his home life, which is told by H. W. Herrick of Manchester :
The vigor and decision shown by Stark in military life are traceable in the management of his secular affairs. He was emphatically a worker, and had no patience with indolence, mental or physical. His plans for farm labor were comprehen- sive and far-reaching in results, and for the period in which he lived he effectively wielded a large capital. This good manage- ment was noticeable in the expenses he incurred for government in his military capacity. The financial cost to New Hampshire for the Bennington victory was, for mustering. mileage, rations. wages, and contingent expenses, a trifle over $82,000 in the depreciated paper currency of the day, or $2,500 in gold. Stark did not die a rich man, in the modern understanding of the term ; he prudently used his resources, and thus answered the large demands on his hospitality and kept his estate intact. The interests of his farm and an extensive trade in lumber and tracts of woodland divided his time and labors. At one time he owned, with two partners, the present township of Dunbarton. then called Starkstown, and operated largely in lumber. The
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WILLET'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD.
facilities for getting logs and manufactured Inmber to market were greatly increased by the completion of the Amoskeag canal in 1807, and Stark's property in timber tracts was made much more valuable. Early in life he erected a mill for sawing lumber on Ray's brook, at the present site of Dorr's pond, and it was this mill that was so suddenly stopped at the news of the battle of Lexington, and permitted to rot and rust during the eight years of the Revolution. The remains of the dam are yet to be seen at low water. After the Revolution, Stark, in connection with Judge Blodgett, erected a saw and grist mill on the east side of Amoskeag falls, near the present entrance of the company's large canal.
Notwithstanding the rough and stirring character of Stark's
to that of a modern poultry exhibitor. One enormous fowl was his pet and pride ; the golden plumage, black breast, and fine sickle feathers were descanted on with true appreciation. This queer pet would eat corn from his master's hand, perch on his cane, crow at command, and was even admitted into the gen- eral's room, by his expressed wish, to while away the tedious hours when he could no longer sit on the lawn.
The farmhouse of Stark was a plain two-story structure, with an ell, a front door and entry dividing it into two equal parts ; this, with four barns, and some smaller out-houses, com- prised the farm buildings. They were erected a few yards above the junction of the present Reform School road with the River road, and the well, with its cover of plank, is still to be seen.
bìnhõ
HOME OF GEN. STARK, MANCHESTER.
life, he had naturally a literary taste, and was never more happy than when reading a favorite author. Books were comparatively rare in his day, but his library represented the standard authors of contemporary literature. Dr. Johnson's works and the Scotch poets of the early part of the century were his favorites.
As second childhood came upon the old war veteran, after the age of four score and ten years, one of his great pleasures was the taming and fondling of his domestic and farm animals. Though always a lover of fine horses and cattle, he now found great satisfaction in petting and cherishing them. A very large bay family horse named Hessian was a special favorite, and he took pleasure, when sitting in his easy chair on the lawn, in the sun, in feeding and taming his poultry. One of his descendants describes the general's enthusiasm about his fowls as quite equal
The house was erected by the general in the year 1765, and at that period was considered an edifice of notable qualities. It had handsome pediment caps to the windows and doors, and corner boards generously ornamented, and was, within, of large dimensions and careful finish. The taste of Stark, when applied to house building, was somewhat peculiar and erratic, for while he had his rooms finished with the best skill and most costly material of the period, he would never suffer paint or room paper to be seen inside of his house. He took great pride in pointing to the width and quality of native woods used in the large and sumptuous panels in the walls of the rooms, and in the wood carving of a large buffet, or French sideboard, filling one corner of his dining room. When age and infirmity con- fined him to the house, he chose one of the lower front rooms,
WILLEY'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD.
305
John Stark
30
300
WILLERS BOOK OF NUTFIELD.
where, from the window with an castern exposure, he could see the first beams of the morning sun. To secure more sunlight he gave directions to have one of the front windows enlarged, making it double its former dimensions. The injury to the symmetry of the building was urged by his friends, but all remonstrance was useless ; the capacity of the window was doubled, and until the alterations of the buildings many years afterward, the strange and whimsical window remained, a memento of the former proprietor. The house was burned about the year 1866, and the land adjacent, originally several hundred acres, diminished by sale and gifts to descendants, was purchased by the state as the site for the Reform School.
Mrs. Stark died in the year 1814, at which time the general was eighty-six years old. An anecdote is told of him, as occurring at the funeral ceremony. The minister officiating referred in his remarks to the general and made some very com-
EQUESTRIAN STATUE OF STARK. Study for colossal work -Rogers.
plimentary allusions to his patriotic services for his country. The old veteran rapped tartly with his cane on the floor, saying : " Tut ! Tut ! no more of that ! and please you ! " This sudden interruption of the ceremony was soon followed by the more appropriate allusions to the virtues of Molly. As the funeral procession left the lawn, the old man tottered into his room, saying sadly : "Good-bye, Molly ; we sup no more together on earth ! " Eight years after the death of his wife, Stark was called by the last summons of Providence. The latter years of his life were largely spent in his room, attended by two favorite granddaughters, Miss Molly Babson and Abby Stark. Though quite young at the time of his last sickness, Abby Stark was his constant nurse. Two weeks before the old veteran's death he was stricken with paralysis of one side of the body, the throat being so affected as to make it impossible to take nourishment. He could express his wishes only by signs and the expression of the eyes. Just before his last attack he had expressed to his son,
Caleb, his wish and readiness to depart whenever it was God's will. His mind had been much exercised for a few years on the realities of the last great change, and the Bible had been the constant companion of his sick room. While unable to speak or move one half of his body, he would give a motion to the sound leg, and look up in the face of his nurse with a playful expression, signifying that a little of the old general was animate yet. After a fortnight's suffering, the old hero passed away, May 8, 1822. The funeral ceremonies were observed two days later, and were, at the general's request, simple and unostentatious. ‘The morning was beautiful, and the sun of early spring had so · warmed vegetation for a few days previous that the grass was green and luxuriant, and the trees were fast expanding their buds into young and tender leaves. In front of the house, beyond the road, a line of infantry, leaning on reversed arms, under the fragrant budding of the orchard, waited the time of their escort service. The day was quite oppressive in its heat, and many of the soldiers suffered in their warm and close uniforms.
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