Biographia Scotica: Or Scottish Biographical Dictionary; Containing a Short Account of the Lives and Writings of the Most Eminent Persons and ... Ages to the Present Time (Classic Reprint)
(Excerpt from Biographia Scotica: Or Scottish Biographical...)
Excerpt from Biographia Scotica: Or Scottish Biographical Dictionary; Containing a Short Account of the Lives and Writings of the Most Eminent Persons and Remarkable Characters, Natives of Scotland, From the Earliest Ages to the Present Time
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Memoir and Official Correspondence of Gen. John Stark
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John Stark was an American soldier who served as an officer in the British Army during the French and Indian war and a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. He became widely known as the "Hero of Bennington" for his exemplary service at the Battle of Bennington in 1777.
Background
John was born on August 28, 1728 at Londonderry, New Hampshire, United States, the son of Archibald Stark and his wife, Eleanor Nichols. The elder Stark was a Scotsman who, after residing some years in Ulster County, Ireland, emigrated to New Hampshire in 1720 with a party of compatriots. Brought up in a frontier community where fishing, hunting, and Indian-fighting were the chief occupations, Stark developed a physique well adapted to endure the risks and rigors of military life.
Career
Stark became familiar with the New Hampshire wilderness and guided exploring expeditions into remote regions. During the French and Indian War he saw extensive service with Rogers' Rangers and attained a captaincy by gallantry on the field. He took part in the operations resulting in the defeat of Baron Dieskau in 1755.
In January 1757, en route with a scouting party to Lake Champlain, he distinguished himself by walking forty miles in deep snow, after a day's fighting and a night's marching, in order to bring succor to the wounded. He was present during Rigaud's attack upon Fort William Henry, and in 1758 participated in Abercromby's futile assault upon Ticonderoga.
He concluded this chapter of his military career, by serving under Amherst at the reduction of Crown Point and Ticonderoga in 1759, and then returned to his farm and his mills, and devoted himself to the settlement of a new township, at first called Starkstown but later Dunbarton.
When the news of the battles of Lexington and Concord came, he promptly mounted horse and set out for Cambridge, Massachussets. A regiment of New Hampshire patriots presently assembled at Medford and Stark was appointed colonel. In the battle of Bunker Hill his men defended the rail fence on the American left. After the siege of Boston, he assisted in planning the defenses of New York, and in May 1776 went to Canada and accompanied the American forces on their retreat southward.
He played a conspicuous part in the battles of Trenton and Princeton, but resigned his commission in March 1777 because Congress had promoted junior officers over his head (see Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, LVII, 1924, p. 334). When Burgoyne invaded the province of New York, the Vermont council of safety, anticipating a raid into the region west of the Connecticut River, largely unprotected after the fall of Ticonderoga, appealed to the authorities of New Hampshire for help.
On July 18 the general court authorized the mobilization of a force to assist Vermont, and elected Stark to command it with the rank of brigadier-general. Within twenty days he raised and equipped a brigade of about 1, 400 men, crossed the mountains, and arrived at Manchester, Vermont, where he conferred with Seth Warner, Benjamin Lincoln, and the Vermont leaders.
On August 8, he moved southward to Bennington with the intention of cooperating with Schuyler in a movement to harass Burgoyne's flank. On the next day the British commander dispatched Colonel Baum with 500 men to test the sentiment of the Hampshire Grants and to secure supplies of cattle, horses, and wagons.
On August 16 Stark attacked Baum on the Walloomsac River, about five miles northwest of Bennington, and captured almost his entire force. Later in the day, Stark and Warner repulsed reenforcements under Breymann hastening to Baum's assistance. Stark received the thanks of Congress three days later, after having been censored for disregarding orders for a different movement of his men.
After the war he retired to his estate, eschewing public office and devoting himself to the cares entailed by a large farm and a family of eleven children.
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Personality
He was a man of medium height, bold features, keen, light-blue eyes, and compressed lips. While the phraseology of his celebrated sayings in battle has been disputed, there is no doubt that he possessed a gift for picturesque expression which served to enhance the dramatic quality of his martial exploits.
Quotes from others about the person
Historian Mark M. Boatner wrote:
"As a commander of New England militia Stark had one rare and priceless quality: he knew the limitations of his men. They were innocent of military training, undisciplined, and unenthusiastic about getting shot. With these men he killed over 200 of Europe's vaunted regulars with a loss of 14 Americans killed. "
Connections
On August 20, 1758, he was married to Elizabeth, the daughter of Captain Caleb Page.