Re-enactors march out of the field after commemorating the anniversary of
the Battle of Hubbardton, the only revolutionary war battle fought in Vermont.
Posted on 07/08/2010 11:40:12 AM PDT by Pharmboy
Re-enactors march out of the field after commemorating the anniversary of
the Battle of Hubbardton, the only revolutionary war battle fought in Vermont.
HUBBARDTON – The famous battle did not make much of a physical mark on Hubbardton.
“It was hay fields and cow pastures before and it was hay fields and cow pastures immediately after,” said David Bernier, who coordinates the annual re-enactment of the battle.
The ensuing two centuries may have changed the rest of the town, but they still made little mark on the battlefield. So, when between 300 and 500 re-enactors converge on it this weekend, Bernier said spectators will get to see one of the most accurate recreations possible.
“Hubbardton is a special place,” Bernier said. “It's one of the few Revolutionary War battlefields that is still in pristine condition and it's one of the few sites where there's a battlefield that they allow us to have re-enactments”
The event runs Saturday and Sunday, with the full-scale narrated re-enactment taking place Sunday morning and various smaller events and demonstrations both days.
Re-enactors camp on-site in period style. The site opens at 9:30 and the camps open at 10 a.m. Saturday. Events include unit drilling, an American court-martial, an 18th-century school house and various hands-on children's activities.
The battle itself begins at 8 a.m. Sunday. Bernier narrates the event in the guise of a Continental general.
The camps open at 9 a.m. with demonstrations of colonial-era cooking, crafts and medicine, along with other aspects of 18th century life. Sunday features a British court-martial and an artillery demonstration.
Both days feature a history scavenger hunt along with guided tours of the camps and battlefield. Vendors will offer various colonial-style goods and other items of interest to the historically minded.
The battle took place July 7, 1777. British troops, after being delayed by a naval battle on Lake Champlain the previous year, had moved down from Canada. When the American commanders at Fort Ticonderoga saw British guns on the high ground above the fort, the Continental Army abandoned its position there as untenable, crossing the lake into Vermont.
British soldiers and German mercenaries set out after them in hot pursuit. Waiting for them at Hubbardton was a force, left behind to protect the American rear, led by Seth Warner of the Green Mountain Boys. The Vermonters were joined by regiments for Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
More than a thousand men fought on each side, with a total of roughly 100 killed and more than 200 wounded. The British held the field and more than 200 prisoners at the end of the battle, but it is still celebrated as the action bought the rest of the Continental Army time to escape.
The Americans were able to regroup and deal the British a defeat later that year at Saratoga. That battle is considered the turning point of the Revolutionary War.
“If you don't know that part of your Vermont Heritage, come on out and we'll give you a nice history lesson,” Bernier said.
Admission each day is $5 for adults and free for children under the age of 15.
And how many thought that Vermont was an original of the 13 colonies? When asked to name them, many folks pick Maine and Vermont, but neither was.
You know them, of course: MA, NH, RI, CT, NY, NJ, PA, DE, MD, VA, NC, SC, GA
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Kinda reminds me of that humorous early episode of “Gilmore Girls” when the town is gearing up for their Revolutionary War re-enactment of an incident when the local militia formed up for battle against an advancing redcoat element that never showed up.
We’ve been there. Nice place. Not too far off the beaten path (US Rte 4).
Thanks once again, Joe. That looks like a tough bunch, eh?
FROM Massachusetts and New Hampshire???
Yeah...I left it alone when I saw it. It looks like they need some proofreading help in Rutland.
I used to go there to visit when I was a kid, my Grandparents had a summer home on Beebee Pond, the first lake after Lake Bomoseen on hwy 30. Beautiful state, wack people.
Thanks for that link Pharmboy.
I hadn’t heard of that particular battle.
I believe at the time Maine was considered part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Vermont was considered part of New York, although New Hampshire disputed that.
My parents spend every summer and fall on Beebe Pond. As a kid, I used to spend the summer there and then ski various mountains during the winter. I took my kids to the reenactment two years ago (it was a big anniversary of the battle and they had a huge turnout) and the kids loved it. It's a great state as long as you stay out of Burlington.
Where's the obligatory, "but their morale was still high," that seems to follow up so many battle descriptions? :-)
Vermont was pretty adamant that they did NOT want to part of NY...on ME, ya got me...
What?!? You didn’t list them in the order that they ratified the Constitution?!? Geez... ;’)
Well, you are one of the few who would ask, but since you did:
1.Delaware - December 7, 1787
2.Pennsylvania - December 12, 1787
3.New Jersey - December 18, 1787
4.Georgia - January 2, 1788
5.Connecticut - January 9, 1788
6.Massachusetts - February 6, 1788
7.Maryland - April 28, 1788
8.South Carolina - May 23, 1788
9.New Hampshire - June 21, 1788
10.Virginia - June 25, 1788
11.New York - July 26, 1788
12.North Carolina - November 21, 1789
13.Rhode Island - May 29, 1790
...and that’s why it says “The First State” on the DE license plate. And, Cesar Rodney was a stud.
And BTW, History Channel is running a series on how the states established their borders...I've watched a bit of it and it's pretty good.
I've added Clemenza since I would think he would love this kinda stuff.
One vestige of the western land claims is Case Western Reserve University, which resulted in a merger with Western Reserve University. Connecticut called it’s strip of land west of Pennsylvania its “Western Reserve.” It attempted to hold on to most of the Ohio portion even after the states surrendered their land claims in exchange for federal assumption of their debts, but eventually was forced to give it up. The name still survives in some places.
Here's something else I found relating to what I was referring to before:
I-684 cuts through a corner of Connecticut (1.41 miles) but has no entrances or exits there; it's the only interstate highway that sneaks through a state this way. There's still a "Welcome to Connecticut" sign, and ramps of a New York interchange cross the state line. Paul Schlichtman tells of a 1987 incident where New York police responded to an overturned truck but realized, "hey, we're not in New York!" Connecticut police, who have jurisdiction on that stretch, had to be summoned in.
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