The. Battle of Bennington (Vermont), drawn by Lt. Durnford, published by William Faden, 1780.
In August, Burgoyne sent a contingent of Hessians under Lieut. Col. Baum on a foraging expedition into Vermont. They were met by a militia force under General John Stark , a famed fighter in the French and Indian War and a hero at Bunker Hill. On August 16th, Stark's force roundly defeated Baum's troops . Over 200 Hessians were killed and 700 were taken prisoner. The result was a significant reduction in Burgoyne's fighting force.
Meanwhile, to the west of Burgoyne's march, British Col. Barry St.Leger and his force of British, Hessian, Loyalist, and Mohawk and Seneca warriors threatened the American position at Fort Stanwix, up the Mohawk Valley. After the British combined force obtained a hollow victory at Oriskany , St Leger besieged Fort Stanwix, but when he received news of large American reinforcements , St. Leger abandoned the siege and retreated west up the Mohawk Valley.
Despite these setbacks at Bennington to the east and Fort Stanwix to the west, Burgoyne pressed onward, south toward Saratoga in early September.
Leventhal
