Fully preserved
Battle of Bennington was key 1777 victory for Americans during Revolutionary War
Trust purchase protects battlefield historic site.
The field of surrender from which
700 Hessians started their march into captivity is now fully preserved at the Bennington Battlefield State Historic Site after the American Battlefield Trust purchased 23.1 acres adjacent to the state park for $60,000.
The American victory at the Battle of Bennington fought near the hamlet of Walloomsac on April 16, 1777 is considered to be the precursor of the American successes at the Battles of Saratoga on Sept. 19 and Oct. 7, 1777 and part of the turning point of the American Revolution.
“We had already determined the historical significance of the property. We had the support of the assistance and support of the American Battlefield Trust,” said David Pitlyk, historic site assistant, whose research was cited by the trust in its acquisition.
Known as the Zamani Tract at Bennington for Mohammed Zamani of Troy who sold the land in June to the American Battlefield Trust, the acquisition comes as the nation prepares to mark the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution beginning in 2025.
“It’s so important in telling the stories of the Battles of Saratoga. It will be a part of the state historic site,” said Jim Campi, chief policy and communications officer for the American Battlefield Trust, which is headquartered in Washington D.C.
The American Battlefield Trust preserves battlegrounds in the U.S. and explains to the public the historical significance of the sites in the nation’s history. The purchase at the Bennington battlefield is the seventh one the trust has made in New York state to protect 301.98 acres of American Revolution and War of 1812 battlefields. It is the fourth site connected to the Saratoga campaign during the Revolution.
The 23.1-acre Zamani Tract fills in a key spot of the Aug. 16, 1777 battlefield. Located across Route 67 from the entrance road to the historic site, which was established in 1927, the acre
age includes the area through which the mixed British force of Hessians, Tories, British and Native Americans fought and retreated.
The American forces composed of New Hampshire militia led by Gen. John Stark, Massachusetts militia and Seth Warner’s Green Mountain Boys from Vermont gained a surprising and overwhelming victory against the British detachment that had been sent to raid Bennington in Vermont, 10 miles to the east of the battlefield, for supplies.
The final phase of the first engagement saw the 2,350 Americans defeat British forces that amounted to 1,450. The Hessians attempted a final breakthrough with a saber charge. It ended in defeat on the surrender field. Accounts place the British commander Lt. Col. Friedrich Baum hauled naked and mortally wounded in a cart to Bennington as part of the 700 soldiers who surrendered. The Americans saw 30 soldiers killed and 40 wounded. The British had 207 killed in addition to those captured.
“This is the first time the complete surrender field is preserved. It’s important to being able to preserve something that’s important in history to New Yorkers and all Americans,” Pitlyk said.
“The Statement of Significance for Zamani Tract, 5154 NY 67” is an eight-page research report written by Pitlyk to explain the historical importance of the 23.1-acre site. Pitlyk recounts the story of the Battle of Bennington and various types of research that have been conducted at the site to determine troop movements and better explain what happened during the fighting.
It’s anticipated that the Zamani Tract will eventually become part of the Bennington Battlefield Historic Site.
As the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution draws nearer the American Battlefield Trust anticipates purchasing additional parcels such as the one for the Bennington battlefield, Campi said. ABT recently announced it is working with the North American Land Trust to raise $3.85 million to protect the 72-acre Brinton Run Preserve on the Brandywine Battlefield outside Philadelphia.
The Revolutionary War battlefields in the state where ABT has made purchases previous to Bennington are 68.34 acres in 2019 at the Newtown battlefield in Chemung County; at the Saratoga battlefield 6.03 acres in 2019 and 19.8 acres in 2018; and Battle of Fort Ann in Washington County, 160 acres in 2017. The War of 1812 battlefield acquisitions were both at Sackets Harbor in Jefferson County in 2017, 24.03 acres and 0.51 acres.