John Stark

Half-Way Brook & The French & Indian War

September 30, 2026 by Guest Contributor 3 Comments

In choosing as its first subject for a memorial marker “The Half-Way Brook,” the (now defunct) New York State Historical Association made a dignified and wise selection.

For it may be truly said that no stream in Northern New York is more noted in history and the annals of the border, than this, whose appellation “Half-Way” comes from the fact that it was nearly equidistant from Fort Edward on the south (on the Hudson River] and Fort William Henry on the north (on Lake George). [Read more…] about Half-Way Brook & The French & Indian War

Bunker Hill Redoubt Where Joseph Warren Died Rediscovered

June 18, 2026 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

June 17, 2025, marked the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill. New England militiamen inflicted 1,054 casualties on the British, 50 percent of the British force.

The Bostonians and their allies sustained 411 casualties that day, including the man who stood at the heart of the battle, Dr. Joseph Warren, the namesake of Warren County, NY, who was brutally killed and mutilated by the British at the end of the battle. [Read more…] about Bunker Hill Redoubt Where Joseph Warren Died Rediscovered

The Life and Times of John Stark

April 1, 2026 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Live Free or Die: The Life and Times Of John Stark (Page Publishing, 2025) by William Baker Jr. is the story of how one of the American Revolution’s best battlefield commanders triumphed over the self-interest of others to play a major role in securing victory for the new republic.

Most often referred to as the “Hero of the Battle of Bennington,” John Stark also played pivotal roles in the Battle of Bunker Hill and the Battle of Trenton. [Read more…] about The Life and Times of John Stark

August 16, 1777: The Battle of Bennington in Context

July 27, 2025 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

The summer of 1777 found the British Army well into the campaign season of the third year of the American Revolution. General John Burgoyne, at the head of over 8,000 troops, with accompanying artillery, baggage train, and a supply of boats, had been driving southward for three months, capturing major and minor forts and sweeping aside the Rebel navy and armies which constantly harassed his advance.

His campaign was part of a broad British strategy designed to divide the Colonies in half with one massive, three-pronged attack. [Read more…] about August 16, 1777: The Battle of Bennington in Context

Robert Rogers: The Rise and Fall of an American Icon

December 16, 2024 by Editorial Staff 4 Comments

Robert Rogers, commander of Rogers’ Rangers during the French and Indian War (1754-1763), was the war’s best-known colonial military hero and, in the ensuing peace, one of the best-known Americans of any description, rivaling Benjamin Franklin in popularity.

He was revered in the colonies as an example of the self-made man based on merit, in contrast to the hide-bound, hierarchical British military establishment. Yet this American icon ultimately alienated his peers, fought as a loyalist in the Revolutionary War, ruined himself financially, and died in obscurity in London, estranged from the country of his birth. [Read more…] about Robert Rogers: The Rise and Fall of an American Icon

The Green Mountain Boys & The Evolution of Vermont’s State Flag

March 15, 2023 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

If you walk into the Vermont Historical Society’s museum in Montpelier, you’ll a flag hanging from the wall behind the admission desk: the blue and green Green Mountain Boys flag.

It’s a flag that’s been wrapped up with a hefty dose of legend and mythology. [Read more…] about The Green Mountain Boys & The Evolution of Vermont’s State Flag

‘Live Free Or Die’: The Life And Wars Of John Stark

January 25, 2015 by Editorial Staff 4 Comments

Few men contributed as much to the American victory in the Revolutionary War, yet have been as little recognized, as a New Hampshire farmer and lumberman by the name of John Stark. Although he is not well known outside of New Hampshire, a few words he wrote live on there today: Live Free or Die.

A biography by John F. Polhemus and Richard V. Polhemus, Stark, The Life and Wars of John Stark: French & Indian War Ranger, Revolutionary War General (Black Dome Press, 2014) help’s bring this remarkable man’s life into appropriate perspective. [Read more…] about ‘Live Free Or Die’: The Life And Wars Of John Stark

Battle of Trenton: George Washington’s Surprise Attack

March 8, 2014 by Editorial Staff 3 Comments

Like many historical events, the American Revolution is often shrouded in romantic myth and stubborn stereotypes. Perhaps no event offers a better example than General George Washington‘s famous crossing of icy Delaware River on Christmas night to lead the Continental Army’s defeat of the Hessians at Trenton, New Jersey, an event which revived the flickering morale American revolutionaries.

In George Washington’s Surprise Attack: A New Look at the Battle That Decided the Fate of America (Skyhorse Publishing, 2014), Phillip Thomas Tucker attempts to parse fiction from fact. He provides an in-depth look (more than 600 pages, with notes) at the events of the Battle of Trenton, presenting new insights and analysis about a battle that holds a mythical place in American national history. [Read more…] about Battle of Trenton: George Washington’s Surprise Attack

Schaghticoke: An American Revolution Militia Rendezvous

November 13, 2013 by Brian Barrett 15 Comments

At the juncture of well worn roads and trails, Schaghticoke became a hub of activity during September and October 1777. Schaghticoke is located east of the Hudson River in what was at the time Albany (now Rensselaer) County, opposite the hamlet of Stillwater. It was a stopping place for hundreds of militiamen who came and went to battle stations in the area.

Like other nearby communities, Schaghticoke was all but abandoned during late summer and fall of 1777. An 8,000 man British Army, invading the Hudson River Valley, was reason enough for most residents to flee to safer places. Many of these refugees went to Albany to escape the threats of war. This article describes the activities of New England militiamen in and around Schaghticoke during the Saratoga Campaign. [Read more…] about Schaghticoke: An American Revolution Militia Rendezvous

John Stark

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