The Life and Wars of John Stark

Few men contributed as much to the American victory in the Revolutionary War—but have been as little recognized—as a New Hampshire farmer and lumberman by the name of John Stark. But although his life is not well known, a few words he wrote live on: “Live Free or Die.”       He served as a captain of rangers with Robert Rogers in the French and Indian War, and as a colonel and general in the Revolution at Bunker Hill, Trenton, Princeton, Westchester, Springfield, Saratoga, Ticonderoga and West Point. But his greatest achievement was at Hoosick, N.Y., in what became known as the “Battle of Bennington.”       The Battle of Saratoga and the surrender of Burgoyne on 17 October 1777 was the turning point of the American Revolution, but the Battle of Bennington on 16 August set the stage.       At Bennington John Stark commanded a force of militia and Green Mountain Boys, everyday men from Vermont and New Hampshire facing professional European soldiers. In a daring and complicated attack, St