On 8/11/18, Joey and I toured the Bennington Revolutionary War Monument in Bennington, VT.
It was a rainy day, so we didn’t get to explore much, but we did take the elevator up to 180 feet and look around at the observation deck.
Unfortunately, my photos of the park signage did not turn out. I will post what I can summarize from the blurry photos.
The Battle of Bennington actually took place 5 miles northwest in New York. The British were trying to reach the supply depot at Bennington, and at 3 o’clock on August 16, 1777. By 5 o’clock, the British were retreating, their commanding officer mortally wounded. However, the Continental Army was hurting too. A second unit of British soldiers ambushed, and the battle looked lost. Along comes Colonial Seth Warner and the Green Mountain Boys to save the day.
The battle was significant, as many of the Native Americans that had been fighting with the British (and acting as guides) returned to Canada, and refused to help the British again.
Several different monument designs were considered. At the 50th anniversary of the battle, the town became interested in a monument, finally breaking ground on June 4, 1887. The monument was mostly designed by Rinn, with some modifications.
Around the park, there were smaller memorials, such as this one:
The timeline of events at this site is shown in the photo below:
They also had a neat little museum at the bottom of the tower. In there, was an old guest book:
…and a soup kettle, made in England, yet used by the Continental Army. It was in a barn for a long time, then sent to a steel mill to be recycled. Someone figured out that it was a piece of history and saved it!
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