Gen. John Stark - Roberts Rangers / Colonial USA

​​THE EARLY YEARS

 

Major General John Stark was born on August 28th, 1728, in Londonderry, New Hampshire, now known as Derry, New Hampshire. The son of Scotch/Irish immigrants. ​ John Stark, a brash independent young man, kept to his New England roots of saying what you mean and meaning what you say. Which, later in lif,e would make others look at him as somewhat of a second-class citizen.

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With little to no formal education, John Stark, as a youth, learned the value of hard work as a farmer and working in the lumber mills alongside his father. ​ Spending his free time learning the valued skills of both hunting and trapping, this would serve him well in future years as one of Rogers' Rangers and as an American Revolutionary War Commander and hero.

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While on a hunting and trapping trip along a tributary of the Pemigewasset River on April 28th of 1752. John Stark, with his brother William and friends David Stinson and Amos Eastman, was attacked by warriors of the Abenaki tribe. ​ Stark's brother William managed to escape the attack, but his friend David Stinson was killed. Stark, along with Amos Eastman, was taken prisoner and brought north into Canada by the warrior.

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With the Abenaki tribe, both Stark and Eastman were made to run the "gauntlet", a known custom by some tribes where the prisoners are made to run through a line of warriors wielding sticks, whacking you along the way as you move down the line towards its end. Painful and humiliating.

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Start decided he was not having it, and so, turning the tide on the warriors, he charged the first Abenaki in the line and took the stick from him and began striking him with it and ran the gauntlet, whacking the Abenakis as he went, giving as good as he got, scattering the Abenakis. Stunned at this move, the tribes chief was impressed with the bravery of it, making Stark an adopted member of the tribe.

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In the spring of 1753, an agent from the Massachusetts Bay government was sent to Canada to negotiate the ransom of prisoners, and for $163 Spanish dollars, he was able to secure the release of both Stark and Eastman.

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AN AMERICAN HERO

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Roberts Rangers, formed in 1755 by Captain Robert Rogers (another New Hampshire native from Dunbarton, NH), during the French and Indian War as a special light infantry scouting company in the provincial forces of the colony of New Hampshire. ​John Stark's initial introduction to the military was with then Captain Robert Rogers and his famed Rangers of the British Army in the New England colonies.

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Commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in Rogers' Rangers, attached to Col. Blanchard's regiment of the British Army. John Stark would soon show his determination and courage to both Rogers and his British commanders. Even though the Rangers were known to be one of the British Army's most effective fighting forces, they were often looked down upon as second-class citizens by the regulars of the British Army. ​ Never one to suffer fools, these attitudes toward him and the colonist would plant the seeds of decent that in later years gave rise to the American Revolution.

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In just one of the many battles that Major Rogers and John Stark would take part in would become famous for the type of leader that John Stark would become famous for. ​ During the battle known as the Battle on Snowshoes around Fort Carillon in January 1757 in upstate New York, Rogers and his force of 74 Rangers were attacked by a much larger force of nearly 250 French and Indian fighters.​  With one Captain already killed in the attack and Major Rogers wounded, Lieutenant Stark took command of the remaining Rangers during the day-long battle. With 26 killed, captured, or wounded, the Rangers fought on, killing 116 of the French-led forces.

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After the battle, Rogers, Lieutenant Stark, and the remaining Rangers marched all night towards the closest English post. But soon, the wounds and fatigue and cold would force Lieutenant Stark and two other Rangers to volunteer and trek the 40 remaining miles to Fort William Henry to obtain aid for the remaining Rangers. All of which Lieutenant Stark would accomplish by that evening. For his courage and leadership, Lieutenant Stark would be promoted to the rank of Captain with the Rangers.

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In 1759, British General Jeffery Amherst ordered Major Robert Rogers and his Rangers to move north from Old Fort #4 in Charlstown, NH, in the Connecticut River Valley and mount an attack on the Abenaki Indians living in and around St. Francis, Quebec, Canada. Remembering his time spent with the Abenaki years before, Captain Stark, who by now was Rogers' second in command of the Rangers, refused to take part in the attack against his adopted family and the Abenaki tribe. ​ After the attack on St. Francis, Captain Stark in 1760 resigned from the Rangers. He returned to his wife, Elizabeth Molly Stark, whom he had married two years earlier in 1758, and his home in Derryfield, New Hampshire.

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Seeds Of Decent And The Birth Of An American Revolutionary

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The thirteen colonies of North America during the 1760s and early 1770s were a lightning rod for discontent with the policies levied upon them by the Crown towards its subjects. ​ All of the pent-up anger saw Colonists in NH take action against the crown in several early actions and ultimately exploded in the Massachusetts colony towns of Lexington and Concord.​ On that early morning of April 19, 1775, it exploded into conflict. Hearing the news of the battle and its outcome, on April 23rd, 1775, John Stark resumed his life in the military as a Colonel in the newly formed 1st New Hampshire Militia Regiment.

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Always the man spoiling for the next fight, the new Colonel John Stark, proceeded to gather up as many New Hampshire volunteers as possible. His reputation and ability to inspire men and gain their respect from his time with Rogers Rangers, Colonel Stark was able to quickly muster a Badass fighting force of 400 men in just 6 hours and set out for Boston!

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John Stark's New Hampshire Militia And The Battle of Breeds Hill (Commonly known as the Battle of Bunker Hill).

 

During the night of June 16th, 1775, the British planned their next move. The colonials quietly began digging the trenches and building defenses on Breeds Hill overlooking Charlestown and Boston Harbor. As the sun came up on the morning of the 17th June 1775, the lookouts aboard HMS Lively noticed the building and earthworks on top of Breeds Hill and opened fire upon the Colonials to disrupt the colonial preparation.

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Called up as reinforcements by Commander Artemas Ward, stationed on Breeds Hill, Colonel John Stark and his now 1000 New Hampshire militia moved from where they had gathered in Medford, 1 mile away, towards the battle that was now heating up. ​ Coming to the narrow strip of land connecting Charlestown to the colonial positions known as Charlestown Neck, barely 30 yards wide and under withering cannon fire, Colonel Stark and Reed maneuvered their troops safely to their positions atop Breeds Hill.

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Surveying the battlefield, Colonel Stark quickly noticed a weakness on the colonials' left flank and moved his troops to cover, building a crude stone and rail defense all the way down to the water's edge. Ever the Ranger and marksman, Stark hammered a stake some 40 yards in front of their position. Colonel Stark directed his men not to fire before the British crossed this point. Deploying his men 3 deep behind the hastily built defenses, Colonel Stark and his men used a technique he had learned from his days with the Rangers of rotating his firing lines as they shot, allowing them to reload and maintain overwhelming fire upon the enemy.

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As the first wave of the Royal Welch Fusiliers attacked, Starks' NH Militia stood and opened fire as one. Inflicting huge casualties upon the British, killing 90 in the first volley. After a second and third attack by the British, they retreated, choosing to focus on points in the Colonial line where they would receive the cover of cannon fire.

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Inflicting nearly 70% casualties upon the British, Colonel Stark and his men held the flank, saving the day for the colonials. After numerous attempts, and with the Colonial troops running out of ammo, the British finally forced the colonials to retreat from the field. But not before they had received staggering casualties of nearly 50% of the 2400 original attacking troops. With especially high losses to the officers and commanders of the attacks (thanks to Stark's NH Ranger-style marksmen).

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As the colonials left the field of battle, it is thought that if not for the brave defense by Colonel Stark and his New Hampshire militia of the left flank on Breeds Hill that day, the outcome might have been very, very different.

 

Battles Of Trenton and Princeton.

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After the Battle of "Bunker Hill", the Colonial Army was in need of experienced commanders. Colonel John Stark and his New Hampshire Militia were commissioned into the regular Continental Army.​ Their first action was to support the retreat of the army from Canada after there defeat by the British. In late 1776, Colonel Stark and his troops moved south to join Gen. George Washington and his main army where they would take part in both the Trenton and Princeton battles. These were the only two times that Colonel Stark would fight alongside General Washington during the whole war.

Baby Born Yesterday

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After the battles of Princeton and Trenton, Colonel John Stark was asked by General Washington to return home and try to raise more troops to help the cause.​  Upon his return to New Hampshire Colonel Stark learned that in his absence, another Colonel named Enoch Poor who had refused to march his troops south to take part in the battle of "Bunker Hill", had been promoted to the rank of Brigadier General by the New Hampshire legislature. Poor had refused to march his troops south to support the Colonials at Breeds Hill and had NO combat experience.

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While in Exeter New Hampshire, Colonel Stark, never one to shy away from a scrap with the elites of the day or even General Washington, made one of his famous statements "It is indeed a great honor to address such an august and powerful body that can make a baby born yesterday older than a baby born last month."​ Angering many of the legislators. Stark decided that enough was enough, so on March 23, 1777, Stark resigned his commission in disgust.

 

John Stark's Hero Of Bennington

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After four months, the New Hampshire legislature relented and offered John Stark a commission as a Brigadier General of the New Hampshire Militia. ​ Agreeing to accept the commission under one circumstance that he and his men be independent of the Continental Army and answer only to the New Hampshire Legislature.

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The newly commissioned Brigadier General gathered close to 1,750 New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts militiamen dressed in their own clothing and providing their own firearms. They marched to what is now Manchester, New Hampshire, where he met with Gen Benjamin Lincoln. ​Refusing to obey General Benjamin Lincoln of the Continental Army, who was another general that he believed was unrightfully promoted over him. John Stark and his militia were allowed to operate independently against the rear of General John Burgoyne's British Army.

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Stark's battle plan for the Battle of Bennington was put into action on August 17, 1777, where he rallied his forces with one of his famous Stark speeches: "There they are, men. We'll beat them before night or Molly Stark's a widow." Stark and his men routed the British, with two-thirds, or 1,200, of the British troops killed, wounded, or captured, while the equal-sized American troops lost less than 100. Badass! A major battle where the numbers were roughly equal, and the New England Troops under Stark beat the best-trained and equipped troops in the world on the battlefield.

 

The Aftermath Of The Battle Of Bennington.

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After Stark and his men cut off General Burgoyne and his troops from getting supplies and reinforcements after the Battle of Saratoga at a place known as Stark's Knob. ​ This first major defeat of the British Army convinced the French that the Americans were worthy of military aid.​ Congress finally commissioned John Stark to the rank of brigadier general in the Continental Army on October 4th, 1777.

 

During the winter of 1777-8, as General Washington and his troops froze at Valley Forge, General Stark and his men returned home to protect their homes and properties from local politicians who would seize the properties of troops who were away to sell them for revenue.​ Towards the end of winter, Gen. Stark arrived at Valley Forge with his fresh, well-wintered troops and encouraged the ragged forces under Gen. Washington to continue on. Stark and his troops took part in the capture of Fort Edwards, cutting off General Burgoyne and forcing him to finally surrender.

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Gen. Stark was the commander of the Northern Department three times between 1778 and 1781. General John Stark also sat as a judge in the court-martial in September 1780 that found British Major John André guilty of spying in the conspiracy of Benedict Arnold to surrender West Point to the British.

"Live Free Or Die" An American Badass Patriot.

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After the War of Independence, John Stark retired and returned home to Derryfield, New Hampshire. It was written of John Stark by his biographer Howard Moore "A man of unswerving principles, he retired to private life when the independence of his country had been won and became the only true Cincinnatus of them all."

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Unlike many others, the General never sought political office or tried to make policies. A true citizen soldier. Thought of by many who DID seek national glory as uneducated, uncouth, and unrefined, John Stark was and is always remembered for being a brilliant General and battlefield tactician. A man who had combat experience in small unit tactics and special operations learned from his combat with the Rangers, as well as a man who could command large forces in combined arms.

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At a gathering in 1809 of the Battle of Bennington veterans, which, because of his worsening health, General John Stark, who was now 81 years old, could not attend. A letter that he had written for the gathering was read to his men, and in it, General Stark made this famous statement in closing: "Live free or die: There are worse evils than death". Live Free or Die is the official motto of the Great State of New Hampshire!

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A fitting statement from a man to the men who risked everything to give to so many the freedoms that we all enjoy to this day. Nearly forty years after the battles ended, his service to his country finished. General John Stark finally died at the age of 94 on May 8, 1822, one of the last of the old generals, only to be survived by Generals Sumter and Lafayette.

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