In August of 1777, Lieutenant Colonel Friedrich Baum found himself a long way from his home in Braunschweig – Wolfenbüttel, what is now a part of Lower Saxony in Germany. The Duke, Carl I provided nearly 6,000 of his fellow servicemen to his son’s brother-in-law, King George III of Great Britain, in order to put down the Rebellion in America. The a majority of them were led by British General John Burgoyne, but when Burgoyne found his military campaign in serious need of provisions, draft animals, and a military diversion, Baum was sent to lead a raid on a supply depot in Bennington, VT. Speaking only his native German, and having no field experience in commanding a multinational force of nearly 800 German, British, Canadian, American and Native troops, Baum and his force departed from the British encampment on the Hudson River. They marched along a rugged route their enemy, the rebel Americans, had cut just the year before, to what they believed was a scantily guarded depot. This story is the anatomy of a disastrous event … explore Lt. Col. Friedrich Baum’s ill-fated journey to the Battle of Bennington, and experience some of the most stunning landscape to be found along New York’s Lakes to Locks Passage.
Click here to discover "The Road to Walloomsac" interactive map
Click here to download the Road to the Battle of Bennington MP3 Audio Files
Part I: Setting the Stage for Burgoyne's Leadership
Learn More: Understanding Burgoyne's Order
Learn More: Geography of the Waterways
Site 2: An Altered Landscape [While Driving]
Site 3: The Little Carrying Place
Learn More: Understanding Burgoyne's Order
Site 4: A Canal Community [While Driving]
Site 5:The Clark's Mill Bridge
Learn More: Crossing the Batten Kill
Site 6: The Saratoga Encampment [While Driving]
Learn More: Wasmus at Saratoga
Site 7: Setting off on August 12 [While Driving]
Part I: More About the Germans
Learn More: Understanding the German's Involvement
Site 8: The Batten Kill Encampment [While Driving]
Part I: Batten Kill Encampment
Learn More: Baum's First Letter to Burgoyne
Learn More: The Native Scavengers
Site 9: On the Continental Road I [While Driving]
Site 10: Still on the Continental Road [While Driving]
Site 11: Old Continental Road Marker [While Driving]
Site 12: Introducing Dr. Asa Fitch [While Driving]
Learn More: Dr. Asa Fitch Oral Histories
Site 13: And still on the Continental Road [While Driving ]
Site 14: Understanding the Landscape [While Driving]
Site 15: And Even Still on the Continental Road [While Driving]
Site 17: The Continental Road in Cambridge
Part I: Colonists in Cambridge
Site 19: The Skirmish with Cambridge Militia [While Driving]
Part I: Skirmish with Cambridge Militia
Learn More: Baum's 2nd Letter to Burgoyne
Site 20: The White Creek Encampment [While Driving]
Site 21: The Sancoick Mill Skirmish [While Driving]
Part I: Sancoick Mill Skirmish
Learn More: Baum's 3rd Letter to Burgoyne
Part II: Understanding the Mill Site
Site 22: Prelude to the Battle [While Driving]
Site 23: Bennington Battlefield
Learn More: Baum's 4th Letter to Burgoyne
Part III: The First Engagement
Learn More: Native Participation in the Battle of Bennington
Comments
Great map and audio. I do tons of Cambridge history so I'm familiar with Col Baum's passage through my village but I was never sure how he got from Schuylerville to Cambridge. Very interesting route. Nice story. Thanks for sharing
Trying to find the Route Gen Stark took in 1777 with 800-1200 men from Fort #4 in Charlestown NH to Battle of Bennington VT cyclespast@vermontel.net