One such hired soldier was Lt. Col.
Friedrich Baum of the Brunswick Dragoon
Regiment (mounted infantry). Nothing is
known of his birth and prior background, but
he was clearly a long-term professional who
knew his business. Baum departed Germany
in February 1776 with a large Brunswick con-
tingent commanded by Col. Friedrich von
Riedesel. He commanded 336 cavalrymen in
his regiment, a colorful lot sporting bright-
blue jackets and bicorn hats, armed with both
swords and muskets. Horses had yet to be
procured, yet Baum’s command, being trained
as dragoons, was equally adept fighting on
foot or in the saddle. The Brunswick contin-
gent arrived in Quebec that summer as part of
an ambitious military operation to be headed
by Gen. John Burgoyne. Here an army of
8,000 British, German, and Loyalist troops, as-
sisted by large numbers of Native Americans,
would invade northern New York via the Lake
Champlain corridor. Burgoyne’s goal was to
seize Albany, the state capital, as its capture
would cut off New England from the rest of
the country. The government entertained high
expectations for Burgoyne and fully expected
to end the war in a single campaign.
Burgoyne’s juggernaut began rolling south-
ward into New York that June, quickly cap-
tured Fort Ticonderoga, and brushed aside a
large militia force at Hubbardton on July 7,
- Pressing onward, the British advance
then became bogged down thanks to bad ter-
rain and rear-guard actions by small groups of
determined Americans. By August, Burgoyne
could barely manage a snail’s crawl toward
Albany. He was running short on supplies
and, furthermore, lacked the necessary draft
animals to move his huge column of cannons
over the broken terrain. Because the Ameri-
cans were enacting a scorched-earth policy—
destroying all livestock and foodstuffs they
could not carry—the British were hard-
pressed to meet their needs. Eventually, Bur-
goyne was alerted to the fact that farmlands
in the neighboring New Hampshire Grants
(Vermont) were as yet untouched by war and
thus were a potential source for draft animals,
cattle, and other valuable commodities. The
British especially needed horses to mount
Baum’s dragoons. Accordingly, on August 8,
1777, Burgoyne instructed Baum (who spoke
no English) to take 800 men through central
Vermont, gather up the requisite supplies, and
invite Loyalist sympathizers in the region to
flock to his colors. It was considered an im-
portant but not overly complicated mission,
and little difficulty was anticipated.
Baum departed the British camp on August
11 with 374 Brunswick Dragoons, 30 artillery-
men, 50 jaegers (riflemen), and roughly 300
Loyalists, Canadians, and Indians. His move-
ment through the woods was leisurely, and oc-
casionally—in good German fashion—Baum
would halt to redress the ranks and ensure an
orderly procession. The following day his col-
umn trudged into Cambridge, where shots
were exchanged with some militiamen.
Baum’s scouts also reported that a large party
of rebels was thought to be in the area, so he
sent a dispatch back to Burgoyne requesting
reinforcements. He then resumed his casual
march, somewhat perturbed that the expected
surge of Loyalist recruits did not materialize.
Unknown to Baum, Gen. John Stark of the
New Hampshire militia was en route to Ben-
nington with 1,400 men, many of whom were
crack shots and veterans of various Indian
wars. He carefully observed Baum’s men dig-
ging small redoubts and establishing a defen-
sive perimeter, so he determined to attack the
Hessian the moment his own troops were po-
sitioned. Baum and several of his outposts
were aware of the movement of Americans on
the periphery of his camp, but repeatedly
Baum had been assured that they were actu-
ally groups of Loyalists intent on joining him.
Stark took advantage of this mistaken belief,
sending several spies into the camp who,
feigning friendship, observed the German de-
fenses closely and reported back. On the
morning of Saturday, August 16, 1777, Stark’s
command had nearly enveloped the unfortu-
nate Baum, and he gave the order to attack.
The ensuing Battle of Bennington was over
in two hours, a complete victory for the Amer-BAUM, FRIEDRICH