Live Free or Die: John Stark and the War for American Independence

A Story of a Revolution's Hero

This paper, written long ago, was the reason I named the protagonist in my novels “John Connor Stark,” a descendant of General John Stark. It’s also why the Navy cruiser (CG-74) in that novel was named Bennington. Many people don’t know where the phrase “Live Free or Die” comes from. This piece corrects that.

During the American War for Independence, John Stark emerged as a successful military leader, popular with both the men who served under him and historians who chose him as their subject.  Stark is central to two of the most important battles in that war – Bunker Hill and Bennington.  His illustrious career, however, was marred by several controversies which delayed his promotions and likely prevented additional victories.

            Stark was born in 1728 and lived his entire civilian life in New Hampshire where he hunted, farmed and later operated a sawmill.  During one of his upstate hunting expeditions in April 1752  he, his brother Will, and two friends were captured by Indians and held for several months.  His resilience and courage impressed his Abenaki captors and they took him in as one of their own until he was ransomed.  He drew heavily upon this experience when he served in Rogers' Rangers during the French and Indian War.  He worked closely with Rogers and rose to the rank of Captain.  He commanded the Rangers briefly when, on the way to Fort Ticonderoga in 1757, they were attacked by a force of Indians three times the Rangers’ strength and Rogers wounded in the fight.  After the war he directed his attention to his large farm, his mills and the settlement of a new township, Starkstown, later renamed Dunbarton.

            Soon the siege of Boston became the focal point of the colonists' concern in New England.  On 17 June 1775, British General Gage attacked colonials making their defense on Breed’s Hill in Boston.  Gage is supposed to have remarked, just prior to engaging the colonial forces at Bunker Hill, that "if one John Stark was with them, they would fight; for he was a brave fellow and had served under him, in 1758-59".

            Like many militia officers, Stark was elected by his men to command.  The election of an officer was based on several factors such as popularity, military experience and one's social or economic status.  Though Stark was made colonel of the First Regiment, the New Hampshire Committee of Safety chose Nathanial Folsom, who had no prior military service, to be commander-in-chief of all present and immediate-future militia in the state.  Stark took great offence to being Folsom's subordinate; Stark had command of the men in the field but Folsom had friends in the political hierarchy of New Hampshire.

            The New Hampshire militia, led by Stark assigned to hold the rebel left of Breed’s Hill, made a great contribution by holding their assigned ground as long as they did.   At one point during the battle, Stark was erroneously told that his teenaged son Caleb had been killed.  He responded, “it is no time to talk of private affairs while the enemy are advancing on our front.”

            His courage in battle when his untrained men complained of being unable to judge the distance of the approaching enemy forces.  Stark ran out to the battlefield within the range of enemy fire, and planted a stick eighty yards from the colonial line.  He returned and ordered the men not to fire until the enemy was between the line of defense and the stick.  Every British soldier killed or wounded by the New Hampshire militia fell within that area, perhaps attesting to Stark's control over his men and their adherence to his orders.  The British advanced and were repelled twice but by the third advance, rebel ammunition had run too low to effective retaliate.  Stark is credited with the orderly retreat from the advancing British, preventing a complete rout.  Although the British soon won the hard-fought Battle of Bunker Hill, it showed the British the determination and skill of the colonists.  Bunker Hill proved to be another example of Stark's fortitude under direct enemy threat, his mastery over his men, and impulsiveness which were true of his character.

            Word of Stark's valor and the achievement of the New Hampshire militia spread quickly back in the Granite State.  Because of his military performance at Bunker Hill a promotion was to be expected, as one of his biographers suggests.  "Normally he would have been made a Brigadier General by New Hampshire.  Had it been done and promotion in due time in the Continental Army followed, more than one Bennington might have come to his credit. 

            The chance for the coveted commission passed him by, for it was at this time that his superior officer, Nathanial Folsom, curbed rising support for Stark.  After the Battle of Bunker Hill General Folsom, who was then commander-in-chief of the New Hampshire contingent, had reported that Stark had refused to make a return of the losses sustained by his regiment and had even gone so far as to proclaim his independence of any superior officer from his home province.  The truth of the claim remains a mystery since Stark left no account of it.

            Rather than marching back to New Hampshire immediately, Stark and his men joined in a campaign in the late summer and fall of 1775.  This campaign, from Canada to New Jersey, proved vital to the continuation of the war effort.  Moreover, at this crucial period when the size of the Continental Army was rapidly decreasing, Stark managed to retain his troops.  A few days before the enlistment period for the regiments expired, Stark made a patriotic appeal to his now experienced soldiers and told them that if Congress would not pay them, he would.  Not a man refused.

            The New Hampshire men stayed on for Stark's requested time of six weeks, which gave the Army the much-needed recruitment period.  Shortly thereafter, Stark was informed that Congress had commissioned several junior colonels to the rank of Brigadier General.

            At the winter encampment of 1775-76 at Winter Hill, Massachusetts, an incident occurred which was to delay Stark’s advancement in rank.  A Major Hobart had been sent by New Hampshire authorities to pay their troops and was quartered a few miles from Winter Hill.  On the evening of December 31, 1775 several soldiers entered Hobart's quarters where he had been counting the troops’ pay.  They proceeded to take him away to Winter Hill, allegedly by order of Colonel Stark.  When they reached Stark's headquarters, he denied giving any such order to his men.  The two entered into a heated exchange.  Hobart threatened Start, saying that he was there by authority of the Congress of New Hampshire.  Stark responded in "outspoken language."

            When Hobart returned to his own quarters, he discovered that all the money had been stolen.  He promptly wrote a letter to the Congress of New Hampshire.  In it, Hobart reported the entire incident, giving special attention to Stark's final words: "I don't care a damn for the Province of New Hampshire, nor for the Congress.  There is a pack of damned Tories at the head of Congress."

            Stark appeared before a board of inquiry which declared him blameworthy of the entire incident.  General Sullivan, in response to the General Court of New Hampshire on January 17, 1776, noted Stark was a "worthy and good officer",  but that Sullivan would "do everything in [his] power to punish any insult [Stark] may have been guilty of offering to the Colony."   General George Washington penned that if Thornton and the others insisted on court-martialing Stark, it would be done.  They did not insist on court-martialing Stark but they did require an apology.  Stark complied, apologizing for the remarks against the politicians, but he accepted no blame for the stolen pay.

            Two months later, the Continental Congress voted on the commissioning of new officers and promotions.  General Sullivan himself wrote a letter to John Adams recommending Stark for promotion.  Regardless, Stark was again passed over.  He would spend the next twelve months serving loyally in Washington's Army.  In March of 1777, the Continental Congress again met to vote on promotions.  Ten new brigadier generals were commissioned.  Stark's name was not on the list.  At this time, and voting on this issue in particular, were two old acquaintances of Stark - William Whipple and Matthew Thornton.

   (portrait: William Whipple

(portrait: Matthew Thornton)

         Stark would not stand for this egregious decision.  He declared that if he had served as he did and was not deemed worthy of a brigadier's commission, he was not worthy enough to serve at all. Historians vehemently and commonly assert that Stark was unjustly denied promotion at this point.  George Trevelyan in his work American Revolution wrote "Congress, enamored of mediocrities, ignored his claims for promotion."  Charles Bartlett argued that Stark was "subordinated by political trickery."  Frank Sanborn remarked that "by some wretched intrigue at Philadelphia no notice had been taken of his merits."

            Three months later a part of General Burgoyne's army was marching down from Canada.  New Hampshire responded to Vermont's distress call by sending troops to be led by Stark.  To coerce him back into the service, he was given the rank of Brigadier General in the militia.  Stark eagerly accepted the new position. 

            Approximately 2,000 troops were raised.  Many of these soldiers joined once they heard that Stark was to lead the mission.  The British force, comprised mostly of Hessians with a few Indians, Canadians, Tories, and British, was estimated at between 1,800 and 2,500.  Stark's orders were to march to Stillwater in order to join other colonial forces from Vermont and Western Massachusetts.

            On August 8, 1777, General Lincoln sent General Schuyler a damaging letter, indicating Stark was abusing his newly-acquired position and had difficulty in obeying orders.

“[Stark] seems to be exceedingly soured and thinks he hath been neglected and hath not had Justice done him by Congress - he is determined not to join the Continental Army until the Congress give him his rank therein... he'll take no orders from any officer in the Northern Department saving your Honour for he saith they all were 'Either Commanded by him the last year or joined the Armey after him.”

            Lincoln also noted that he was not sure if Stark would march to Stillwater as ordered. One historian, Henry D. Foster made two observations.  First, Schuyler's orders were never received by Stark.  Rather, they were transmitted directly by Lincoln to Stark's brigade without Stark's knowledge.  He also argues that Stark eventually went to Stillwater via Bennington and arrived a month late, after carrying out a flank attack desired by both Schuyler and Washington only sooner than expected.  Second, Foster refers back to Stark’s commission which stated: a "Brigadier General [is] always amenable for their conduct to the General Court or the Committee of Safety."  Foster points out that this omission is significant - that Stark was not made "amenable to Congress, to the officers of the Continental Army, or to Continental regulations."

            Josiah Bartlett was a member of the General Court appointing Stark, a member of the Committee of Safety instructing Stark and sent as an advisor to Stark after Bennington.  In a letter to William Whipple after the Battle of Bennington, Bartlett gives several reasons which led New Hampshire to give Stark this independent command.

            First, he suggested that it would be "impossible to raise the militia to be under the Command of Generals in whom they had no confidence."  Hence, the popular Stark could well lead the men.  Second, "had Stark gone to Stillwater agreeable to orders, there would have been non [sic] to oppose Col. Baum in carrying Gen'l Burgoine's orders into execution."  Third, he asserted that "every state has a right to raise their militia... and to put them under such command as they shall think proper."

            On August 16, 1777, the high point of Stark's career occurred with his victory at the Battle of Bennington.  The result was 1200 enemy killed, wounded, or captured.  Less than 100 under Stark’s command suffered one of those fates.  Depleted of these troops, the British were destined to lose the next battle at Saratoga, which was a significant factor in bringing the French into the war against the British.

            In September, Stark received from Congress the censure to New Hampshire in giving him an independent command.  Ironically, a day later he received their thanks for his action at Bennington.  On October 4, 1777, by Order of Congress and signed by its President, John Hancock, Stark finally received his promotion to Brigadier General in the Continental Army.  In order to avoid any possible confusion as happened prior to Bennington, the order read: "you are to observe and follow such orders and directions...from this or a future Congress... or commander-in-chief."  In 1783, he was promoted to the rank of Major General.

Through the end of the war he served as a recruiter and commander of the Northern Department was on the court that convicted British Major John Andre, of spying and fought at Trenton and Princeton.

            Despite his frustration with Congress to promote him, John Stark remained loyal to the Revolution.  It would have been all too easy to join the British like another war hero, Benedict Arnold.  Indeed his own brother William, another Colonel passed over for promotion, traveled to New York where he was appointed an officer in the British army.

            Although his charisma and tactical skills have never been questioned by his contemporaries or historians, he has been viewed (rightly so) as obstinate, recalcitrant, and insubordinate.  Despite this, he was respected by his troops and superiors.  As George Washington wrote to Matthew Thornton of the New Hampshire Congress, Stark was “a good officer who understands and does his duty.”

            In New Hampshire, his name continues to have a legacy at various sites.  Perhaps his memories of Revolutionary battles with British and politicians led him in 1809 led him to coin in a letter to President James Madison a now-familiar phrase and New Hampshire state motto - "Live free or die - Death is not the greatest of evils."

Sources consulted:

Bartlett, Charles H.  “The Statue of General John Stark.” Dedication of Stark Park Commemorative Booklet.  Manchester, NH pp. 12-25, 1893.

Bartlett, Josiah.  The Papers of Josiah Bartlett.  Frank C. Mevers, editor.  Published by University Press of New England, 1979.

Boynton, Henry.  “John Stark – His Place in American History.”  The Granite Monthly v. XXXIII  Concord.  Published by the Granite Monthly Co. 1902.  Pp. 229-246.

Documents and Records Relating to the Province of New Hampshire from 1764-1776, v. VII.  Nashua.  Orren C. Moore, State Printer, 1873.

Documents and Records Relating to the State of New Hampshire from 1776-1783, v. VIII. Concord.  Edward Jenks, State Printer, 1874.

“Letters Illustrating the Siege of Boston.”  Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society.  Boston.  Published by Massachusetts Historical Society, 1876. Pp. 275-298.

Mayo, George.  “Col. Stark at Winter Hill.”  Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, v. LVII.  Boston.  Published by MHS, 1924.  Pp. 328-336.

Moore, Howard Parker.  A Life of General John Stark.  Published by Howard Moore, 1949.

Sanborn, Frank B.  “Gen. John Stark: His Genius and Achievements as Factors in the Accomplishment of American Independence.”  Proceedings of the New Hampshire Historical Society, v. III.  Published by NHHS, Concord.  1902.

Stark, Caleb.  Memoir and Official Correspondence of Gen. John Stark.  Reprint of 1860 ed.  Gregg Press.  Boston.  1972.

Stark, John.  The Papers of John Stark, 1758-1819.  Not printed.  New Hampshire Historical Society Collection.  Concord.

Weare, Mesech.  The Papers of Mesech Weare, 1719-1786.  Not printed.  New Hampshire Historical Society Collection.  Concord.