, and I and most of the militia felt for him. The New Hampshire
Assembly met, and began to adopt measures for the defence of the
country. The militia was formed into two brigades. General Whipple was
appointed to command the first, and General Stark the second. Stark
refused to accept the appointment. But finding that his name was a host,
he was induced to yield his private griefs for the public good. He said
he would assume the command of the troops, if he was not desired to join
the main army, and was made accountable to no authority but that of New
Hampshire. His conditions were accepted, and he went to Charlestown to
meet the Committee of Safety. As soon as I heard that General Stark was
in the field, I hurried off to Charlestown to join the militia, I knew
would assemble there. I found the men were coming in from all
directions, and all were in high spirits. Stark sent us off to
Manchester, twenty miles from Bennington, to join Colonel Warner's
regiment. You know after that skrimmage at Hubbardton, Warner could
scarcely muster more than two hundred men, and we who were sent from
Charlestown were to fill out his regiment. I found most of the men had
been in service since the war began, and knew what fighting was; and I
thought they were a match for twice their number; but I had some near
neighbours in the regiment of Colonel Nichols at Bennington: I went and
joined him. As our regiment was filling up, General Stark arrived at
Manchester, where he met General Lincoln, who had come to conduct the
militia across the Hudson to General Schuyler; but Stark told him that
the men were called together to protect their homes in New Hampshire,
and could not be taken out of that part of the country. I heard
afterwards that General Lincoln informed Congress of the state of
things in our neighbourhood, and that Congress censured General Stark;
but he didn't care for that. He knew he was right in staying in New
Hampshire, and that the men who censured him knew nothing about the
state of things there. Well, we were called upon to meet the enemy
sooner than we expected, for it appeared that Baum, with his Germans and
Indians, was on his march towards Bennington. Soon after, I arrived at
Manchester. About four hundred men had collected at Bennington, when
General Stark arrived there, and more were coming in constantly. I guess
it was on the 13th of August when we received information that some of
Baum's Indians had been seen near Cambr