Germans Arrive, Americans Retreat

Germans Arrive, Americans Retreat. Hubbardton Battlefield State Historic Site. , The Americans took up a position behind the high log and stone fence across the Castleton Road to the east, being forced there by the British. After heavy fighting, remnants of the 2nd New Hampshire Regiment moved back across the road, flanking the British to the north. British Brigadier General Simon Fraser, his left flank under attack, sent word to his rear guard to advance quickly., As the Americans were nearly winning the battle, part of Major General Baron Friedrich Riedesel's German Brunswicker force arrived. He recorded that, "[t]hey advanced upon the enemy with fixed bayonets and to the sound of music." This disrupted the American flanking attempt., American Colonel Ebenezer Francis was killed by a British volley near the end of the battle. Reidesel, impressed by the bravery and gallantry of Francis and Seth Warner, ensured Francis received a Christian burial on the battlefield with full military honors., The American soldiers scattered to the east over Pittsford Ridge, the hill you see across the road. Many later regrouped in Center Rutland or elsewhere and moved on to Manchester, Vermont. Around 10:00 am. the battle ended with a running fight along the top of Pittsford Ridge., Both sides suffered heavy casualties. The British and Germans claimed victory because they held the field. The American rear guard accomplished its mission, engaging the enemy in a fierce battle that stopped British pursuit of the main American army., The Battle of Hubbardton was the beginning of the end for British Lieutenant General John Burgoyne and his northern forces. It saved the Northern American Army, which was instrumental in the significant American victories in the Battle of Bennington on August 16, 1777, and battles at Saratoga New York, where Burgoyne surrendered with his entire army on October 17, 1777., By 10:00 a.m. on July 7, the battle was nearly over., "Our people, being overpowered by numbers, were obliged to retreat over the mountains, enduring on their march great privations and suffering." , Captain Moses Greenleaf, , 11th Massachusetts Regiment, (drawing captions) , LEFT: German soldier, a Braunschweiger Jäger Friedrich Von Germany fagst, New bork Puall, RIGHT: (Edward Epstein, artist, 1988), [FAR RIGHT:] Americans retreat over Pittsford Ridge (Edward Epstein, artist, 1988), EXPLORE THE BATTLEFIELD LANDMARKS , 1 Hubbardton Battlefield State Historic Site , 2 Beginnings of the Battle , 3 Monument Hill and the Morning Charge , 4 British Flank the Americans , 5 The Selleck Cabin , 6 Germans Arrive, Americans Retreat