Stark, John

Stark, John, 1728–1822, American Revolutionary soldier, b. Londonderry, N.H. He fought in the French and Indian Wars. At the start of the Revolution he distinguished himself at Bunker Hill, and he served in the Quebec campaign and with George Washington at Princeton and Trenton (1776–77). He went home in 1777, disgruntled over some promotions, but later in the year took the field as a commander of the New Hampshire militia in the Saratoga campaign. When General Burgoyne sent a detachment to take the colonial stores at Bennington (now in Vermont), Stark met and repulsed it. The battle of Bennington contributed to Burgoyne's discomfiture at Saratoga. For this service Stark received appointment as brigadier general from the Congress.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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