Seth Warner

Revolutionary War Hero

Seth Warner came to Bennington in 1763, followed later by his cousins Ethan Allen and Remember Baker in an area known as the New Hampshire grants. In 1770, as the leaders of the Green Mountain Boys, the men joined forces against the threat of New York interference in their New Hampshire land titles. In the early days of the Revolutionary War, they fought unofficially on the side of the patriots. In May 1775, Warner participated in the capture of Fort Ticonderoga and led the forces that took Crown Point. In June, Warner and Allen appealed to the Continental Congress to allow the Green Mountain Boys to join the Northern Army as a Continental regiment. Seth Warner was selected as commander with the rank of Lt. Colonel.

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In 1776, Warner brought his troops through a fierce winter during the Army’s ill-fated invasion of Canada, and in July 1777, he delayed the British advance at the Battle of Hubbardton. The arrival of Warner’s Regiment on August 16,1777, at a critical point in the Battle of Bennington, turned the day in favor of the patriots. A month later, the Regiment attacked Mount Independence and Fort Ticonderoga, and in October blocked Burgoyne’s retreat at Saratoga. Seth Warner retired in 1781 after the disbanding of his Regiment. In debt and in poor health, he returned with his family to Roxbury, Connecticut, where he died in 1784 at age 41. He is remembered for his courage, calm leadership, and the care he showed to his men.