Burgoyne, not without great difficulty, at length reached the Hudson, to the great joy of the British army; and Schuyler, unable to face him, retreated to Saratoga, where the tidings of new disasters soon reached him. Burgoyne had several weeks before despatched Colonel St. Leger, with Sir John Johnson and his Royal Greens, together with a body of Canadian rangers, and the formidable Brandt and his savages, to harass the western frontier of New York. Fort Schuyler, commanded by Colonels Gansevoost and Willett, was attacked, and General Herkimer, hastening to his relief with militia, which he had raised for that purpose, fell into an ambush near the fort and was mortally wounded, besides losing 400 men, amongst whom were many of the leading patriots of that part of the country. This was sad news for Schuyler, and as the north-west abounded in Tories, it was necessary, if possible, to relieve Fort Schuyler, so as to prevent its falling into the hands of the enemy, which would cause, it was apprehended, a general disaffection. Arnold volunteered to undertake this perilous service, and Schuyler, having despatched him with three regiments, withdrew from Saratoga to the islands at the confluence of the Mohawk and Hudson rivers. Although success had followed the British, and Burgoyne was in possession of so many strong posts, and had command of Lakes Champlain and George, and great amount of stores and provisions lay at Fort George for his use, yet the means of transport were so difficult, that the army was reduced to the greatest straits. To obtain immediate supplies, therefore, he despatched Colonel Baum, a German officer of rank, with 500 men, together with a body of Canadians and Indians, to seize a quantity of provisions which the Americans had stored at Bennington. There was at this time at Bennington, under the command of Colonel Stark, a corps of New Hampshire militia, raised by a merchant of Portsmouth, named Langdon, on the news of the loss of Ticonderoga. As soon as Stark heard of the attack which was to be made on the stores, he sent off for Seth Warner’s Green Mountain Boys, his own force having also been strengthened by volunteers and fugitives from the defeat at Hubbardton. Baum, seeing Stark prepared for him, entrenched himself about six miles from Bennington, intending to make an attack the following day. But violent rain came on, and both Stark and Baum deferred any movement, both hoping for reinforcements, Baum from Colonel Breyman, who was marching to his assistance, and Stark from the Green Mountain Boys, who were hourly expected. But the violence of the weather kept both back, and the next morning, Stark, at the head of his New Hampshire men, marched out to meet the enemy. The address of Stark to his men is worthy of being remembered. “There they are;” said he, pointing to the British; “there they are! We must beat them, my boys, or Molly Stark will be a widow this night!”