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Bennington, Vermont Travel Guide |
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"Vermont's most historic area" is how the citizens of Bennington describe their town. The Battle of Bennington, Grandma Moses' paintings, the grave of Robert Frost, and Bennington College make it so. |
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The reason for this civic pride is that the Revolutionary War's Battle of Bennington was fought near here (the actual site is now in neighboring Walloomsac, NY) in 1777. The battle is looked upon as a turning point in the war, since the British troops expected to encounter little resistance at Bennington and instead were forced to retreat after having lost a good number of casualties and prisoners to the Revolutionaries. Soon afterward, at the Battle of Saratoga, the British soldiers thus weakened were forced to surrender, giving the Americans their first great victory of the war. Although the Battle of Bennington was certainly influential in the winning of the war, it is doubtless remembered so well today because of a 300-foot-high obelisk that was built in 1891 to commemorate it. Both the Bennington Battle Monument (which has an observation platform) and the well-known Bennington Museum's collection of Americana are open to visitors, as is the churchyard of Old First Church, which harbors the grave of Robert Frost. Bennington College fills the town with students. |
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 Old First Church in Old Bennington. Poet Robert Frost is buried in its graveyard.
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