John Stark
| John Stark | |
|---|---|
"Live free or die: Death is not the worst of evils."
|
|
| Nickname(s) | The Hero of Bennington |
| Born |
August 28, 1728 Londonderry, Province of New Hampshire |
| Died | May 8, 1822 (aged 93) Derryfield, New Hampshire, United States |
| Place of burial | Stark Cemetery, Manchester (43°00′51″N 71°28′15″W / 43.01420°N 71.47095°WCoordinates: 43°00′51″N 71°28′15″W / 43.01420°N 71.47095°W) |
| Allegiance |
 Great Britain United States of America
|
| Service/branch |
 British Army Continental Army
|
| Years of service | 1775–1783 |
| Rank |
 Major General
|
| Unit |
Roger's Rangers Continental Army |
| Commands held |
Northern Department New Hampshire Militia 1st New Hampshire Regiment |
| Battles/wars | |
John Stark (August 28, 1728 – May 8, 1822) was a New Hampshire native who served as an officer in the British Army during the French and Indian war and a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. He became widely known as the "Hero of Bennington" for his exemplary service at the Battle of Bennington in 1777.
John Stark was born in Londonderry, New Hampshire (at a site that is now in Derry) in 1728. His father was born in Glasgow, Scotland to parents who were from Wiltshire, England, who met his wife when he moved to Derry in Ireland. When he was eight years old, he and his family moved to Derryfield (now Manchester), where he lived for the rest of his long life. Stark was married to Elizabeth "Molly" Page, with whom he had 11 children including his eldest son Caleb Stark.
On April 28, 1752, while on a hunting and trapping trip along the Baker River, a tributary of the Pemigewasset River, he was captured by Abenaki warriors and brought back to Canada but not before warning his brother William to paddle away in his canoe, though David Stinson was killed. While a prisoner of the Abenaki, he and his fellow prisoner Amos Eastman were made to run a gauntlet of warriors armed with sticks. Stark grabbed the stick from the first warrior's hands and proceeded to attack him, taking the rest of the warriors by surprise. The chief was so impressed by this heroic act that Stark was adopted into the tribe, where he spent the winter. Alternatively, in The Invasion Within, Axtell describes how colonists were often abducted by Indians and inducted into their tribes as members through such a ceremony of running the gauntlet.
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