Bennington Battlefield State Historic Site

Whigs in Great Britain were not supportive of the war to subdue the colonies, and were quick to seize on the Battle of Bennington as an example of the foolishness of the government in prosecuting it. From the Kentish Gazette, Nov. 18, 1777: "All the private letters from Canada say, that the attack on Colonel Baum's corps at Bennington, was made by the militia of the country, suddenly collected; that there was not one continental soldier amongst them. This shews how heartily and firmly those people are in the war, and what folly it is in us to think of conquering them."

Visitors to the The Royal Hospital in Kilmainham, a Dublin suburb, can see one of Burgoyne's dubious accomplishments during his stint as Commander-in-Chief in Ireland. After casting, it was determined that "Burgoyne's bell" was too heavy to raise to the top of the tower there. So it sits, having never rang, in the basement of the hospital near a panel depicting his surrender at Saratoga.

Sixty degrees yesterday in Hoosick, NY, light snow showers this morning. We are probably in for an interesting winter.