On 16 August 1777, a force of around 2,300 militiamen led by Brig. Gen. John Stark mauled a column of 1,450 German (sometimes called “Hessian”) and Loyalist troops under the command of Lt. Col. Friedrich Baum near the modern day town of Bennington, Vermont. It was Burgoyne’s ‘s first major setback of the campaign, and marked a shift in momentum toward the Revolutionary forces.
"Between two and three o'clock the battle began. The Germans fired by platoons and were soon hidden by the smoke. Our men fired each on his own hook, aiming wherever he saw a flash; few on our side had either bayonets or cartridges. At last I stole away from my post and ran down to the battle. The first time I fired I put three balls in my gun; before I had time to fire many rounds our men rushed over the breast-works, but I and many others chased straggling Hessians in the woods."
Pvt. Thomas Mellen, New Hampshire Militiahttps://benningtonmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/primary-source-booklet-for-teachers.pdf Pg. 9.