Who was General John Stark and Why is a Mississippi Town Named for Him?
By Brother Rogers
It has been widely accepted that Starkville was named for General John Stark, a hero of the American Revolution. But who was this man who is allegedly the namesake of our city?
My son Andrew and I set out on a mission to find out more about this forgotten man of history. Our quest took us to the New Hampshire State House in Concord, which features a large statue of John Stark on its grounds, two dioramas about him inside, a portrait of him, and a prominent spot in one of four large murals in the Senate chamber.
We determined that if a movie had been made about his life, John Stark would have been best portrayed by John Wayne. As a military leader, he was independent, tough, stubborn, outspoken, and well respected. Stark disdained politics and was suspicious of politicians. He has been compared to another maverick, World War II General George Patton.
Born in 1728 in New Hampshire, John Stark was captured by Indians at age 24 and lived with them for six weeks. His life was spared when he was forced to run the gauntlet and instead wrestled away a club from an Indian and started wildly swinging it in a threatening manner. The chief was impressed with his bravery, allowed him to live and eventually exchanged him for a ransom.
He observed the ways of the Indians and later used his knowledge of guerrilla tactics as an officer fighting on the frontier with the famed Rogers’ Raiders in the French and Indian War.
In 1775, just four days after the shot heard ‘round the world was fired in Massachusetts, Stark became a colonel in the New Hampshire Militia. At the Battle of Bunker Hill, his troops inflicted heavy losses on the British, and when the British took the hill he organized an orderly retreat that spared many lives.
Colonel Stark joined General George Washington’s Continental Army and was part of the famous crossing of the Delaware River on Christmas Day, 1776. He fought bravely in the battles of Trenton and Princeton, both American victories.
When the politicians in Philadelphia promoted someone over him to the rank of general, Stark was piqued. He quit the army and returned to New Hampshire, where his wife Molly was raising their eight children. They eventually had eleven in all.
But history was not finished with John Stark. When word came in the summer of 1777 that a large British army was marching down from Canada, he accepted a commission from the legislature of New Hampshire (not the Congress who had slighted him) as a brigadier general. Volunteers flocked to his command.
The British army needed food and ammunition stored at Bennington, Vermont. Unbeknownst to them, Stark and his minutemen were waiting there in ambush. The night before the attack, Stark inspired his men with these words. “There are the Redcoats; they will be ours or tonight Molly Stark sleeps a widow.”
Stark and his men surprised the British and won a stunning victory. By depriving the enemy of much-needed supplies, General Stark contributed directly to the British surrender at Saratoga, a major turning point in the War of Independence. Forever after, Stark was known as the hero of Bennington. A large statue of him stands today in front of the Bennington Battle Monument, the tallest structure in Vermont.
As an interesting side note, John Stark served on the jury that convicted John Andre of spying and collaborating with the noted traitor, Benedict Arnold. When the British refused George Washington’s offer to trade Andre for Arnold, Andre was hanged as a spy.
Many are familiar with New Hampshire’s motto, “Live Free or Die,” perhaps the best known of all state mottos. It is displayed on all New Hampshire license plates. Most don’t know that those are the words of John Stark. It was part of his correspondence with veterans who had invited Stark to attend the 32nd anniversary of the Battle of Bennington in 1809. The 81-year-old Stark could not attend, but in a letter he sent a toast, “Live free or die: Death is not the worst of evils.”
John Stark died in 1822 in New Hampshire at the age of 94, one of the last surviving generals of the Revolution. Each state has two statues in the National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol. New Hampshire is represented by Daniel Webster and John Stark. An unsung hero today, he certainly made an impression on his contemporaries.
After Mississippi took possession of Choctaw Indian land through the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek in 1830, a number of places were named for popular Revolutionary War heroes. Kosciusko was a Polish general who helped the American cause. Macon was a North Carolina soldier and later senator. Carroll County was named for Maryland’s Charles Carroll, the last living signer of the Declaration of Independence, and Montgomery County honors an American general killed in 1776.
Supposedly, the founding fathers of Boardtown, as Starkville was originally known, wanted a more dignified name. David Ames, the first mayor of Starkville, was a native of New Hampshire, a graduate of Dartmouth College and called “the most educated man in town.” It’s not hard to imagine him persuading the town to select the name of his home state’s most famous soldier of the American Revolutionary War. No local documents from the 1830s exist to prove without question that John Stark is our city’s namesake, but if he is, Andrew and I decided he’s a darn good one.
Brother Rogers is a guest columnist for the Starkville Daily News and works for the Stennis Center for Public Service.
It has been widely accepted that Starkville was named for General John Stark, a hero of the American Revolution. But who was this man who is allegedly the namesake of our city?
My son Andrew and I set out on a mission to find out more about this forgotten man of history. Our quest took us to the New Hampshire State House in Concord, which features a large statue of John Stark on its grounds, two dioramas about him inside, a portrait of him, and a prominent spot in one of four large murals in the Senate chamber.
We determined that if a movie had been made about his life, John Stark would have been best portrayed by John Wayne. As a military leader, he was independent, tough, stubborn, outspoken, and well respected. Stark disdained politics and was suspicious of politicians. He has been compared to another maverick, World War II General George Patton.
Born in 1728 in New Hampshire, John Stark was captured by Indians at age 24 and lived with them for six weeks. His life was spared when he was forced to run the gauntlet and instead wrestled away a club from an Indian and started wildly swinging it in a threatening manner. The chief was impressed with his bravery, allowed him to live and eventually exchanged him for a ransom.
He observed the ways of the Indians and later used his knowledge of guerrilla tactics as an officer fighting on the frontier with the famed Rogers’ Raiders in the French and Indian War.
In 1775, just four days after the shot heard ‘round the world was fired in Massachusetts, Stark became a colonel in the New Hampshire Militia. At the Battle of Bunker Hill, his troops inflicted heavy losses on the British, and when the British took the hill he organized an orderly retreat that spared many lives.
Colonel Stark joined General George Washington’s Continental Army and was part of the famous crossing of the Delaware River on Christmas Day, 1776. He fought bravely in the battles of Trenton and Princeton, both American victories.
When the politicians in Philadelphia promoted someone over him to the rank of general, Stark was piqued. He quit the army and returned to New Hampshire, where his wife Molly was raising their eight children. They eventually had eleven in all.
But history was not finished with John Stark. When word came in the summer of 1777 that a large British army was marching down from Canada, he accepted a commission from the legislature of New Hampshire (not the Congress who had slighted him) as a brigadier general. Volunteers flocked to his command.
The British army needed food and ammunition stored at Bennington, Vermont. Unbeknownst to them, Stark and his minutemen were waiting there in ambush. The night before the attack, Stark inspired his men with these words. “There are the Redcoats; they will be ours or tonight Molly Stark sleeps a widow.”
Stark and his men surprised the British and won a stunning victory. By depriving the enemy of much-needed supplies, General Stark contributed directly to the British surrender at Saratoga, a major turning point in the War of Independence. Forever after, Stark was known as the hero of Bennington. A large statue of him stands today in front of the Bennington Battle Monument, the tallest structure in Vermont.
As an interesting side note, John Stark served on the jury that convicted John Andre of spying and collaborating with the noted traitor, Benedict Arnold. When the British refused George Washington’s offer to trade Andre for Arnold, Andre was hanged as a spy.
Many are familiar with New Hampshire’s motto, “Live Free or Die,” perhaps the best known of all state mottos. It is displayed on all New Hampshire license plates. Most don’t know that those are the words of John Stark. It was part of his correspondence with veterans who had invited Stark to attend the 32nd anniversary of the Battle of Bennington in 1809. The 81-year-old Stark could not attend, but in a letter he sent a toast, “Live free or die: Death is not the worst of evils.”
John Stark died in 1822 in New Hampshire at the age of 94, one of the last surviving generals of the Revolution. Each state has two statues in the National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol. New Hampshire is represented by Daniel Webster and John Stark. An unsung hero today, he certainly made an impression on his contemporaries.
After Mississippi took possession of Choctaw Indian land through the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek in 1830, a number of places were named for popular Revolutionary War heroes. Kosciusko was a Polish general who helped the American cause. Macon was a North Carolina soldier and later senator. Carroll County was named for Maryland’s Charles Carroll, the last living signer of the Declaration of Independence, and Montgomery County honors an American general killed in 1776.
Supposedly, the founding fathers of Boardtown, as Starkville was originally known, wanted a more dignified name. David Ames, the first mayor of Starkville, was a native of New Hampshire, a graduate of Dartmouth College and called “the most educated man in town.” It’s not hard to imagine him persuading the town to select the name of his home state’s most famous soldier of the American Revolutionary War. No local documents from the 1830s exist to prove without question that John Stark is our city’s namesake, but if he is, Andrew and I decided he’s a darn good one.
Brother Rogers is a guest columnist for the Starkville Daily News and works for the Stennis Center for Public Service.