The Rear Guard

The rear guard's job is to die slowly so that others may live. Seth Warner's men knew this. They had been retreating for two days from Fort Ticonderoga, watching the army they were covering move south as fast as it could. On the morning of July 7, 1777, the British caught up. Warner's men held a hill above Hubbardton and fought for two hours. Colonel Ebenezer Francis was killed leading a counterattack. When Warner finally gave the order to scatter and regroup at Manchester, the rear guard had bought enough time. Burgoyne's pursuit stopped. The main army survived. Warner brought his men back together. Three months later, at Saratoga, they helped finish what had been started in the hills above Hubbardton.