John And Molly Stark

John and Molly Stark are New Hampshire’s most influential couple who served their country during the American Revolution. General John Stark (1728-1822) was New Hampshire’s Revolutionary War hero. Born in Londonderry, his family moved to Derryfield (now Manchester) when he was eight years old. As a young man, he served with ‘Roger’s Rangers’ during the French & Indian War.

At the outbreak of the American Revolution, Stark returned to military service for the Continental Army, and was appointed colonel of the 1st New Hampshire Regiment, which he led at the Battle of Bunker Hill. In 1776, Stark successfully commanded his men at the Battles of Trenton and Princeton.

In 1777, Stark feared a British threat coming from Canada and organized a militia force to defend New Hampshire and Vermont. After learning that British forces were approaching Bennington, Vermont for supplies, Stark mustered his men at Bennington. The battle began on August 13 and ended in an American victory. This victory was seen as a turning point in the war and as the precursor to the British defeat at Saratoga a few months later. Stark remained active throughout the rest of the Revolutionary War and resigned from duty on November 3rd, 1783 after the war officially ended. He died in 1822 at the age of 94 as the last surviving Revolutionary War general. General Stark fully embodied the words, “Live free or die; death is not the worst of evils.” The “Hero of Bennington” not only lived by these words, he wrote them 136 years before it became New Hampshire’s official state motto.

Elizabeth “Molly” (Page) Stark (1737-1814), although best known as the wife of John Stark, was a remarkable woman in her own right. Around 1752 the Page family relocated from Haverhill, Massachusetts to land owned by the Stark family in Dunbarton, NH. No stranger to firearms, Elizabeth reportedly brought down a bear shortly after the family moved to their new home. During their marriage, John Stark was frequently away at war, leaving Molly to raise their 11 living children, teaching them all to read and write, and run the family farm.

After the Revolutionary War began and John headed to Massachusetts, Molly frequently delivered clothes and food by horseback. Some reports say she was present at the Battle of Bunker Hill, helping to reload muskets. Molly served as a nurse and doctor to Hessian soldiers captured by her husband’s troops during a smallpox epidemic in August 1777. The sick men were sent to the Stark’s New Hampshire home, which served as a hospital. Molly Stark was the subject of a famous rallying cry uttered by her husband as a way to rally the troops at the Battle of Bennington on August 16, 1777: “There are the redcoats and they are ours, or this night Molly Stark sleeps a widow!”

Molly died in 1814 at the age of 77. John and Molly Stark are buried in the family plot at Stark Park on River Road in Manchester.