Vermont: A Study of Independence

In Short

This comprehensive narrative traces Vermont from a contested wilderness and borderland theater of war to an independent republic and an enduring American state. It detail the struggles of its early settlers against competing provincial land grants, their bold exploits during the Revolution, and the delicate diplomatic maneuvers that preserved their sovereignty. Rowland Evans Robinson highlights how a spirit of fierce self-reliance shaped the territory’s laws, military defense, civic life, and cultural institutions, creating a distinct regional character defined by tenacity, stubborn independence, and an unyielding commitment to liberty.

The Story

The chronicle begins along the waterways of Lake Champlain and the Connecticut River valley, a forested corridor that long served as a battleground for Native tribes, French forces, and British colonials. As the French and Indian Wars ended, the region opened to white settlement. Settlers poured in, clearing timber and building homesteads, only to find themselves caught in a bitter territorial conflict between New York and New Hampshire, both of which claimed jurisdiction over the New Hampshire Grants.

When New York tried to enforce its land titles, local settlers organized to resist. A vanguard of armed partisans known as the Green Mountain Boys arose to defend their farms, repelling Yorkist surveyors and officials. This internal struggle merged into the broader outbreak of the American Revolution. Vermont fighters moved quickly, seizing key frontier outposts at Ticonderoga and Crown Point to secure vital artillery for the patriot cause.

Despite their military contributions, the political status of the settlers remained precarious. Refusing to submit to New York and ignored by the Continental Congress, the inhabitants met in convention to declare Vermont an independent commonwealth. They drafted a constitution, established a government under leaders like Thomas Chittenden, and managed their own defense. When British forces swept southward under Burgoyne, Vermont troops made critical stands at Hubbardton and Bennington, blunting the invasion and protecting the region’s supplies.

To preserve its borders while surrounding states sought to divide its territory, Vermont’s leaders engaged in complex diplomatic parleys known as the Haldimand Correspondence. By entertaining British proposals for peace without fully committing, they held off foreign invasions and kept Congress on edge. After the Revolution, Vermont operated for years as an autonomous republic, coining money, managing mail, and governing its internal affairs until disputes were resolved, leading to its admission as the fourteenth state in 1791.

In the nineteenth century, the new state navigated political shifts, foreign conflicts like the War of 1812, and economic transformations. The rise of merino sheep farming brought transient prosperity, followed by agricultural downturns and widespread westward emigration. Throughout these changes, the state fostered strong religious traditions, public education, and a firm anti-slavery stance that later culminated in significant troop contributions during the Civil War. Robinson concludes that while economic pressures and migration brought cultural shifts, the foundational commitment to self-determination remains the hallmark of the region's historical legacy.

How It Unfolds

The wilderness borderland French and British armies contend for control of the strategic lake corridors while partisan scouts fight desperate skirmishes against Indian forces in the dense cover of the forest.

The contest for the grants Settlers clear lands under New Hampshire titles only to face dispossession by New York courts, prompting local leaders to organize armed resistance against Yorkist authorities.

First blood at Westminster Tensions between local residents and royal judicial officers erupt into open violence at a courthouse, resulting in fatalities that solidify the settlers' defiance just before the Revolution.

Seizing the strongholds Ethan Allen and his followers surprise the British garrison at Ticonderoga, securing vital cannon and military stores for the broader Continental cause.

Forging a republic Rebuffed by Congress and facing hostility from neighboring provinces, delegates gather in convention to establish an independent state with its own constitution and government.

The clash at Bennington General Stark and local militia forces defeat invading German and British detachments, protecting essential military stores and turning the tide against Burgoyne’s campaign.

The diplomatic tightrope State leaders conduct secretive negotiations with British authorities in Canada, using potential reunion with the Crown as a bargaining chip to deter invasion and pressure Congress.

Admission and maturation After years of sovereign independence, Vermont settles its land disputes, enters the Union as the fourteenth state, and builds a stable civic society marked by agricultural growth, educational institutions, and intense political debate.

The People

Seth Warner A cool, deliberate military leader who commands respect through his calm judgment and impressive physical presence. He seeks to defend the settlement rights of his neighbors and lead troops effectively, standing as a quiet counterweight to his more flamboyant peers while securing crucial tactical victories on Revolutionary battlefields.

Ethan Allen A fiery, outspoken leader who desires absolute autonomy for the settlers on the Grants. Driven by an aggressive spirit and a flair for dramatic action, he writes fiery pamphlets, commands resistance against New York authority, and leads the capture of Fort Ticonderoga before being taken prisoner in Canada.

Thomas Chittenden The state's first governor, who desires stability, justice, and self-preservation for his pioneer community. Lacking formal education but possessing keen practical sagacity, he guides the young commonwealth through political isolation and war, earning long-term public trust through his generous, steady leadership.

Ira Allen A cunning strategist and diplomat who seeks to protect Vermont's territorial integrity against surrounding states. He uses shrewd maneuvering in the Haldimand negotiations and in Congress to keep enemies at bay, leaving a lasting mark as a chief political architect of the republic.

William French A young resident who desires to prevent royal court proceedings during a period of intense political unrest. He becomes an early martyr of the revolutionary struggle when he is mortally wounded by a sheriff's posse at the Westminster court-house.

In Its Own Voice

"During the fight, the scouts frequently beheld the ghastly sight of a dead Indian gliding away and fading from view in the haze of undergrowth, as if drawn thither by some superhuman power."

A scout detachment under Captain Hobbs holds off a far larger force in a dense brush fight, illustrating the surreal danger of frontier warfare.

"Lying on the jail-room floor, his five wounds undressed, French, not yet twenty-two, died in the early morning of the 14th."

The violent clash at the Westminster court-house ends in tragedy, marking the first local casualties of the impending revolutionary conflict.

"This information had greater influence on the wisdom and virtue of Congress than all the exertions of Vermont in taking Ticonderoga, Crown Point, and the two divisions from General Burgoyne's army..."

Ira Allen observes with dry irony how intercepted diplomatic letters regarding British negotiations moved Continental politicians faster than battlefield sacrifices ever did.

What It's Really About

At its core, the text investigates how geographical isolation and political neglect force a community to invent its own governance. It argues that Vermont’s identity was forged not merely by national ideology, but by a immediate need to defend home and property against both foreign empires and predatory neighbors. The work explores the tension between local democracy and central authority, demonstrating how a small, self-reliant population successfully maintained its sovereignty through pragmatic diplomacy, military readiness, and unyielding local solidarity. Ultimately, it presents a case study in how frontier adversity converts disparate, rugged pioneers into a cohesive political body bound by a shared passion for independence.

Why Read It Today

This work offers a clear, highly detailed window into American regional history, free from modern romanticism. Robinson writes with an intimate, wood-wise knowledge of the landscape, capturing the physical realities of backwoods scouting, early farming, and winter court sessions with vivid, unpretentious prose. Readers fascinated by the Revolutionary era will appreciate the unvarnished look at how messy, chaotic, and politically complex borderland warfare really was.

The narrative can occasionally present difficulties for a contemporary audience. The pace slows during detailed political debates over land grants and state boundaries, and the dense accounts of early troop movements require patient attention. Furthermore, Robinson reflects nineteenth-century biases, particularly when discussing later French-Canadian immigration, expressing anxieties about cultural shifts that read today as dated nativism.

Despite these period limitations, the volume remains a rewarding study of civic grit. It captures the essence of a unique regional spirit born of wilderness isolation, showing how ordinary farmers and woodsmen successfully challenged governors, generals, and Congress itself to secure their right to self-rule.