Fraser's troops overtake Warner's rear guard at Hubbardton; Francis is killed, 200 taken

Two days after abandoning Fort Ticonderoga, the retreating American army was still strung out across the Vermont wilderness when the British caught up. On July 7, 1777, General Simon Fraser's troops surprised Colonel Seth Warner's rear guard near Hubbardton, killing Colonel Ebenezer Francis and capturing more than 200 soldiers before German reinforcements under General Riedesel arrived singing hymns to mask their numbers. The Americans lost the field, but the delay let St. Clair's main army escape toward the forces that would trap Burgoyne at Saratoga that October…