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Posted 01/01/2014 2:39 pm
Vermont was "officially" acquired by the British, from the French, in the Treaty of Paris in 1763 although they'd been sniping at each other over the territory for at least thirty years by that point. Both New York and New Hampshire claimed the area; Benning Wentworth - the Governor of the New Hampshire territory and namesake of my home town of Bennington - made land grants to his constituents in the area so that many of Vermont's original settlers were from the east.
New York took exception to this (given a favorable decision by the Crown), making its' own land grants and ultimately declaring New Hampshire's grants invalid. Ethan Allen and his Boys weren't having that, being holders of New Hampshire grants; they organized into a militia, several hundred strong, and became the de facto government/controlling force in the area. Not much actual "fighting" happened, since the Green Mountain Boys were so strong; we Vermonters just like to think that we fought and won when in reality we were too bad for them to mess with.
New York took exception to this (given a favorable decision by the Crown), making its' own land grants and ultimately declaring New Hampshire's grants invalid. Ethan Allen and his Boys weren't having that, being holders of New Hampshire grants; they organized into a militia, several hundred strong, and became the de facto government/controlling force in the area. Not much actual "fighting" happened, since the Green Mountain Boys were so strong; we Vermonters just like to think that we fought and won when in reality we were too bad for them to mess with.
