What was unusual about the capture of fort ticonderoga

On March 17, , George Washington stood on Dorchester Heights alongside fifty-nine captured cannon high above the city of Boston, Massachusetts, and watched as British troops peacefully evacuated the city after an eleven-month siege.

It was a remarkable moment for many reasons. A twenty-five-year-old Continental Army officer and former Boston bookseller named Henry Knox suggested that cannon might be used to drive the British from the town. Washington sent Knox to Crown Point and the recently captured Fort Ticonderoga in northern New York to retrieve fifty-nine cannon and mortars and bring them to Boston.

Knox and his men moved the cannon miles in fifty-six days with the help of oxen and ice sledges and arrived outside Boston on January 25, On the morning of May 10, , fewer than a hundred of these militiamen, under the joint command of their leader, Ethan Allen, and Benedict Arnold , crossed Lake Champlain at dawn, surprising and capturing the still-sleeping British garrison at Fort Ticonderoga. As the first rebel victory of the Revolutionary War, the Battle of Fort Ticonderoga served as a morale booster and provided key artillery for the Continental Army in that first year of war.

Cannons captured at Fort Ticonderoga would be used during the successful Siege of Boston the following spring. Because of its location, the fort would also serve as a staging ground for Continental troops before their planned invasion of British-held territory in Canada. Clair to evacuate. In the years following the Revolutionary War, no military regiment would occupy Fort Ticonderoga, though at times the fort provided shelter for scouting parties or raiding detachments.

In , a New York merchant named William F. Pell began leasing the grounds of the fort. He bought the property in , building a summer home there known as The Pavilion, which in was converted into a hotel to house a growing numbers of tourists in the area. In , Stephen Pell began a restoration of Fort Ticonderoga; the fort opened to the public as a tourist attraction the following year. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present.

They clashed with a larger force of American soldiers led by General Horatio Gates On December 31, , during the American Revolutionary War , Patriot forces under Colonel Benedict Arnold and General Richard Montgomery attempted to capture the British-occupied city of Quebec and with it win support for the American cause in The guns would have to be dismantled and loaded onto barges, transported down Lake George before the mile-long lake froze, then hauled the rest of the way by sledge and oxen over rough trails.

Undaunted, Knox arrived at Fort Ticonderoga in early December and began disassembling the guns — 43 heavy brass and iron cannon, six cohorns, eight mortars, and two howitzers. They were removed from their mountings and transported by boat and ox cart to the head of Lake George. By December 9, all 59 guns were loaded onto flat-bottomed boats and headed down the lake. With a gale whipping up, Knox succeeded in getting the last of the cannon to the southern end of the lake just as it began to freeze over.

I hope in 16 or 17 days to be able to present your Excellency a noble train of artillery. Knox finally got his wish on Christmas. With several feet of fresh snow underfoot, he and his men cut a path toward Boston.

By January 5, the artillery had reached Albany, but the ice on the Hudson was not deep enough to support the weight of the sleds. During each of the first two attempts at crossing, Knox lost a precious cannon to the river.

Six weeks later, Washington's gun batteries in Cambridge distracted British troops while several thousand Americans quietly maneuvered the artillery up Dorchester Heights and frantically constructed emplacements.

When British General Howe looked up at Dorchester Heights the next morning, he was dumbfounded: "The rebels did more in one night than my whole army would have done in one month. Fort Ticonderoga New York May 10, How it ended American victory. Before the Battle In , Fort Ticonderoga is garrisoned by a small detachment of about 50 men and has fallen into disrepair, but its value—both for its location and the arms it houses—is well known.

During the Battle. American Aftermath American. Estimated Casualties. American 1. Questions to Consider 1. Who were the Green Mountain Boys? Fort Ticonderoga : Featured Resources. Rev War Quiz.

Rev War Video. Rev War Article. Rev War Historical Map. Fort Ticonderoga : Search All Resources.