Fort Ticonderoga, NY Photos

Lake Champlain is a major north-south route between Canada and the Hudson River. At its southern end between Lake Champlain and Lake George a portage is required. There, the French built Fort Carillon (1754-7) to protect Canada from the English. In its efforts to capture New France, England took the fort (1759) which became Fort Ticonderoga. After the American Revolution started, Fort Ticonderoga again gained importance. In May 1775 the Green Mountain Boys and other militia under Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold captured Fort Ticonderoga in a surprise attack. The captured canons were dragged overland to serve in the defense of Boston, causing the British to leave Boston (March 1776). General John Burgoyne recaptured the fort (June 1777) but the British then decamped after their defeat at Saratoga. In subsequent years, Fort Ticonderoga became a pilgrimage site for Americans, because it was the first Revolutionary battle to show that the British could be defeated.