The capture of Fort Ticonderoga occurred during the American Revolutionary War on May 10, 1775, when a small force of Green Mountain Boys led by Ethan Allen and Colonel Benedict Arnold surprised and captured the fort's small British garrison. The cannons and other armaments at Fort Ticonderoga were later transported to Boston by Colonel Henry Knox in the noble train of artillery and used to fortify Dorchester Heights and break the standoff at the siege of Boston.
Capture of the fort marked the beginning of offensive action taken by the Americans against the British. After seizing Ticonderoga, a small detachment captured the nearby Fort Crown Point on May 11. Seven days later, Arnold and 50 men raided Fort Saint-Jean on the Richelieu River in southern Quebec, seizing military supplies, cannons, and the largest military vessel on Lake Champlain.
Although the scope of this military action was relatively minor, it had significant strategic importance. It impeded communication between northern and southern units of the British Army, and gave the nascent Continental Army a staging ground for the invasion of Quebec later in 1775. It also involved two larger-than-life personalities in Allen and Arnold, each of whom sought to gain as much credit and honor as possible for these events. Most significantly, in an effort led by Henry Knox, artillery from Ticonderoga was dragged across Massachusetts to the heights commanding Boston Harbor, forcing the British to withdraw from that city.
Background
In 1775, Fort Ticonderoga's location did not appear to be as strategically important as it had been in the French and Indian War, when the French famously defended it against a much larger British force in the 1758 Battle of Carillon, and when the British captured it in 1759. After the 1763 Treaty of Paris, in which the French ceded their North American territories to the British, the fort was no longer on the frontier of two great empires, guarding the principal waterway between them. The French had blown up the fort's powder magazine when they abandoned the fort, and it had fallen further into disrepair since then. In 1775 it was garrisoned by only a small detachment of the 26th Regiment of Foot, consisting of two officers and forty-six men, with many of them "invalids" (soldiers with limited duties because of disability or illness). Twenty-five women and children lived there as well. Because of its former significance, Fort Ticonderoga still had a high reputation as the "gateway to the continent" or the "Gibraltar of America", but in 1775 it was, according to historian Christopher Ward, "more like a backwoods village than a fort."
Even before shooting started in the American Revolutionary War, American Patriots were concerned about Fort Ticonderoga. The fort was a valuable asset for several reasons. Within its walls was a collection of heavy artillery including cannons, howitzers, and mortars, armaments that the Americans had in short supply. The fort was situated on the shores of Lake Champlain, a strategically important route between the Thirteen Colonies and the British-controlled northern provinces. British forces placed there would expose the colonial forces in Boston to attack from the rear. After the war began with the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, the British General Thomas Gage realized the fort would require fortification, and several colonists had the idea of capturing the fort.
Gage, writing from the besieged city of Boston following Lexington and Concord, instructed Quebec's governor, General Guy Carleton, to rehabilitate and refortify the forts at Ticonderoga and Crown Point. Carleton did not receive this letter until May 19, well after the fort had been captured.
Benedict Arnold had frequently traveled through the area around the fort, and was familiar with its condition, manning, and armaments. En route to Boston following news of the events of April 19, he mentioned the fort and its condition to members of Silas Deane's militia. The Connecticut Committee of Correspondence acted on this information; money was "borrowed" from the provincial coffers and recruiters were sent into northwestern Connecticut, western Massachusetts, and the New Hampshire Grants (now Vermont) to raise volunteers for an attack on the fort.
John Brown, an American spy from Pittsfield, Massachusetts who had carried correspondence between revolutionary committees in the Boston area and Patriot supporters in Montreal, was well aware of the fort and its strategic value. Ethan Allen and other Patriots in the disputed New Hampshire Grants territory also recognized the fort's value, as it played a role in the dispute over that area between New York and New Hampshire. Whether either took or instigated action prior to the Connecticut Colony's recruitment efforts is unclear. Brown had notified the Massachusetts Committee of Safety in March of his opinion that Ticonderoga "must be seized as soon as possible should hostilities be committed by the King's Troops."
When Arnold arrived outside Boston, he told the Massachusetts Committee of Safety about the cannons and other military equipment at the lightly defended fort. On May 3, the Committee gave Arnold a colonel's commission and authorized him to command a "secret mission", which was to capture the fort. He was issued £100, some gunpowder, ammunition, and horses, and instructed to recruit up to 400 men, march on the fort, and ship back to Massachusetts anything he thought useful.
Colonial forces assemble
Arnold departed immediately after receiving his instructions. He was accompanied by two captains, Eleazer Oswald and Jonathan Brown, who were charged with recruiting the necessary men. Arnold reached the border between Massachusetts and the Grants on May 6, where he learned of the recruitment efforts of the Connecticut Committee, and that Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys were already on their way north. Riding furiously northward (his horse was subsequently killed), he reached Allen's headquarters in Bennington the next day. Upon arrival, Arnold was told that Allen was in Castleton, 50 miles (80 km) to the north, awaiting supplies and more men. He was also warned that, although Allen's effort had no official sanction, his men were unlikely to serve under anyone else. Leaving early the next day, Arnold arrived in Castleton in time to join a war council, where he made a case to lead the expedition based on his formal authorization to act from the Massachusetts Committee.
The force that Allen had assembled in Castleton included about 100 Green Mountain Boys, about 40 men raised by James Easton and John Brown at Pittsfield, and an additional 20 men from Connecticut. Allen was elected colonel, with Easton and Seth Warner as his lieutenants. When Arnold arrived on the scene, Samuel Herrick had already been sent to Skenesboro and Asa Douglas to Panton with detachments to secure boats. Captain Noah Phelps, a member of the "Committee of War for the Expedition against Ticonderoga and Crown Point", had reconnoitered the fort disguised as a peddler seeking a shave. He saw that the fort walls were dilapidated, learned from the garrison commander that the soldiers' gunpowder was wet, and that they expected reinforcements at any time. He reported this intelligence to Allen, following which they planned a dawn raid.
Many of the Green Mountain Boys objected to Arnold's wish to command, insisting that they would go home rather than serve under anyone other than Ethan Allen. Arnold and Allen worked out an agreement, but no documented evidence exists concerning the deal. According to Arnold, he was given joint command of the operation. Some historians have supported Arnold's contention, while others suggest he was merely given the right to march next to Allen.
Capture of the fort
By 11:30 pm on May 9, the men had assembled at Hand's Cove (in what is now Shoreham, Vermont) and were ready to cross the lake to Ticonderoga. Boats did not arrive until 1:30 am, and they were inadequate to carry the whole force. Eighty-three of the Green Mountain Boys made the first crossing with Arnold and Allen, with Major Asa Douglas going back for the rest. As dawn approached, Allen and Arnold became fearful of losing the element of surprise, so they decided to attack with the men at hand. The only sentry on duty at the south gate fled his post after his musket misfired, and the Americans rushed into the fort. The Patriots then roused the small number of sleeping troops at gunpoint and began confiscating their weapons. Allen, Arnold, and a few other men charged up the stairs toward the officers' quarters. Lieutenant Jocelyn Feltham, the assistant to Captain William Delaplace, was awakened by the noise, and called to wake the captain. Stalling for time, Feltham demanded to know by what authority the fort was being entered. Allen, who later claimed that he said it to Captain Delaplace, replied, "In the name of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress!" Delaplace finally emerged from his chambers (fully clothed, not with "his breeches in his hand", as Allen would later say) and surrendered his sword.
Nobody was killed in the battle. The only injury was to one American, Gideon Warren, who was slightly injured by a sentry with a bayonet. Eventually, as many as 400 men arrived at the fort, which they plundered for liquor and other provisions. Arnold, whose authority was not recognized by the Green Mountain Boys, was unable to stop the plunder. Frustrated, he retired to the captain's quarters to await forces that he had recruited, reporting to the Massachusetts Provincial Congress that Allen and his men were "governing by whim and caprice" at the fort, and that the plan to strip the fort and send armaments to Boston was in peril. When Delaplace protested the seizure of his private liquor stores, Allen issued him a receipt for the stores, which he later submitted to Connecticut for payment. Arnold's disputes with Allen and his unruly men were severe enough that there were times when some of Allen's men drew weapons.
On May 12, Allen sent the prisoners to Connecticut's Governor Jonathan Trumbull with a note saying "I make you a present of a Major, a Captain, and two Lieutenants of the regular Establishment of George the Third." Arnold busied himself over the next few days with cataloging the military equipment at Ticonderoga and Crown Point, a task made difficult by the fact that walls had collapsed on some of the armaments.
Crown Point and the raid on Fort Saint-Jean
Seth Warner sailed a detachment up the lake and captured nearby Fort Crown Point, garrisoned by only nine men. It is widely recorded that this capture occurred on May 10; this is attributed to a letter Arnold wrote to the Massachusetts Committee of Safety on May 11, claiming that an attempt to sail up to Crown Point was frustrated by headwinds. However, Warner claimed, in a letter dated May 12 from "Head Quarters, Crown Point", that he "took possession of this garrison" the day before. It appears likely that, having failed on May 10, the attempt was repeated the next day with success, as reported in Warner's memoir. A small force was also sent to capture Fort George on Lake George, which was held by only two soldiers.
Troops recruited by Arnold's captains began to arrive, some after seizing Philip Skene's schooner Katherine and several bateaux at Skenesboro. Arnold rechristened the schooner Liberty. The prisoners had reported that the lone British warship on Lake Champlain was at Fort Saint-Jean, on the Richelieu River north of the lake. Arnold, uncertain whether word of Ticonderoga's capture had reached Saint-Jean, decided to attempt a raid to capture the ship. He had Liberty outfitted with guns, and sailed north with 50 of his men on May 14. Allen, not wanting Arnold to get the full glory for that capture, followed with some of his men in bateaux, but Arnold's small fleet had the advantage of sail, and pulled away from Allen's boats. By May 17, Arnold's small fleet was at the northern end of the lake. Seeking intelligence, Arnold sent a man to reconnoiter the situation at Fort Saint-Jean. The scout returned later that day, reporting that the British were aware of the fall of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and that troops were apparently on the move toward Saint-Jean. Arnold decided to act immediately.
Rowing all night, Arnold and 35 of his men brought their bateaux near the fort. After a brief scouting excursion, they surprised the small garrison at the fort, and seized supplies there, along with HMS Royal George, a seventy-ton sloop-of-war. Warned by their captives that several companies were on their way from Chambly, they loaded the more valuable supplies and cannons on the George, which Arnold renamed the Enterprise. Boats that they could not take were sunk, and the enlarged fleet returned to Lake Champlain. This activity was observed by Moses Hazen, a retired British officer who lived near the fort. Hazen rode to Montreal to report the action to the local military commander, and then continued on to Quebec City, where he reported the news to General Carleton on May 20. Major Charles Preston and 140 men were immediately dispatched from Montreal to Saint-Jean in response to Hazen's warning.