Capture of Fort Ticonderoga

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Capture of Fort Ticonderoga Part of the American Revolutionary War Capture of Fort Ticonderoga shows Ethan Allen demanding the surrender of the fort (Alonzo Chappel, 1858) Date May 10, 1775 Location Ticonderoga, New York Result Ticonderoga and Crown Point captured by New England militia Belligerents Green Mountain Boys militia of the Connecticut Colony militia of the Massachusetts Bay Colony Great Britain 26th Regiment of Foot[1] Commanders Ethan Allen, Benedict Arnold William Delaplace Strength 83 at Ticonderoga[2]:117 50 at Crown Point[3]:144 35 at Saint-Jean[4]:104 48 at Ticonderoga[5]:69 9 at Crown Point[6]:109 21 at Saint-Jean[4]:104 Casualties and losses None All captured

v • d • e Canadian theater, 1775–1776 Ticonderoga – Crown Point – Longue-Pointe – Fort St. Jean – Arnold Expedition – Quebec – Saint-Pierre – Les Cèdres – Vaudreuil – Trois-Rivières – Valcour Bay – Fort Cumberland

On May 10, 1775, Fort Ticonderoga was captured by a small force of American Patriots led by Ethan Allen and Colonel Benedict Arnold. They surprised and captured, without significant injury or incident, the small British garrison at the fort, and looted the personal belongings of the garrison and its hangers-on. Cannon and other armaments captured at the fort were subsequently hauled away and used to fortify Dorchester Heights and break the stalemate at the siege of Boston.

After seizing Ticonderoga, a small detachment of men captured the nearby Fort Crown Point on May 12, and, in a somewhat daring effort on May 18, Arnold and 50 men raided Fort Saint-Jean on the Richelieu River in southern Quebec, making off with military supplies, cannon, and the largest military vessel on Lake Champlain.

While this event was a relatively minor military action in the war, it had significant strategic importance, as 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, who, each seeking to gain as much credit and honor as possible for the actions taken, engaged in a war of words and politics that still echoes today.

Contents 1 Background 2 The forces assemble 3 Capture of the fort 4 Crown Point and the raid on Fort Saint-Jean 5 Aftermath 6 War of words between Allen and Arnold 7 Notes 8 References 9 Further reading 10 External links

[edit] Background

Fort Ticonderoga was not the fortress it once was in 1758, when the French had held it from a British attack. 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 frontiers of two great empires, and the French had blown the fort up when they departed.^[4]:86 It had fallen into disrepair; it was garrisoned by a small detachment of the 26th Regiment of Foot, and consisted of only two officers and forty-six men, 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."^[5]:69

Even before shooting in the American Revolutionary War started, American Revolutionaries were concerned about Fort Ticonderoga. The fort was a valuable asset for several reasons. Within its walls were a number of cannons and massive artillery, something the Americans had in short supply. The fort was situated in the strategically important Lake Champlain valley, the route between the rebellious Thirteen Colonies and the British-controlled Canadian provinces, which would expose the colonial forces in Boston to attack from the rear.^[5]:64 After the war began with the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, several people had the idea of capturing the fort.

Benedict Arnold had frequently traveled through the area around the fort, and was familiar with its conditions, 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.^[4]:85 This information was acted on by the Connecticut Committee of Correspondence; money was "borrowed" from the provincial coffers and recruiters were sent into northwestern Connecticut, western Massachusetts, and southern Vermont to raise volunteers for an attack on the fort.^[4]:87

John Brown, an American spy who frequently went to Montreal carrying correspondence between revolutionary committees in the Boston area and Patriot supporters in Montreal, was well aware of the fort and its strategic value.^[4]:86 Ethan Allen and other Patriots in the Vermont territory were also aware of the fort's value, as it played a role in the territorial dispute over the Vermont territory between New York and New Hampshire;^[2]:116 whether either took or instigated action prior to the Connecticut Colony's recruitment efforts is unclear,^[7]:1101 although 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."^[2]:116

When Arnold arrived outside Boston, he told the Massachusetts Committee of Safety about the cannon and other military stores 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.^[5]:65

[edit] The forces assemble

Arnold immediately departed after receiving his instructions, reaching the Massachusetts–Vermont border on May 6.^[4]:86-87 There 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 destroyed), he reached Allen's headquarters in Bennington, Vermont on the 7th.^[4]:89 There he was told that Allen was in Castleton, fifty miles to the north, awaiting supplies and more men. He was also warned that, while Allen's effort had no official sanction, Allen's men were unlikely to serve under any command not of their own choosing. Leaving early the next day, he arrived in Castleton in time to join a war council, in which he made a case to lead the expedition based on his formal authorization to act from the Massachusetts Committee.^[4]:90

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, Massachusetts,^[3]:125 and an additional 20 men from Connecticut.^[3]:124 Ethan Allen was elected colonel, with Easton and Seth Warner as his lieutenants.^[4]:90 When Arnold arrived on the scene, Samuel Herrick had been sent to Skenesboro and Asa Douglas to Panton with detachments to secure boats. Captain Noah Phelps, who had been chosen a member of the "Committee of War for the Expedition against Ticonderoga and Crown Point," reconnoitered the fort disguised as a peddler seeking a shave. He saw that the fort walls were in a dilapidated condition, learned from the garrison commander that the British soldiers' gunpowder was wet,^[8]:204 and that they expected reinforcements at any time.^[4]:91 He reported this intelligence to Ethan Allen, enabling them to plan a dawn raid.^[4]:91

Many of the Green Mountain Boys objected to Arnold's wish to command, insisting that they would go home rather than serve under anyone but Ethan Allen. Arnold and Allen worked out an agreement, but no documented evidence exists about what the terms of the agreement were. 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.^[9]

[edit] Capture of the fort

By 2 a.m. on the 10th, the men had assembled at Hand's Cove and were ready to cross the lake, but they had only two boats secured by Douglas. Eighty-three of the Green Mountain Boys piled in with Arnold and Allen and crossed the lake,^[2]:117 and Douglas went back for the rest. But as dawn approached, and fearful of losing the element of surprise, Allen and Arnold ordered the attack. The only sentry on duty at the south gate fled his post after his musket misfired, and they rushed into the fort. Most of the men were detached to rouse the small number of sleeping troops at gunpoint, and to confiscate their weapons. Allen, Arnold, and few other men charged up the stairs toward the officers' quarters. Lieutenant Jocelyn Feltham, the assistant to the fort's commander, Captain William Delaplace, was awoken by the noise, and called to wake the captain.^[4]:95 Stalling for time, he demanded to know by what authority the fort was being entered. Allen, who later claimed that he said it to Captain Delaplace, said, "In the name of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress!"^[4]:96 Delaplace finally emerge from his chambers, fully dressed, and surrendered his sword.^[4]:96

No one was killed in the assault. The only injury was to one American, who was slightly injured by a sentry with a bayonet.^[5]:68 Eventually, as many as 400 men arrived at the fort, which they began to plunder for liquor and other provisions. Arnold, whose authority was not recognized by the Vermont men, was unable to stop the plunder, and many of the men got drunk from the fort's liquor stores.^[4]:96 Frustrated, he retired to the captain's quarters to await forces that he had recruited, and reported to the Massachusetts Provincial Congress that Allen and his men were "governing by whim and caprice" at the fort, that the plan to strip the fort and send armaments to Boston was in peril. His disputes with Allen and his unruly men were severe enough that weapons were sometimes drawn.^[4]:97

On May 12, Allen sent the prisoners to Connecticut's Governor Jonathan Trumbull noting that "I make you a present of a Major, a Captain, and two Lieutenants of the regular Establishment of George the Third."^[6]:49

[edit] 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.^[6]:109 It appears likely that, having failed on the 10th, the attempt was repeated on the 11th, with success, as reported in Warner's memoir.^[10]:141

Arnold sent a group of his men to seize a small schooner and several bateaux at Skenesboro, which he outfitted with guns. He sailed north with 50 men on May 14, intent on capturing the lone British warship on Lake Champlain.^[4]:101 Allen, not wanting Arnold to get the full glory for that capture, followed in batteaux, but Arnold's small fleet had the advantage of sail, and pulled away from Allen's boats. By the 18th, Arnold's small fleet was at the northern end of the lake. Anxious for intelligence, Arnold sent a man to reconnoiter the situation at Fort Saint-Jean on the Richelieu. The scout returned later that day, reporting that the British were aware of the fall of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and troops were apparently on the move toward Fort Saint-Jean. Arnold decided to act immediately.^[4]:103

Rowing all night, Arnold and 35 of his men brought the batteaux near the fort. After a brief scouting excursion, they surprised the garrison at the fort. seizing supplies there, along with HMS Royal George, a seventy ton sloop. Warned by their captives that several companies were on their way from Chambly, they loaded the more valuable supplies and cannon on the George, which Arnold renamed the Enterprise. Boats that they could not take were sunk, and the enlarged fleet returned to Lake Champlain.^[4]:104 Fifteen miles out into the lake, Arnold's fleet met Allen's, still heading north. After a celebratory exchange of gunfire, Arnold opened his stores to feed Allen's men, who had rowed 100 miles in open boats without provisions. Allen, believing he could seize and hold Fort Saint-Jean, continued north, while Arnold sailed south.^[4]:105 Allen returned on the 21st, having been driven off by the enlarged British force,^[4]:106 and having lost three men in skirmishes.^[11]

Ethan Allen and his men eventually drifted away from Ticonderoga, especially once the alcohol began to run out,^[4]:98 and Arnold largely controlled affairs from a base at Crown Point.^[12]:53 Connecticut sent about 1,000 men under Colonel Benjamin Hinman to hold Ticonderoga, and New York also began to raise militia to defend Crown Point and Ticonderoga against a possible British attack from the north. When Hinman's troops arrived in June, there was once again a clash over leadership. None of the communications to Arnold from the Massachusetts committee that had granted his commission had indicated that he was to serve under Hinman; when Hinman attempted to assert authority over Crown Point, Arnold refused to accept it, as Hinman's instructions only included Ticonderoga.^[12]:61 Eventually, the Massachusetts committee sent a delegation to Ticonderoga. When they arrived on June 22 and made it clear to Arnold that he was to serve under Hinman, he, after considering for two days, disbanded his command, resigned his commission, and went home, having spent more than £1,000 of his own money in the effort to capture the fort.^{[4]:128–129}

[edit] Aftermath

Further information: Invasion of Canada (1775), Saratoga campaign, Battle of Ticonderoga (1777), and Battle of Saratoga

Although Fort Ticonderoga was no longer an important military post, its capture had several important results. Because rebel control of the area meant that overland communications and supply lines between British forces in Quebec and Boston were severed, British war planners in London made an adjustment to their command structure. Command of British forces in North America, previously under a single commander, was divided into two commands. Sir Guy Carleton was given independent command of forces in Quebec, while General William Howe was appointed Commander-in-Chief of forces along the Atlantic coast, an arrangement that had worked well between Generals Wolfe and Amherst in the Seven Years' War.^[13]:40 In this war, however, cooperation between the two forces would prove to be problematic and would play a role in the failure of the Saratoga campaign in 1777, as General Howe abandoned an agreed-upon northern strategy, leaving Carleton and General John Burgoyne without southern support in that campaign.^[14]

More immediately, in July 1775, General Philip Schuyler used the fort as the staging ground for the invasion of Quebec that began in August.^[3]:250 In the winter of 1775–1776, Henry Knox moved the guns of Ticonderoga to Boston to support the siege of Boston. The guns were placed upon Dorchester Heights overlooking the British ships in the harbor, prompting the British to evacuate the city in March 1776.^[15]

Benedict Arnold would again lead a fleet of ships at the Battle of Valcour Island to thwart Britain's attempt to recapture the fort in 1776.^{[4]:290–314} The British did recapture the fort in July 1777 during the Saratoga campaign; but by November 1777 the British abandoned the fort after further battle and surrender at Saratoga.^[16]

[edit] War of words between Allen and Arnold

Beginning on the day of the fort's capture, Allen and Arnold both began a war of words, each attempting to garner for himself as much credit for the operation as possible. Arnold, unable to exert any sort of authority over Allen and his men, began to keep a diary of events and actions.^[4]:98 Allen, in the days immediately after the action, began to work on a memoir that he eventually published several years later (see Further Reading). Allen also wrote several versions of the events, all intended to promote his version of events, to a variety of Congresses and committees in New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, which John Brown and James Easton, one of the Connecticut men, circulated on his behalf. Randall claims that Easton took accounts written by both Arnold and Allen to the Massachusetts committee, but conveniently lost Arnold's account on the way, ensuring that Allen's version, which greatly glorified his role in the affair, would be preferred.^[4]:99 Smith indicates that it was highly likely that Easton was interested in claiming Arnold's command for himself.^[3]:184 There was clearly no love lost between Easton and Arnold. Allen and Easton returned to Crown Point on June 10 and called a council of war while Arnold was with the fleet on the lake, a clear breach of military protocol. When Arnold, whose men now dominated the garrison, asserted his authority, Easton insulted Arnold, who responded by challenging Easton to a duel. Arnold later reported, "On refusing to draw like a gentleman, he having a [sword] by his side and cases of loaded pistols in his pockets, I kicked him very heartily and ordered him from the Point."^[4]:121

As a consequence of this war of words, it is not uncommon to see histories and biographies containing conclusions that reflect the author's preferred subject. For example, Wilson writes in his biography of Arnold that Allen, when the war was not going well, negotiated in good faith with the British to make the Vermont territory a new province, or part of Quebec. He then goes on to comment, "[Allen] is an odd figure to be revered as a revolutionary hero."^[17] It has been known (or at least knowable) for some time that Allen and other leaders of the Republic of Vermont were simply playing two larger political efforts against each other, with the interests of Vermont their primary focus.^[18]

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

[edit] External links

• "Capture of Ticonderoga", excerpt from Thrilling Incidents in American History by J.W. Barber, 1860.

v • d • e New York in the American Revolutionary War Pre-war Sons of Liberty 1770 Battle of Golden Hill 1775 Capture of Fort Ticonderoga – Invasion of Canada 1776 New York and New Jersey campaign – Battle of Long Island – New York Prison Ships Begin – Landing at Kip's Bay – Battle of Harlem Heights – Great Fire of New York – Execution of Nathan Hale – Battle of Valcour Island – Battle of Pell's Point – Battle of White Plains – Battle of Fort Washington 1777 Meigs Raid – Saratoga campaign – Battle of Ticonderoga – Battle of Hubbardton – Battle of Fort Ann – Battle of Oriskany – Battle of Saratoga – Battle of Freeman's Farm – Battle of Bemis Heights 1778 Setauket Spy Ring Launched – Battle of Cobleskill – West Point established – Cherry Valley massacre 1779 Battle of Stony Point – Sullivan Expedition – Battle of Newtown 1780 First Purple Heart – André Capture Reveals Traitor Benedict Arnold 1781 HMS Culloden Runs Aground at Montauk – Washington Calls Off Invasion of New York to Support Yorktown 1782 Washington's Headquarters at Newburgh – Newburgh letter 1783 Newburgh conspiracy – British Evacuate New York – Washington's Farewell to His Officers