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Capture of Fort Ticonderoga facts for kids

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Capture of Fort Ticonderoga
Part of the American Revolutionary War
Ethan Allen wearing a military uniform, with his left hand raised and his right hand holding a sword, confronts a man holding a lit candle in the doorway of a stone building.
An 1775 idealized depiction of Ethan Allen demanding the fort's surrender
Date May 10, 1775
Location
Ticonderoga, Essex County, New York
Result Ticonderoga and Crown Point captured by Green Mountain Boys militia
Belligerents
Flag of Vermont Republic.svg Green Mountain Boys
Colonial-Red-Ensign.svg Connecticut Colony Militia
Colonial-Red-Ensign.svg Province of Massachusetts Bay Militia

 Great Britain

  • 26th Regiment of Foot
Commanders and leaders
Flag of Vermont Republic.svg Ethan Allen
Colonial-Red-Ensign.svg Benedict Arnold		 Flag of Great Britain (1707–1800).svg William Delaplace Surrendered
Strength
83 at Ticonderoga
50 at Crown Point
35 at Saint-Jean		 48 at Ticonderoga
9 at Crown Point
21 at Saint-Jean
Casualties and losses

1 captured near Fort Saint-Jean

1 wounded at Ticonderoga		 All captured

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 were later transported to Boston by Colonel Henry Knox 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 would be dragged across Massachusetts to the heights commanding Boston Harbor, forcing the British to withdraw from that city.

Images for kids

  • The star-shaped fort is visible in the center of the photograph, with its inner buildings roofed in red. The fort is surrounded by forest, and a body of water (a portion of Lake Champlain) is visible behind the fort.

    Fort Ticonderoga from Mount Defiance

  • A green flag with a blue canton. The canton has 13 stars scattered in it.

    The flag of the Green Mountain Boys

  • The map is oriented with north to the top. The lower section of the map shows Saratoga, New York, and Fort Edward, on the Hudson River. There are red markers depicting the position of John Burgoyne's army near Saratoga at the time of its surrender in 1777. A line of mountains is shown to the right of the Hudson, extending northward but eventually bending off the map to the east. North of Fort Edward are Fort George, at the southern end of Lake George, and Skenesborough, near the southern end of Lake Champlain. About one-third of the way up the map, Lake George joins with Champlain, and Fort Ticonderoga is shown at the northwest side of the junction, with Fort Crown Point a little further north. Lake Champlain extends to the north and is dotted with islands. There is a red line marking the boundary between New York and Quebec, and the upper third of the map shows the Richelieu River extending north to meet the Saint Lawrence River at Sorel, with Montreal southwest of that point. Fort Saint John and Fort Chambly are to the left of the Richelieu, about halfway between the boundary line and Montreal.

    1777 map showing the Champlain Valley, and all four forts

  • A black-and-white photograph. Ruined wall sections are visible in the center, with a tree growing out of the center of one of the structures. The lake is visible in the background, and hazy land is visible even further back.

    A 1902 photo of the Fort Crown Point ruins

  • Henry Knox entering camp with artillery cph.3g09060

    "Knox entering camp with artillery"

  • A black-and-white print of a head-and-shoulders portrait. Arnold faces left, with his light-colored hair tied back. He is wearing a dark military jacket with light-colored lapels, and the ruffles of his shirt are visible. The jacket has epaulets decorated with two stars.

    An engraving of Benedict Arnold after John Trumbull by H. B. Hall, published 1879

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