Fort Ticonderoga facts for kids
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Fort Ticonderoga
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Fort Ticonderoga from Mount Defiance
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 Location in New York Adirondack Park
Location in New York
Location in the United States
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| Location | Ticonderoga, New York |
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| Nearest city | Burlington, Vermont |
| Area | 21,950 acres (34.3 sq mi; 88.8 km2) |
| Built | 1755–1758 |
| Architect | Marquis de Lotbinière |
| Architectural style | Vauban-style fortress |
| NRHP reference No. | 66000519 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
| Designated NHL | October 9, 1960 |
Fort Ticonderoga is a famous old fort in northern New York. It was built a long time ago, in the 1750s, by the French. This fort looked like a star from above! It was super important because it sat in a perfect spot between two big lakes. This made it a key place during wars between the French and the British. Later, it played a big role in the American Revolutionary War.
The fort was built between 1755 and 1757 by a French-Canadian engineer named Michel Chartier de Lotbinière, Marquis de Lotbinière. It was first called Fort Carillon. The fort controlled a narrow passage between Lake Champlain and Lake George. This spot was perfect for controlling trade and travel routes. These routes connected the British-controlled Hudson River Valley to the French-controlled Saint Lawrence River Valley.
The land around the fort also made it special. Long, narrow lakes and mountains made it hard to travel anywhere else. This meant anyone who controlled Fort Ticonderoga controlled a huge area. The name "Ticonderoga" comes from an Iroquois word. It means "it is at the junction of two waterways."
In 1758, during the French and Indian War, 4,000 French soldiers at the fort stopped an attack by 16,000 British troops. The British came back in 1759 and took the fort from a small French group. At the start of the American Revolutionary War, the British held the fort. But on May 10, 1775, American soldiers led by Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold captured it.
Henry Knox later moved many of the fort's cannons to Boston. These cannons helped the Americans win the siege of Boston in 1776. The Americans kept the fort until 1777. Then, British forces under General John Burgoyne took over high ground nearby. This forced the American soldiers to leave the fort. The British left the fort after losing the Saratoga campaign later that year.
After the wars, the fort fell into ruin. People took materials from it to use for other buildings. In 1820, a private family bought the fort. They later restored it in the early 1900s. Today, the Fort Ticonderoga Association runs it as a museum and a place for visitors.
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Why Fort Ticonderoga Was So Important
Lake Champlain is a long lake that forms part of the border between New York and Vermont. The lake and the Hudson River created an important travel path. American Indians used this route for centuries before Europeans arrived. It was easy to travel, with only a few places where boats had to be carried over land.
One very important spot on this route was at a narrow part of Lake Champlain. Here, the La Chute River flows into the lake from Lake George. This location offered amazing views of the lake and nearby hills. These hills, like Mount Defiance, overlooked the entire area.
American Indians lived in this area for hundreds of years. In 1609, French explorer Samuel de Champlain arrived. He wrote about a battle between the Algonquins and Iroquois tribes nearby. Later, in 1642, a French missionary named Isaac Jogues was the first European to cross the land passage at Ticonderoga.
The French had settled in the Saint Lawrence River valley to the north. The English had taken over Dutch settlements to the south, which became New York. The French and English started fighting over this area in the late 1600s. These fights became a big war called the French and Indian War, which started in 1754.
Building a Star-Shaped Fort
After a battle at Lake George in 1755, the French decided to build a fort here. The governor of French Canada, Marquis de Vaudreuil, sent his cousin Michel Chartier de Lotbinière to design it. The French called it Fort Carillon. Some say the name came from a French officer. Others believe it came from the sound of the La Chute River rapids, which sounded like chiming bells (a carillon).
The fort was designed like a star, based on ideas from a famous French engineer named Vauban. Building started in October 1755. It was slow work, using soldiers from nearby forts and Canada.
How the Fort Was Built
In 1755, workers started on the main walls and an outer defense called the Lotbinière redoubt. This redoubt helped protect the La Chute River. The next year, they built the four main bastions (parts of the fort that stick out). They also built a sawmill on the river.
Work slowed in 1757 because many soldiers were fighting in the Battle of Fort William Henry. The barracks (where soldiers lived) and demi-lunes (half-moon shaped defenses) were not finished until spring 1758.
Walls and Defenses
The French built the fort to control Lake Champlain. They wanted to stop the British from using the lake for military travel. The strongest defenses faced away from the lake, towards the land. Two other bastions faced the lake, protecting the landing area.
The fort's walls were about 7 feet (2.1 meters) high and 14 feet (4.3 meters) thick. A dry moat (ditch) 5 feet (1.5 meters) deep and 15 feet (4.6 meters) wide surrounded the fort. At first, the walls were made of wood filled with earth. Later, the French started covering them with stone from a nearby quarry, but they never finished. When the main defenses were ready, cannons were brought from Montreal to arm the fort.
Inside the Fort
Inside the fort, there were three barracks for soldiers and four storehouses. One bastion had a bakery that could make 60 loaves of bread every day. A powder magazine (where gunpowder was stored) was carved out of the rock under one of the bastions. All the buildings inside the fort were made of stone.
Outside the fort, a wooden fence protected the area between the southern wall and the lake. This area had the main landing spot for boats and more storage buildings. In 1756, the French realized the fort was too far from the lake. So, they built another defense to the east to place cannons that could cover the lake's narrow passage.
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Officers' barracks on the right, soldiers' barracks on the left.
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Inside the first wall, with officers' barracks on the left and soldiers' barracks on the right.
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A store room and the powder magazine (now the Mars Education Center).
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The front of Fort Ticonderoga.
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A view of the lake from the front of the fort.
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A back view of the fort.
Fort Ticonderoga in Wars
French and Indian War Battles
In August 1757, the French used Fort Carillon as a base to capture Fort William Henry. This and other French wins made the British plan a huge attack on Fort Carillon. In June 1758, British General James Abercromby gathered a large army. They landed near Lake George, only four miles from the fort.
French General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm quickly ordered his troops to build strong outer defenses. They dug trenches and created an abatis (a barrier of sharpened fallen trees). On July 8, 1758, Abercromby ordered a direct attack. He had 16,000 soldiers, but the 4,000 French defenders soundly defeated them in the Battle of Carillon. This battle made the fort seem unbeatable.
The British, led by General Jeffery Amherst, captured the fort the next year in the 1759 Battle of Ticonderoga. This time, 11,000 British troops used cannons to drive away the small French group of 400. As the French left, they blew up parts of the fort and damaged the cannons they couldn't take. The British repaired the fort, but it wasn't used in any more major battles in that war. After the war, the British kept a small number of soldiers there, and the fort slowly fell apart.
Early Revolutionary War
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By 1775, Fort Ticonderoga was in bad shape, but a small British force still guarded it. It was important for sending supplies and messages between Canada and New York. On May 10, 1775, American soldiers surprised the 48 British soldiers inside. This happened less than a month after the American Revolutionary War began. The Americans were Vermont's Green Mountain Boys, led by Ethan Allen, and volunteers from Massachusetts and Connecticut, led by Benedict Arnold.
With the fort captured, the American Patriot forces got many cannons and weapons. Henry Knox famously moved many of these cannons to Boston in the winter of 1775–1776. These cannons helped the Americans win the siege of Boston, forcing the British to leave the city in March 1776.
Fort Ticonderoga also became a starting point for the invasion of Quebec in September 1775. American generals Philip Schuyler and Richard Montgomery led this effort. The fort continued to supply the American forces in Quebec until the battle at Quebec City.
In 1776, British troops pushed the Americans back to Ticonderoga. After building ships, the British, led by Guy Carleton, moved down Lake Champlain. They destroyed a small American fleet in the Battle of Valcour Island. But winter was coming, so the British went back to Quebec. About 1,700 American soldiers stayed at Ticonderoga that winter. The British planned to attack again the next year in the Saratoga campaign.
The Saratoga Campaign
In the summer of 1776, the Americans built more defenses around Ticonderoga. They fortified Mount Independence with trenches and cannons. They also built a bridge connecting it to Ticonderoga. However, Mount Defiance, a tall hill overlooking the fort, was left undefended.
In March 1777, American generals thought the British would attack the Hudson River area. General George Washington believed an attack from the north was unlikely because Ticonderoga seemed so strong. So, not many extra soldiers or defenses were sent to the fort. The fort had about 2,000 soldiers under General Arthur St. Clair, which was not enough to guard all the defenses.
General Horatio Gates knew Mount Defiance was a threat. Officers had noted that cannons could be pulled up its sides. But with too few soldiers, Mount Defiance remained unguarded.
In June 1777, General Burgoyne led 7,800 British and Hessian soldiers south from Quebec. They quickly took Fort Crown Point and then prepared to attack Ticonderoga. Burgoyne saw the advantage of Mount Defiance. He had his troops haul cannons to the top of the hill. Seeing this, General St. Clair ordered Ticonderoga to be abandoned on July 5, 1777. The British moved in the next day. News of the fort's abandonment without a fight shocked everyone. General St. Clair was later cleared of any wrongdoing.
One Last Attack
After the British took Ticonderoga, about 700 British and Hessian soldiers guarded it. Most were on Mount Independence, with only 100 at Fort Ticonderoga itself. General Washington sent General Benjamin Lincoln to Vermont to distract the British. Lincoln learned that the British were holding American prisoners nearby.
On September 18, American troops led by Colonel John Brown surprised a British group holding prisoners. Another group sneaked up Mount Defiance and captured most of the sleeping construction crew. Brown's men then moved towards the fort, freeing more prisoners. The fort's defenders didn't know what was happening until Brown's men started fighting British troops outside the fort.
Brown's men brought two captured cannons and began firing on the fort. The soldiers on Mount Defiance also fired a cannon. The attack on Mount Independence was delayed, and its many defenders were ready. Their gunfire stopped the Americans from attacking. A standoff continued with cannon fire until September 21. Then, 100 more Hessian soldiers arrived to help the fort.
Brown realized his weapons weren't strong enough to take the fort. He decided to leave, destroying many boats and taking a ship on Lake George. He freed 118 Americans and captured 293 British soldiers, with very few losses for his own side.
The Fort Is Abandoned
Fort Ticonderoga became less important after Burgoyne's defeat at Saratoga. The British left it and nearby Fort Crown Point in November 1777. They tried to destroy both forts before leaving. British raiding parties sometimes used the fort in the following years, but it was no longer a key military spot. The British finally left it for good in 1781. After the war, people living nearby took usable building materials from the fort. They even melted down some cannons for metal.
Fort Ticonderoga Today
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In 1785, the land where the fort stood became property of New York State. The state later gave it to Columbia University and Union College in 1803. These colleges sold the land to William Ferris Pell in 1820.
Pell first used the property as a summer home. When railroads and canals made it easier for tourists to visit, he turned his home into a hotel. In 1848, artist Russell Smith painted Ruins of Fort Ticonderoga, showing how the fort looked in ruins.
The Pell family hired an architect, Alfred Bossom, to restore the fort. It opened to the public in 1909 as a historic site. The opening celebrated 300 years since Europeans discovered Lake Champlain. President William Howard Taft attended the ceremonies. Stephen Hyatt Pell led the restoration and started the Fort Ticonderoga Association in 1931. This group now manages the fort.
Between 1900 and 1950, the foundation bought important lands around the fort. This included Mount Defiance, Mount Independence, and Mount Hope. The fort was rearmed with fourteen 24-pound cannons from the British government. These cannons were made for the American Revolution but arrived too late.
Today, Fort Ticonderoga is a National Historic Landmark. It is run as a tourist attraction, a museum about early American military history, and a research center. The fort usually opens around May 10, the anniversary of its 1775 capture, and closes in late October.
Some of the fort's walls and a 19th-century building needed repairs. The powder magazine, destroyed by the French in 1759, was rebuilt in 2008.
The Living History Education Foundation offers programs for teachers at Fort Ticonderoga. These programs teach how to use "Living History" to understand the fort's importance. The fort also holds other events throughout the year.
The Pell family estate, north of the fort, has beautiful gardens. In 1921, Sarah Pell began rebuilding the gardens. They were restored in 1995 and are now open to the public as the King's Garden.
Remembering Fort Ticonderoga
The U.S. Navy has named five ships "Ticonderoga." They also named entire classes of cruisers and aircraft carriers after the fort.
The fort was named a National Historic Landmark in 1960. This important area includes Mount Independence and Mount Defiance, along with the fort itself. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966.
The famous Ticonderoga pencil, made by the Dixon Ticonderoga Corporation, is also named after the fort.
More to Explore
- List of French forts in North America
- Reit, Seymour. Guns for General Washington: A Story of the American Revolution. Clarion Books, 2001.
