"The
Capture of Fort Ticonderoga" May 11,
1775
Fort Ticonderoga lay on the
shores of Lake Champlain. Called Fort Carillon by the French, it was
renamed Ticonderoga by the British after it was captured in 1759. The
fort was positioned to cut the colonies in half, and two Americans,
Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold, were determined to capture the fort.
Allen was approached by Connecticut citizens to lead his men known as
the Green Mountain men to take the fort. Meanwhile Benedict Arnold had
himself been appointed to the same task by the Massachusetts committee
of safety. The two men argued over command, but this did not deter
them from attacking the fort. On May 11th, all the men who could fit
were loaded in boats and set off for the fort. The men defending the
garrison of Ticonderoga were surprised in their beds. Allen called out
to Lieutenant Joceyln Feltham, "Come out of there you dammed old
rat!" When Feltham asked on whose authority, Allen stated,"
in the name of Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress." The
fort, with its heavy artillery, fell without a shot being fired. |
