+ FT Ticonderoga Ethan Allen demanding the surrender of Fort Ticonderoga

+ Battle of Ticonderoga Ft. Ticonderoga had once sat on the French-British border during the French-Indian War No longer strategically important to the British military by 1775 Was lightly manned with only 46 soldiers Patriots believed the fort had two assets: Had heavy artillery (canons, howitzers, mortars) Sat on Lake Champlain, a strategic route between the 13 colonies and northern British territories

+ Two colonies started war efforts to capture the fort: Connecticut and Massachusetts Both efforts were started by Benedict Arnold Arnold traveled the area extensively. On a trip south, he noted the poorly manned fort and the heavy artillery As he traveled south toward home, he reported information on the fort to both the Connecticut and the Massachusetts Committees of Correspondence

+ Scene One: Connecticut The Committee of Correspondence began raising a militia under Ethan Allen to attack the fort Allen recruited about 100 Green Mountain Boys to attack the fort

+ The Green Mountain Boys were a militia first established in the 1760s to protect disputed territory between New York and New Hampshire, known as the New Hampshire Grants. Today the New Hampshire Grants are known as Vermont Green Mountain Rangers, 1776

+ The Massachusetts Committee of Safety commissioned Benedict Arnold as a colonel and authorized a secret mission to capture the fort He was given £100, gunpowder, ammunition, and horses. He was told to raise a militia of 400 men, march on the fort, and send back to Massachusetts anything of military value

+ On May 9, 1776 Arnold and Allen attacked the fort with 83 of their men Only one British sentry was on duty, and he fled when he saw the forces Allen’s Green Mountain Boys plundered the fort against Arnold’s orders and wishes Disputes between Allen’s men and Arnold’s men often involved drawing weapons

+ Arnold also attacked nearby Fort Saint-Jean, capturing heavy artillery and two ships (a schooner and a sloop), which he renamed “Liberty” and “Enterprise.” Allen’s forces eventually left Ft. Ticonderoga once the alcohol ran out Much of the heavy artillery and weapons were moved south back to Boston

+ Battles of the American Revolution - SlideShare american-revolution

+ Questions: QR1 Who were the Green Mountain boys? Why did they only want to follow Ethan Allen? QR2 What would have happened if Benedict Arnold had come with men of his own? Would he still have let Ethan Allen take command? QR3 What would have happened if the British had been more prepared? Do you think the battle could have ended differently? QR4 What would have happened if they had decided not to take the fort? Why was this fort so important?