History for Fun, Profit, and Insight: Cannons at Fort Ticonderoga

(I am going to post this but not advertise it until it is polished a bit more. If you run across it in the meantime, congratulations!! If you wish to see me polish it more quickly, say something nice or add a citation in the comments section. Thanks.)

Greetings. I've got lots of good stuff stored away, all ready to share, but find myself held back by the "But it's not good enough yet." Truth is, I've never really understand the issue with "writer's block," the inability to find a subject to write about or finding yourself unable to actually choose or find the words to put on paper. I have, however, often found myself fearful of putting things out in public knowing that they were not as good as they could be, fearful that people will judge me or my work by something that was dashed off in a hurry without huge amounts of thought or polish. ALAS!! 'Tis the nature of blogging, so . . . here goes. --A far less than perfect mini-essay on the artillery at Fort Ticonderoga, a historical site on the shores of Lake Champlain in upstate New York.

Fort Ticonderoga, originally named Fort Carillon, featured prominently in the French and Indian War (the North American campaign of the Seven Years War in Europe) and the American Revolution (War of Independence if you are British, although I am quite comfortable calling it a revolution as it brought huge changes to not just the inhabitants of the former 13 colonies but also the world). The fort was located to provide its owner with control over the southern portion of Lake Champlain, at that time a major shipping and travel route between Canada and the USA. Although it was never easy, one way to get men and materials from Montreal and the City of Quebec was to go down the St. Lawrence, cross overland until one reached Lake Champlain, boat down the long lake, cross overland to the smaller but still important Lake George, boat down the lake, then cross overland to the Hudson and then one could boat all the way through to Albany and then to New York City.

In the earlier French and Indian War, it was the site of two different battles and changed hands from French to British control once. During that war, the presence of large quantities of artillery inside the fort led to the defeat of the first attack on the fort. During the American Revolution, however, the goal for those who controlled the fort was not so much to control the fort itself but instead to gain control of the cannons inside.

In 1775, fighting broke out in Boston. The British army that was located in the city, found itself besieged and surrounding by large numbers of American militia, rebels who were loyal to the Continental Congress and the rebel cause. These rebels felt more cannons and artillery would help them defeat the British, and soon someone (perhaps Henry Knox, head of the artillery section of the American army at the time)* suggested that troops be dispatched to Fort Ticonderoga to take the fort and gain control of the cannons.

Ethan Allen of the Green Mountain Boys and Colonel Benedict Arnold* were both sent to work together and take the fort. Although squabbling over who was in command (memory tells me that the Continental Congress had given Arnold letters stating he was to take command, letters that were completely ignored by Allen and his men)*. Regardless, the force arrived at the very isolated fortress, entered the fort through the main door which was unlocked and guarded by a single sentry, and took it without a shot. It seems that up in the Adirondack Mountains, word had not yet reached the men at the fort that an active rebellion was underway so, believing they were at peace, they had no reason to be wary or suspect that an attack might take place.

According to legend, the commander of the fort was woken in his pajamas and when told by Benedict Arnold that his fort had now been captured, asked "In whose name do you take the fort?"

Arnold is reported to have replied, "Sir, I take your fort in the name of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress."

And thus the fort changed hands and 59 of the cannons inside were hauled off using oxens and sledges and taken to Boston to aid in the siege.

The Americans then held the fort until Burgoyne's southward moving force passed through the region on its way to the fateful Battle of Saratoga in 1777, but was, according to the guides at the fort today,* abandoned by the British until about 1780 or 1781 when a small British force came down from Canada to try and rally loyalist support and recruit American help for the crown* (a continuing yet never terribly successful thing that the British tried to do periodically throughout the war.) When news or Yorktown and the British defeat reached them, however, they soon realized the war was over, they'd lost, and headed back home.

Today, Fort Ticonderoga is a privately held historic site, and is well worth a trip if one is interested in the history. It houses one of the largest collections of 18th C artillery in North America.

* Indicates a fact that I would like to look up, verify, and expand upon. However, it is this very need to do this that has kept you, my reader, from viewing my photos of Fort Stanwix, Saratoga Battlefield, and more sites. If you wish, please feel free to comment and / or add sources and citations in the comments section.

A collection of cannon balls and artillery ammunition from the fort's wonderful museum.

A diorama from the museum of the artillery being hauled to Boston

An Introduction to the Quantity of Cannons at the Fort

Pretty self explanatory. As the fort shifted hands multiple times, and each time not only were the cannons taken out and moved elsewhere but usually an attempt was made by the defeated party to destroy as much as possible before handing the fort over, the number of the cannons inside the fort varied widely during many years and two wars. These charts illustrate the number at any given year.

Mortars at Fort Ticonderoga

A small mortar at the fort

Another view of the same mortar

A third view of the same mortar

An Artillery firing Demonstration

Every day the fort has a demonstration of artillery firing. Or, at least, my impression is that it is once a day. A crew of four, dressed in French uniforms of the style from the days of Fort Carillon fired off what they indicated was a four pounder field artillery piece. I took a lot of pictures hoping to catch the firing at just the right time and I share them all here.

Gabions

Field Artillery in the Museum

Random Shots of the Fort

Just a variety of shots of random things taken at the fort when I visited today. A more skilled or selective blogger would probably edit them, leaving only the best, but I figure perhaps there is something here that will excite someone and how am I able to determine what that is? Enjoy please. Leave a question in the comment section, if you have one? Thanks.