| Vermont (Addison County), Orwell — American Blockhouse – 1777 — Mount Independence State Historic Site |
| | “I have also provided timber for two Blockhouses.” - Col. Anthony Wayne, February 4, 1777 In the summer and fall of 1776 American forces concentrated on fortifying the northern point of the rocky Mount Independence peninsula, in anticipation of a British advance from Canada. Along the southeast and southern land-locked perimeters soldiers only had the time to construct log and stone breastworks as a first line of defense against the enemy, should the British attempt . . . — Map (db m19321) |
| Vermont (Addison County), Orwell — British Blockhouse - 1777 — Mount Independence State Historic Site |
| | “Blockhouses, none of them finished.” - Lt. John Starke, Royal Navy, September 1777 After the British captured Mount Independence on July 6, 1777, their military engineers decided to build six new blockhouses to augment American-built defenses on the southeast and southern land exposures in anticipation of potential American attacks. Three were nearly completed. The new British blockhouses supported the log and stone breastworks from 1776, the two blockhouses built . . . — Map (db m19332) |
| Vermont (Addison County), Orwell — Burial Site — Mount Independence State Historic Site |
| | “ . . . this Day there was two men Buried from our Regt.” - Lt. Jonathan Burton, October 4, 1776 This small stone, engraved “N. Richardson of Staddard Eng died 1760,” may mark the only identified grave on Mount Independence. Research has yet to discover who Richardson was or solve the mystery of the 1760 date. This was sixteen years before the Northern Department of the American Army began building Mount Independence as a defense against the British in . . . — Map (db m17849) |
| Vermont (Addison County), Orwell — Fort Ticonderoga and Mount Defiance — Mount Independence State Historic Site |
| | “ . . . a perfect mousetrap.” - Col. Alexander Scammell, September 21, 1777 From here are seen nearly all the powerful forces of nature that made this spot on Lake Champlain the Gibraltar of the North as well as its Achilles heel during the American Revolution. Straight ahead (looking west) is the 853-foot high Mount Defiance. On the other side of it is Lake George. To the north the narrow, quarter-mile wide channel was the perfect place to build artillery batteries to . . . — Map (db m17846) |
| Vermont (Addison County), Orwell — Foundation -1776 or 1777 — Mount Independence State Historic Site — What do you think? - |
| | This is one of the best-preserved stone foundations on Mount Independence. It was built during the Revolution, but historic maps and documents do not refer to it. Who built it? Did the Americans have time to build it during the two weeks in June 1777 when constructing the three gun batteries of the southern defenses? Was it built by the British and Germans encamped in this area from July to November 1777? What was it used for? The foundation is about 19 feet wide and 31 feet long, with stone . . . — Map (db m19441) |
| Vermont (Addison County), Orwell — General Hospital – 1777 — Mount Independence State Historic Site |
| | “ . . . the new Hospital . . . 250 long & 24 wide.” - Rev. Enos Hitchcock, June 14, 1777 This shallow, dry-laid stone foundation was for the largest building at Mount Independence – a 250-foot long by 24-foot wide, two-story, wood frame General Hospital. This boardwalk is nearly as long as the hospital. On February 13, 1777, American Northern Department commander Gen. Philip Schuyler directed Chief Engineer Jeduthan Baldwin to “lose no time in preparing . . . — Map (db m19319) |
| Vermont (Addison County), Orwell — German Hut – 1777 — Mount Independence State Historic Site |
| | “Our men built huts out of boards to protect themselves from the cold weather.” - Lt. Von Hille, October 22, 1777 During the American occupation from July 1776 to July 1777, soldiers constructed a breastwork of logs and stone along the top of the rocky slope here. In June 1777, to further strengthen this land approach, they added three artillery batteries. After the British gained control of Mount Independence and Ticonderoga on July 6, 1777, the garrison of British . . . — Map (db m19436) |
| Vermont (Addison County), Orwell — Heritage Travelers over the Years |
| | “Some of the intrenchments are still visible.” – John Disturnell, 1857 After the American Revolution, numerous visitors curious to see the places that figured so prominently in the war for independence visited Mount Independence and recorded their observations. Peter Sally, 1784: “Fort Independence is directly opposite. The Americans in the late war built a bridge across the lake which separates Mount Independence from Ticonderoga. We saw its remains. . . . — Map (db m19501) |
| Vermont (Addison County), Orwell — Lake Champlain and the American Revolution — Mount Independence State Historic Site |
| | “ . . . the possession of every thing here depends upon keeping the Command of the Water.” - Maj. Gen. Horatio Gates, July 16, 1776 In front of you is Lake Champlain, at 120 miles long the sixth largest lake in the United States. For nearly 10,000 years it was a major travel route and resource for the original inhabitants here. The Iroquois called it Caniaderi-Guarunte, meaning “The Door to the Country,” because it penetrated deep into the forests. . . . — Map (db m19440) |
| Vermont (Addison County), Orwell — Military Road |
| | Military Road from Mount Independence to Hubbardton 1777 Marked by Hands Cove Chapter D.A.R. 1933 — Map (db m9234) |
| Vermont (Addison County), Orwell — Mount Independence — Bastion of the Revolution |
| | Fortification was begun in June of 1776, and the name Mount Independence was bestowed following the Declaration of Independence. Lieut. Col. Jeduthan Baldwin was the chief construction engineer. Here the exhausted American Army, Northern Department, was stationed after withdrawing from its disastrous Canadian Campaign. Built on a rocky plateau and stoutly fortified, the post was a natural stronghold facing any approaching foe from the north. Within its rugged confines thousands of New . . . — Map (db m9275) |
| Vermont (Addison County), Orwell — Mt. Independence Military Road — Route to Hubbardton, 1777 |
| | After Ethan Allen seized Fort Ticonderoga, the Americans built Fort Mt. Independence, northwest from here on the Lake. Following Burgoyne’s invasion, Gen. St Clair evacuated the Forts, retreating across these hills to Hubbardton. Vermont Historic Sites Commission — Map (db m9232) |
| Vermont (Addison County), Orwell — Officers Quarters – 1776 — Mount Independence State Historic Site |
| | “ . . . some of the officers have good framed houses.” - Dr. Lewis Beebe, September 30, 1776 This fifteen-foot square, well-defined stone foundation may be the remains of quarters for one or more American officers in the Second Brigade, a unit of regiments from Massachusetts and New Hampshire encamped here the last half of 1776. Many soldiers arriving at Mount Independence after the retreat from Canada had lost their tents. Their first order of business was to clear . . . — Map (db m17863) |
| Vermont (Addison County), Orwell — Southern Battery – 1777 — Mount Independence State Historic Site |
| | “began the works at 3 places on Mount Independence.” - Col. Jeduthan Baldwin, June 20, 1777 On June, 1777, American Chief Engineer Jeduthan Baldwin wrote in his journal, “in the afternoon went with Col. Kosiusko to advise what works had best be done on the mount.” “Kosiusko” was classically trained Polish engineer Thaddeus Kosciuszko, Gen. Horatio Gates assigned him to survey the fortifications at Mount Independence and Fort . . . — Map (db m19437) |
| Vermont (Addison County), Orwell — Southern Defense Trail |
| | This walkway is a loop approximately 0.2 mile long with stairs and gentle slopes. It leads you past the remains of a blockhouse (near the parking area), provides a look at the Mount’s rock formations, and provides a vista of the lake south of the Mount. A spur from this walkway leads down to the M/V Carillon boat dock. The theme of the walkway, southern defenses, represents British rather than American concerns here at Mount Independence. Although a dock for supply ships was located a . . . — Map (db m19536) |
| Vermont (Addison County), Orwell — Storehouse - 1776 — Mount Independence State Historic Site |
| | “ordered a large Stoer House to be built.” - Col. Jeduthan Baldwin, August 17, 1776 At least one of the storehouses constructed on Mount Independence during the Revolution stood in this area. Portions of the remaining stone foundations are discernable to the left, although the many outcroppings of bedrock and ledges make it difficult to distinguish between natural and man-made formations. The success of large defensive outposts such as Mount Independence, located . . . — Map (db m19366) |
| Vermont (Addison County), Orwell — The American Southern Defenses – 1776-1777 |
| | “we are Building a Large & Long Breast work on the South Side.” - Pvt. Thomas Killam, August 19, 1776 When the American Northern Army arrived at Ticonderoga in mid-July 1776, the 300-acre peninsula opposite on the Vermont shore was a rugged land mass ideal for adaptation as a major fortification. What would soon be named Mount Independence faced north, toward the enemy, with water surrounding it on three sides and rugged cliffs and steep rock-strewn slopes on the . . . — Map (db m19543) |
| Vermont (Addison County), Orwell — Third Brigade Encampment – 1776 — Mount Independence State Historic Site |
| | “ . . . our Men is clearing the Encamping Ground over the Lake.” - Sgt. Timothy Tuttle, July 23, 1776 In July 1776 Northern Army commander Gen. Horatio Gates organized regiments at Mount Independence and Ticonderoga into four brigades. Each brigade averaged four regiments, with 1,000 men in a full strength regiment. Three brigades were on the Mount: the First where the star or picket fort would be built, the Second in the area of the future
General Hospital, and the . . . — Map (db m19318) |
| Vermont (Addison County), Orwell — To Repel the Enemy |
| | “The Generals have Fix’d on a spot . . . to be fortified.” - Lt. Col. Matthias Ogden, July 19, 1776 On July 5, 1777, Thomas Anburey, who was traveling with British Lt. Gen. John Burgoyne on Lake Champlain, observed as they approached Mount Independence and Fort Ticonderoga that “the Americans have employed their utmost industry where they are in the greatest force, upon Mount Independence, which is extremely lofty and circular.” Thanks to . . . — Map (db m19480) |
| Vermont (Addison County), Shoreham — Larrabee’s Point |
| | John Larrabee established the first regular ferry here under a grant from the Vermont Legislature when the only business at the site was his tavern. In 1823, the year that the Champlain Canal opened, Larrabee and Samuel Holley built a store and a warehouse. A lively trade with the inland towns soon supported three stores, all supplied directly from Troy or Albany. Among the goods exported to the world from Larrabee’s Point, Merino sheep commanded the highest prices. Shoreham farmers bred some . . . — Map (db m15580) |
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