Fort Ticonderoga

Fort Ticonderoga. Historic New York. During the 18th century, when nations fought to control the strategic route between the St. Lawrence River in Canada and the Hudson River to the south, the fortification overlooking the outlet of Lake George into Lake Champlain was called “the key to a continent.”, The French constructed here in 1755 the stronghold they named Carillon, and made it a base to attack their English rivals. In 1758, Carillon, under Marquis de Montcalm, withstood assault by superior British forces. The next year Jeffery Amherst’s troops captured Carillon and forced the French to retreat from Lake Champlain. The British renamed the fortress Fort Ticonderoga., During the American Revolution, Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys captured Ticonderoga in a surprise attack, May 10, 1775. Cannon hauled from Ticonderoga to Boston helped George Washington drive the British from that city. In July, 1777, General Burgoyne’s invading army overwhelmed the American fort, and Ticonderoga again became British. Americans unsuccessfully attacked the fort in September, 1777; later the British abandoned it., In 1816, William Ferris Pell acquired the fort. His descendants began its restoration and in 1909 opened Ticonderoga to the public. Now the Fort Ticonderoga Association maintains the historic fort and its military museum..