Ticonderoga in Essex County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
History of Fort Ticonderoga
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, November 10, 2018
1. History of Fort Ticonderoga Markers
The History of Fort Ticonderoga is told on a series of 15 markers. The Fort can be seen in the background.
Inscription.
History of Fort Ticonderoga. .
Ticonderoga. The Lake Champlain Valley has long been at the crossroads of nations and peoples. The name Ticonderoga is a corruption of an Iroquoian word meaning a, “place between two waters,” an acknowledgement of its location which has made it central to the history of North America.
1609. A battle is fought on the shore of Lake Champlain at Ticonderoga between Mohawks and Algonquian speaking warriors from Canada. With the latter are three Frenchmen, including Samuel de Champlain, making this the first combat between Europeans and Native Americans in the Champlain Valley.
1609 - 1754. As warfare continues between Native and European powers Ticonderoga’s position puts it in the path of fighting men from many nations. French soldiers of the Carignan-Saiéres Regiment traverse the peninsula in 1699 to strike at the Mohawk. In 1690, English and Native forces pass through to attack Canada, perpetuating a bloody escalation of colonial warfare.
1755 . French and British regular soldiers are transported to North America fueling a colonial conflict begun 1754. Following a French defeat at the Battle of Lake George in September, Michael Chartier de Lotbiniere begins to plan a fortification on the Ticonderoga peninsula to secure the strategic water route to Canada. It is named Fort Carillon.
1757. The French appeal to Native nations to aid them in their war against the English. Nearly 2,000 warriors from as far away as the Great Plains respond, the largest Native American military force of the 18th century. Assembling at Fort Carillon they launch an attack on Fort William Henry in August. The attack is a success, but confusion and misunderstandings between French and Native expectations and assumptions cause their partnership to collapse.
1758. General James Abercrombie launches what at the time was the largest military force ever assembled in North America to assault Fort Carillon. On July 8, outnumbered and lacking substantial Native allies, the French under the Marquis de Montcalm deliver a shocking defeat to the British from behind hastily built defenses on the rising ground about a half mile to your left. Nearly 2,000 British and American casualties make it the bloodiest battle on the continent until the 1860s.
1759. With Quebec threatened by a British attack, Fort Carillon is undermanned as another British army commanded by General Jeffery Amherst approaches. Outnumbered, the French blow up the fort’s powder magazine as they withdraw. Finally in English hands Fort Carillon is renamed Fort Ticonderoga.
1760 - 1775. Canada surrenders to the British in the fall of 1760, effectively ending the French and Indian War. From the end of hostilities until the opening of the American Revolution in 1775, British forces continuously garrison Fort Ticonderoga with small detachments. This period represents the longest the position was held by one power in its history.
1775. Early in the morning of May 10, 1775, less than a month after the commencement of hostilities between Britain and the American colonists, the small British garrison of the fort is surprised and captured. A force of colonials under the joint command of Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold deliver America a major and material victory at little cost.
1775 - 1776. On December 5, 1775 Henry Knox arrives at Ticonderoga from New York City on the direct orders of General George Washington. He selects 59 pieces of artillery, nearly 60 tons in weight, from Ticonderoga and other forts. These guns are hauled nearly 300 miles where they are mounted to relieve the siege of Boston, which the British abandon on March 17, 1776.
1776. Ticonderoga had served as a staging point for the American invasion of Canada, which after initial success collapses in early 1776. The shattered army retires to Ticonderoga to consolidate, retrain, and prepare land and naval defenses. When the British pursue, they are delayed at the Battle of Valcour Island by the American fleet. When the British test the lines at Ticonderoga on October 28th they find well-prepared American troops blocking their path and turn back.
1777. General John Burgoyne launches a new British offensive, anticipating a major siege of Ticonderoga on his way to Albany. As the British approach the outnumbered Americans under General Arthur St. Clair evacuate Ticonderoga on July 6th. Until November, Ticonderoga remains occupied by British and German soldiers, withstanding an American surprise attack in September, before it is evacuated following word of Burgoyne’s surrender at Saratoga.
1820. A short re-occupation in 1781 is the last military activity on the site. By 1790 it is the property of the State of New York, who later grant the property as a trust to Columbia and Union Colleges. William Ferris Pell, a New York Merchant, purchases the garrison grounds of Fort Ticonderoga in 1820, and fences in the ruins of the old fort, the first preservation of an historic battlefield in American history.
1909. Restoration of the popular ruins of Fort Ticonderoga to their presumed original appearance begins in 1908. The Fort Ticonderoga Museum is opened to the public on July 6, 1909. The founders of the museum, Stephen and Sarah Pell, created the first restoration of its kind and developed what they hoped would be the premier military museum in America.
Fort Ticonderoga America’s Fort. Our mission today is to preserve, educate, and provoke active discussion about the past and its importance to present and future generations. We foster an on-going dialogue surrounding citizens, soldiers, and nations through America’s military heritage.
Ticonderoga
The Lake Champlain Valley has long been at the crossroads of nations and peoples. The name Ticonderoga is a corruption of an Iroquoian word meaning a, “place between two waters,” an acknowledgement of its location which has made it central to the history of North America.
1609
A battle is fought on the shore of Lake Champlain at Ticonderoga between Mohawks and Algonquian speaking warriors from Canada. With the latter are three Frenchmen, including Samuel de Champlain, making this the first combat between Europeans and Native Americans in the Champlain Valley.
1609 - 1754
As warfare continues between Native and European powers Ticonderoga’s position puts it in the path of fighting men from many nations. French soldiers of the Carignan-Saiéres Regiment traverse the peninsula in 1699 to strike at the Mohawk. In 1690, English and Native forces pass through to attack Canada, perpetuating a bloody escalation of colonial warfare.
1755
French and British regular soldiers are transported to North America fueling a colonial conflict begun 1754. Following a French defeat at the Battle of Lake George in September, Michael Chartier de Lotbiniere begins to plan a fortification on the Ticonderoga peninsula to secure
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the strategic water route to Canada. It is named Fort Carillon.
1757
The French appeal to Native nations to aid them in their war against the English. Nearly 2,000 warriors from as far away as the Great Plains respond, the largest Native American military force of the 18th century. Assembling at Fort Carillon they launch an attack on Fort William Henry in August. The attack is a success, but confusion and misunderstandings between French and Native expectations and assumptions cause their partnership to collapse.
1758
General James Abercrombie launches what at the time was the largest military force ever assembled in North America to assault Fort Carillon. On July 8, outnumbered and lacking substantial Native allies, the French under the Marquis de Montcalm deliver a shocking defeat to the British from behind hastily built defenses on the rising ground about a half mile to your left. Nearly 2,000 British and American casualties make it the bloodiest battle on the continent until the 1860s.
1759
With Quebec threatened by a British attack, Fort Carillon is undermanned as another British army commanded by General Jeffery Amherst approaches. Outnumbered, the French blow up the fort’s powder magazine as they withdraw. Finally in English hands Fort Carillon is renamed Fort Ticonderoga.
1760 -
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, November 10, 2018
2. History of Fort Ticonderoga Marker
1775
Canada surrenders to the British in the fall of 1760, effectively ending the French and Indian War. From the end of hostilities until the opening of the American Revolution in 1775, British forces continuously garrison Fort Ticonderoga with small detachments. This period represents the longest the position was held by one power in its history.
1775
Early in the morning of May 10, 1775, less than a month after the commencement of hostilities between Britain and the American colonists, the small British garrison of the fort is surprised and captured. A force of colonials under the joint command of Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold deliver America a major and material victory at little cost.
1775 - 1776
On December 5, 1775 Henry Knox arrives at Ticonderoga from New York City on the direct orders of General George Washington. He selects 59 pieces of artillery, nearly 60 tons in weight, from Ticonderoga and other forts. These guns are hauled nearly 300 miles where they are mounted to relieve the siege of Boston, which the British abandon on March 17, 1776.
1776
Ticonderoga had served as a staging point for the American invasion of Canada, which after initial success collapses in early 1776. The shattered army retires to Ticonderoga to consolidate, retrain, and prepare land and naval defenses.
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, November 10, 2018
3. History of Fort Ticonderoga Marker
When the British pursue, they are delayed at the Battle of Valcour Island by the American fleet. When the British test the lines at Ticonderoga on October 28th they find well-prepared American troops blocking their path and turn back.
1777
General John Burgoyne launches a new British offensive, anticipating a major siege of Ticonderoga on his way to Albany. As the British approach the outnumbered Americans under General Arthur St. Clair evacuate Ticonderoga on July 6th. Until November, Ticonderoga remains occupied by British and German soldiers, withstanding an American surprise attack in September, before it is evacuated following word of Burgoyne’s surrender at Saratoga.
1820
A short re-occupation in 1781 is the last military activity on the site. By 1790 it is the property of the State of New York, who later grant the property as a trust to Columbia and Union Colleges. William Ferris Pell, a New York Merchant, purchases the garrison grounds of Fort Ticonderoga in 1820, and fences in the ruins of the old fort, the first preservation of an historic battlefield in American history.
1909
Restoration of the popular ruins of Fort Ticonderoga to their presumed original appearance begins in 1908. The Fort Ticonderoga Museum is opened to the public on July 6, 1909. The founders of the museum, Stephen and Sarah
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, November 10, 2018
4. History of Fort Ticonderoga Marker
Pell, created the first restoration of its kind and developed what they hoped would be the premier military museum in America.
Fort Ticonderoga America’s Fort
Our mission today is to preserve, educate, and provoke active discussion about the past and its importance to present and future generations. We foster an on-going dialogue surrounding citizens, soldiers, and nations through America’s military heritage.
Location. 43° 50.505′ N, 73° 23.314′ W. Marker is in Ticonderoga, New York, in Essex County. Marker can be reached from Sandy Redoubt. Marker is located near the front of Fort Ticonderoga. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Ticonderoga NY 12883, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Credits. This page was last revised on February 6, 2024. It was originally submitted on November 16, 2018, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. This page has been viewed 392 times since then and 48 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19. submitted on November 16, 2018, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey.
