German Hut – 1777

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 and German regiments encamped in tents in this area, near the fortifications facing south and southeast to their American enemies. When Americans raiding parties attacked the two forts on September 18, soldiers rushed to the lines and slept on their arms in readiness. The German Prinz Friedrich Regiment manned the line of works extending from the present day parking lot to the well-preserved second, or southern, battery at the end of the Southern Battery Spur Trail., Lieutenant von Hille of the Prinz Friedrich Regiment recorded in his diary some events of the day: , “The regt. immediately hurried to the alarm place, the comp[any] of M.G. von Stammer to Battery 1, the companies of M. von Hille, Capt. Von Tunderfelt and Capt. Dietrichs behind the line up to Battery No. 2, where the comp[any] of L.C. Pratorious was stationed . . . We remained at the alarm places, pitched some tents there and ½ comp[any] was at all times under arms. Our entire defense consisted of breastworks made of layers of trees and stones with here and there an abatis in the woods.”, The tents proved to be uncomfortable as the nights grew colder. Von Hille wrote on the night of October 20-21, “there was a heavy snow and frost.” The next day “[o]ur men built huts of boards to protect themselves from the cold weather.” The huts were built against this south-facing slope for shelter from the cold northwest winds., The small depression next to the trail is all that remains of one of the German hut sites in this area., When this site was studied in 2001 in preparation for the construction of this trail, archaeologists retrieved numerous artifacts. Some musket balls, a grenade, and metal parts from a musket may be telling witnesses of the raid of September 18, 1777. Many artifacts were remnants of building materials: numerous nails of varying types, hinges, charcoal from burnt wood, brick, and glass. Also found were some belongings of the soldiers who lived in this hut. One of the most striking was a blue cufflink. Other items were bones (perhaps from food preparation), bits of wine bottles, and a two-tined fork., Respect our history. Take only photographs.