SteveHiker
New member
It is such a seemingly insignificant little lump of land next to a narrow part of Lake Champlain, standing a mere 306 feet above sea level. Hardly a mountain at all. However, its small stature and unassuming nature belies its great importance in the struggle for American Independence.
Fort Ticonderoga had been captured by the Green Mountain Boys in May of 1775. It contained a large supply of cannon and powder, much of which was dragged overland the following winter to be used in the siege of Boston which drove the British. Something every American should remember, without Vermonters, you'd all be speaking English today. (or something like that). Ticonderoga was originally the French Fort Carillon and was primarily designed to repel attackers from the south. To defend against the British invasion from the north a new fortification was constructed across the lake. When the Declaration of Independence was read to the soldiers there on July 18, 1776 they named this new fort, Mount Independence. At one point, it was one of the largest settlements in North America (with over 12,000 inhabitants). I don't think there is any danger of any place in Vermont ever laying such a claim any time soon.
The main contribution to the war effort of this fort was it delayed the British invasion from the north until 1777. Later in the fall of 1776 a British fleet sailed south until it discovered the heavily defended fortifications and they decided to return north for the winter. They returned the next summer. The British and Hessian forces numbered over 10,000, while the garrison at Mt Independence was less than 2,500. After a 4 day seige, the defenders evacuated in the middle of the night. The British then took over the fort. They continued to hold it, through several small attacks. Quite possibly they committed more resources than they should have, thus contributing to their ultimate defeat at Saratoga. After hearing of the surrender at Saratoga, the British and Hessians retreated to Canada, but not before burning the fort on Mt Independence to the ground in November 1777.
So here we were 232 years later. I've been to several other sites in the area, and wasn't sure what to expect. There is a lot less left there than I thought there'd be. There is an extensive set of trails, but contrary to the VT Dayhiker's guide they aren't Red, White and Blue, which would seem more appropriate. Instead we would be setting out on the Green, then Blue then Orange and finally back to the Green. There was also a short Red trail that we skipped.
The Green trail is wheelchair accessible and featured a crushed stone surface. Among the interesting things here was a gravestone from 1760 of a "N. Richardson of Staddard Eng died 1760". Which is 16 years before the fort was built. Nobody really knows anything about him or her and the inscription has mostly weathered away. There were a few other ruined foundations and a nice view of the lake and Fort Ti across the lake. Also prominent is the 850 foot high Mt Defiance that wasn't fortified until when the British beseiged the area. I'm no military genius, but I'm pretty sure that Sun-Tzu recommends getting the higher ground. I don't understand why no one saw that coming.
From here we continued past the hospital and then embarked on the Blue trail, which was described as a strenuous hiking trail. Leaving the crushed stone, we rapidly descended to lake level over an old woods road. The lake was right there, but we could see it, as the entire area is now forested, while it was cleared back in the day. We passed the remains of a crane and a quarry eventually coming out on the lakeshore where the Orange Trail began. This climbed back up the hill past the shore batteries and the commanding horseshoe battery to the top of the hill where the actual fort had stood. It is now just a wide flat meadow with a large tree growing in the middle. The trail continues back to the Green trail passing some more ruins along the way. I'd say they did a pretty thorough job of wrecking things when they left as I don't think I saw anything that remained that was more than 2 or 3 stones high.
Pretty interesting place. Considering it was Independence Day, we expected more people. After all, we were mainly drawn there because of the name, and because we didn't have time for a big hike as we had someplace to be that evening. But the place was not busy at all, and according to the woman in the visitor center, it never is. That's really too bad. It's forgotten little corners like this and the perhaps seemingly minor events that occurred there that are a big reason we have something to celebrate on July 4th.
Some Pictures, that don't really do the place justice.
Fort Ticonderoga had been captured by the Green Mountain Boys in May of 1775. It contained a large supply of cannon and powder, much of which was dragged overland the following winter to be used in the siege of Boston which drove the British. Something every American should remember, without Vermonters, you'd all be speaking English today. (or something like that). Ticonderoga was originally the French Fort Carillon and was primarily designed to repel attackers from the south. To defend against the British invasion from the north a new fortification was constructed across the lake. When the Declaration of Independence was read to the soldiers there on July 18, 1776 they named this new fort, Mount Independence. At one point, it was one of the largest settlements in North America (with over 12,000 inhabitants). I don't think there is any danger of any place in Vermont ever laying such a claim any time soon.
The main contribution to the war effort of this fort was it delayed the British invasion from the north until 1777. Later in the fall of 1776 a British fleet sailed south until it discovered the heavily defended fortifications and they decided to return north for the winter. They returned the next summer. The British and Hessian forces numbered over 10,000, while the garrison at Mt Independence was less than 2,500. After a 4 day seige, the defenders evacuated in the middle of the night. The British then took over the fort. They continued to hold it, through several small attacks. Quite possibly they committed more resources than they should have, thus contributing to their ultimate defeat at Saratoga. After hearing of the surrender at Saratoga, the British and Hessians retreated to Canada, but not before burning the fort on Mt Independence to the ground in November 1777.
So here we were 232 years later. I've been to several other sites in the area, and wasn't sure what to expect. There is a lot less left there than I thought there'd be. There is an extensive set of trails, but contrary to the VT Dayhiker's guide they aren't Red, White and Blue, which would seem more appropriate. Instead we would be setting out on the Green, then Blue then Orange and finally back to the Green. There was also a short Red trail that we skipped.
The Green trail is wheelchair accessible and featured a crushed stone surface. Among the interesting things here was a gravestone from 1760 of a "N. Richardson of Staddard Eng died 1760". Which is 16 years before the fort was built. Nobody really knows anything about him or her and the inscription has mostly weathered away. There were a few other ruined foundations and a nice view of the lake and Fort Ti across the lake. Also prominent is the 850 foot high Mt Defiance that wasn't fortified until when the British beseiged the area. I'm no military genius, but I'm pretty sure that Sun-Tzu recommends getting the higher ground. I don't understand why no one saw that coming.
From here we continued past the hospital and then embarked on the Blue trail, which was described as a strenuous hiking trail. Leaving the crushed stone, we rapidly descended to lake level over an old woods road. The lake was right there, but we could see it, as the entire area is now forested, while it was cleared back in the day. We passed the remains of a crane and a quarry eventually coming out on the lakeshore where the Orange Trail began. This climbed back up the hill past the shore batteries and the commanding horseshoe battery to the top of the hill where the actual fort had stood. It is now just a wide flat meadow with a large tree growing in the middle. The trail continues back to the Green trail passing some more ruins along the way. I'd say they did a pretty thorough job of wrecking things when they left as I don't think I saw anything that remained that was more than 2 or 3 stones high.
Pretty interesting place. Considering it was Independence Day, we expected more people. After all, we were mainly drawn there because of the name, and because we didn't have time for a big hike as we had someplace to be that evening. But the place was not busy at all, and according to the woman in the visitor center, it never is. That's really too bad. It's forgotten little corners like this and the perhaps seemingly minor events that occurred there that are a big reason we have something to celebrate on July 4th.
Some Pictures, that don't really do the place justice.
