Benedict Arnold proposed the capture of
Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and the plan was approved by
Dr. Warren, chairman of the committee
of safety. Arnold was commissioned as colonel by the provincial congress of
Massachusetts, and directed to raise 400 men in the western counties and
surprise the forts. The same scheme had been entertained in Connecticut, and
troops from that colony and from Berkshire, with a number of "Green
Mountain Boys," had already started for the lakes under command of
Ethan Allen(Allen was made colonel
of an armed force known as the "Green Mountain Boys,"
raised in order to protect holders of land granted by New Hampshire. He was
declared an outlaw, and £150 was offered for his capture by Gov. Tryon, of New
York). On meeting them Arnold claimed the command, but when it was refused
he joined the expedition as a volunteer and entered Ticonderoga side by side
with Allen. A few days later Arnold captured St. John's. Massachusetts asked
Connecticut to put him in command of these posts, but Connecticut preferred
Allen.
Saratoga fell to the British in 1777. Arthur St. Clair was appointed
major general on 19 February 1777, succeeding
General Horatio Gates
in command at
Ticonderoga.
Less than 2,000 men, poorly armed, and nearly destitute of stores, there and at
Mount Independence on the opposite shore of Lake Champlain garrisoned the works.
The approach of a force of more than 7,000 men under General John Burgoyne
mandated that General St. Clair to prepare for an attack. His force was too
small to cover all exposed points, and, as he had not discovered Burgoyne's
designs, he neglected to fortify Sugar Loaf Mountain over which the British
approached. St. Clair and his officers held a council of war, and decided to
evacuate the fort.
Matthias Alexis Roche de Fermoy who was placed in command of Fort
Independence, opposite Fort Ticonderoga, by orders of Congress, and against the
protest of Washington made a grave military error that almost caused St. Clair
the loss of all of his forces. Upon the retreat of St. Clair from Ticonderoga,
Fermoy, against the orders, set fire to his quarters on Mount Independence at
two o'clock on the morning of 6 July 1777 thus revealing to Burgoyne St. Clair's
evacuation of Ticonderoga. Had it not been for this, St. Clair would have made
good his retreat.
Forgotten Founders Historic Documents and Coins of Freedom - By Stanley
L. Klos
Keynote Address on the 2003
Re-Internment of Samuel and Martha Huntington
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