A Sword with Three Centuries of History
Fort Ticonderoga preserves an extensive collection of swords spanning more than two centuries encompassing an encyclopedic array of styles and types. While the memory of who used most swords faded away long before they became part of the museum’s collection, a few notable examples have important provenances. One such sword is that owned by […]
“Too Opposite Characters”
Today in the United States, broad regional differences are part of the national character, but in the early years of the Revolutionary War, regional differences were far more acute. As thirteen unique colonies allied together for their mutual independence, soldiers from these colonies, and eventually states, were often like foreigners brought together in the same […]
Board with Tents?
Exploring Fort Ticonderoga in 1776 has required looking a lot more at the use of soldiers’ tents. The Fort itself, with a maximum capacity of only 400 officers and men, was already largely a supply depot when the northern continental army retreated back to the fort in July of 1776. The vast majority of these […]
Building Carpentry into 1776 Soldiers’ Life Programs
Along with the excitement of portraying 1776 and the Fourth Pennsylvania battalion as they served at Ticonderoga in that year, the Department of Interpretation is excited about expanding its soldiers’ life programs into carpentry. Over the past few years, the modern need of equipping staff with time-specific clothing and footwear has spurred on the historic […]
Of Love, Duty, and Affection
Our team spends a lot of time talking about the power of Fort Ticonderoga’s stories. Fort Ticonderoga’s history is epic and pivotal in the French & Indian War and American Revolution. It was the key to the continent. It is also the site of landmark preservation and heritage tourism in the 19th century and monumental restoration […]
Making History “Real”
Monday, September 16, 1776, breaks at Ticonderoga with a hint of the cold weather yet to come, and the fortifications at Ticonderoga and Mount Independence are draped in the “Thick Fogs, that are peculiar at this place.” Thus another day dawns for the Continental Army’s Northern Department on the shores of Lake Champlain. Dr. Lewis […]
Earthen Remains of 1776
In creating living history programs based on diaries, letters, artifacts, and other documentation one can sometimes be left feeling that it’s a story, somehow detached from reality from so long ago. This upcoming season’s focus on 1776 and the Fourth PA battalion offers the wonderful nexus of visual and written sources with surviving earthworks 238 […]
A Brief 1776 Preview
As part of our year by year approach to tackling the immense story of Fort Ticonderoga, in 2014 the Department of Interpretation will be highlighting the year 1776. Fort staff will be portraying the 4th Pennsylvania Battalion who garrisoned Ticonderoga in that year. In the spring of 1776, Colonel Anthony Wayne’s 4th Pennsylvania Battalion had […]
Dendrochronology: Using Tree Rings to Answer Questions about the Pavilion’s Past
In the summer of 2013 with support from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Fort Ticonderoga began an in-depth study of the structural history of the Pavilion. Oral history tells us that the Pavilion was built in 1826 by William Ferris Pell and occupied by his family until about 1840. From the early 1840s through […]
3 Details for the Perfect 1777 Continental Regular Portrayal
Looking ahead to next summer’s Defiance and Independence event it is important to examine some common elements of the dress and equipment of the Continental soldiers defending the post. While Fort Ticonderoga had a diverse crowd of Continental regular soldiers in 1775 and 1776, the garrison in 1777 was almost exclusively from New England. Among […]