Featured rare Revolutionary War Artifacts on Exhibit and a Special Event Weekend
Fort Ticonderoga will celebrate Independence Day with special events and programming during the holiday weekend, July 2-4, 2022. Experience the American Revolution on the very ground on which the fight for liberty occurred, with museum staff and costumed interpreters recreating and exploring the events of the year 1777. Guests will follow the footsteps of the Continental Army and see first-hand the struggle for freedom.
On display as part of the A Well Regulated Militia: Citizen, Soldier, and State exhibit, is the uniform coat of the Boston Company of Cadets, the oldest surviving American-made uniform in existence. An officer’s gorget, from the reformed company in 1776, quite literally erased British symbols, replacing them with the letters “US” that reveals how far the colonial rebellion had evolved into a war for independence. These and other significant artifacts will be on display all Independence Day weekend as we reflect on the extensive struggle to achieve nationhood.
“We are so excited to feature signature pieces of American history for Independence Day that allow our visitors even more of an enriched, compelling experience and a comprehensive understanding of the nation’s military heritage,” said Beth Hill, Fort Ticonderoga President and CEO. “The Independence Day celebration at Fort Ticonderoga promises to be an unforgettable experience from the waters of Lake Champlain, the summit of Mount Defiance, and of course inside Fort Ticonderoga, site of America’s first Revolutionary War victory.”
Advance reservations are required for the following two special events and are available for purchase on our website. THESE PROGRAMS WILL SELL OUT:
Special Event: Sunset Boat Cruise SATURDAY, JULY 2 ONLY!
Gates open at 6 p.m. Boat departs promptly at 6:30 p.m.
Enjoy a relaxing summer evening aboard the Carillon tour boat and revel in the region’s scenic beauty. Toast to the King’s health with a complimentary cocktail of soldiers’ rum punch as you discover Ticonderoga’s rich maritime history. Let stories of armed schooners to Prohibition-era rum runners fire your imagination during your trip on Lake Champlain in this 1920s-style vessel. A selection of beer, wine, soft drinks, snacks, and signature cocktails, featuring Stonecutters Spirits are available for purchase!
Special Event: Carillon Boat Cruises
Get a front row seat for the siege of Ticonderoga during this week-long Independence Day celebration! Between floating bridges, flotillas of bateaux, and a whole British naval fleet, the fight for Ticonderoga played out on Lake Champlain and across the hills that surround it. Don’t miss this unparalleled chance to get a new perspective on the fight for independence on one of the most historic waterways in America.
DAILY ACTIVITIES DURING INDEPENDENCE DAY EXTENDED WEEK INCLUDED WITH ADMISSION:
Search for Liberty: A Family Adventure! This fun hands-on activity tasks the whole family with finding the tools and materials that equipped Continental Soldiers at Fort Ticonderoga. Whether helping tend the garden greens that kept soldiers well or examining the shoe leather that protected soldier’s feet on a long march, young and old can explore the details of daily life for soldiers together. Continental Dollars and the Quartermaster’s stamp await those who complete these vital tasks to secure liberty.
Key to the Continent Tours Could Ticonderoga have been held by the Continental Army in 1777? Was its loss a disaster or a prudent retreat? Create your own answers to questions that have enthralled officers and armchair generals alike for 242 years. Explore how two decades of military occupation culminated with rich cultures and characters at Ticonderoga in 1777.
Musket Demonstrations American soldiers, behind a wall of earth, steeled their nerves to hold their ground as the British Army landed to attack in 1777. See how an army of farmers and tradesmen used their muskets & bayonets to hold back British & German soldiers.
The Power of Oxen Immensely powerful teams of oxen were vital to the Continental Army at Ticonderoga. Yoked oxen hauled logs miles from the woods surrounding Ticonderoga to repair American defensive works. See teams of oxen in action and discover their work in the summer of 1777.
Garden Marches Follow the Fifes & Drums of Fort Ticonderoga down to the King’s Garden. Enjoy your favorite 18th-century tunes and marches with this group as your musical guide.
Guided Tours of the Fort Ticonderoga Museum Exhibitions staff will lead you on a guided tour of this remarkable museum’s highlights. Begun more than a century ago, the Fort Ticonderoga museum has North America’s largest and most important collection of 18th-century military material and cultural objects. Get the scoop on the most significant, rare, and interesting pieces in the collection.
Breaking Ground: A Tour of the Historic Gardens From military garrison gardens to a secluded colonial revival commemorative spectacle of color and light, explore one of the oldest cultivated landscapes in America. Discover the layers of horticultural history of the Ticonderoga peninsula.
Fife and Drum Concerts From the earliest patriotic songs which inspired a nation, to the everyday duties and marches that regulated army life, listen to the fifes and drums of the American defenders of Ticonderoga. See the massed fifers and drummers of the many regiments who were charged with holding the British Army at bay.
“A Return of Arms” SUNDAY, JULY 3 ONLY! As the British Army’s siege tightened around American-held Ticonderoga, brand new muskets delivered to the Americans fresh from France were too valuable to leave crated up inside the fort. See these vital arms from a secret ally exchanged for the worn-out arms brought by American soldiers to Ticonderoga.
Cannon Demonstrations Watch a cannon and its crew in their element, holding the British Army back with shot, fired from the earthen walls of a redoubt. Explore how the science of gunnery and field fortification were applied in the defense of Ticonderoga in July, 1777.
Mount Defiance: Witness to History Tours Oh, the stories this graceful hill overlooking Fort Ticonderoga could tell! As Fort Ticonderoga relives 1777, discover the unique tactical role of Mount Defiance in the story of this decisive campaign fought for our independence.
About Fort Ticonderoga:
Welcoming visitors since 1909, Fort Ticonderoga preserves North America’s largest 18th-century artillery collection, 2,000 acres of historic landscape on Lake Champlain, and Carillon Battlefield, and the largest series of untouched Revolutionary War era earthworks surviving in America. As a multi-day destination and the premier place to learn more about our nation’s earliest years and America’s military heritage, Fort Ticonderoga engages more than 75,000 visitors each year with an economic impact of more than $12 million annually and offers programs, historic interpretation, boat cruises, tours, demonstrations, and exhibits throughout the year, and is open for daily visitation May through October. Tickets are buy-one-day get the next day FREE. Fort Ticonderoga is supported in part through generous donations and with some general operating support made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts. © The Fort Ticonderoga Association. 2022 All Rights Reserved.