Fort Ticonderoga presents a Virtual Living History Event on January 30, 2021 as part of its Digital Campaign – an exciting virtual experience featuring interactive programming, engaging lectures series, and creative at-home educational activities and resources. 
This virtual event will highlight American provincial soldiers serving with the British Army at Ticonderoga, continuing their construction work at the close of the 1759 campaign. A fleet on Lake Champlain and Fort Ticonderoga itself represent the handiwork of these early citizen soldiers who brought their trades skills to Fort Ticonderoga for the eventual fall of French Canada in 1760.
“While British and provincial soldiers captured Ticonderoga and Crown Point by the start of August, the labor to secure this whole region kept British and American soldiers working into the winter,” said Stuart Lilie, Fort Ticonderoga VP of Public History. “During five individual programs on January 30th, this virtual living history event showcases how American provincial soldiers endured challenging weather, setting the stage for the successful final push into French Canada the following year.”
“Through the Center for Digital History, we are able to continue providing viewers and supporters from across the globe unforgettable experiences,” said Beth L Hill, Fort Ticonderoga President & CEO. “Our commitment to bringing the dramatic and real stories of our past to life through educational programs, such as the A Day Longer in the Field Virtual Living History Event, is an opportunity to share with our visitors the importance of Ticonderoga in the founding of America.”
All programs are FREE and will be featured on Facebook starting at the listed times:
11:00 am — Timber!
In the fall and winter of 1759, the British Army worked to rebuild Fort Ticonderoga. Watch each swing of the axe and each pass of the saw as New England soldiers gather the needed timber to rebuild the fort.
1:00 pm — The Long Haul with Oxen
Witness the power of oxen! See Red Devon Oxen, a common 18th century New England breed, in action as they haul logs from the woods just like in 1759.
2:00 pm — Hewing Beams
Watch as provincial soldiers snap a line and carefully cut with their axes to hew round logs into usable square beams.
3:00 pm — Framing British Ticonderoga
In 1759, skilled carpenters among provincial soldiers carefully cut joints to connect hewn timber into the frames of new buildings. Watch as we peg in-place mortise and tenon joints, creating a timber frame.
4:00 pm — “A road to be marked and cut…may be come known to and frequented by the people of New England”
General Jeffrey Amherst agreed to let New England provincial soldiers return home at the end of 1759 on the condition that they built a road to get there. Discover how this military road over the Green Mountains set the stage for Vermont, the Revolutionary War in the Champlain Valley, and remains a part of our geography today.
As we continue adding to our Digital Campaign, be sure to visit fortticonderoga.org and our social media accounts for more exciting live videos, special programs, lectures series, and educational at-home activities that bring history to life!
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 70,000 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. 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 with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.