New Blog Series
The Exhibitionist will be an occasional series of blog posts from the office of the Director of Exhibitions. Historical artifacts are loaded with layers of meaning and stories about makers, artists, users, and collectors across generations. Physical exhibits can only tell a part of these stories, here we will try to go further. This series […]
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 […]
Benjamin Warner’s Knapsack
In 1928 Fort Ticonderoga was given the honor of ensuring the preservation of an object that was once commonplace in the American Revolutionary War army, but that today may be a one-of-a-kind object. It is a soldier’s knapsack. This worn artifact may be the only extant example of a knapsack issued to Continental troops in the […]
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 […]
View of the Ruins of Ticonderoga Forts on Lake Champlain
The earliest-known published image of the ruins of Fort Ticonderoga is View of the Ruins of Ticonderoga Forts on Lake Champlain, a line engraving by Gideon Fairman after a sketch by Hugh Reinagle published in Analectic Magazine, Philadelphia, vol. II, no. 4 (April 1818), frontispiece, opp. p. 273. Artist Hugh Reinagle (ca. 1788-1834) probably visited the […]
New Featured Annual: Bupleurum
There’s always something new in the gardens at Fort Ticonderoga. The Discovery Gardens located just outside the walled formal garden are the perfect place to experiment with plants that are not the usual garden center fare. One example is Bupleurum, commonly called Thoroughwax or Hare’s ear. It’s striking chartreuse flower color is reminiscent of Lady’s […]
Grow a Salad Quilt
It’s a real treat to make a trip to the garden with basket in hand to pick fresh greens for a salad. I like to pick enough for just a day or two at a time so the greens are as crisp as possible. Are you planning to grow vegetables this season? Here’s an idea from the King’s Garden that […]
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 […]