Fort Ticonderoga

Today we celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States Army.

Video available on our YouTube Channel @FortTiconderogaNY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71iHVKejspo

#armybday #Army250 #Goarmy250 #usarmy

Regional leaders gathered yesterday at Fort Ticonderoga to celebrate the 250th of the Northern Department as part of America’s national Semiquincentennial. A NEW America 250th heritage tourism trail features the Northern Department of the American Revolution and includes 18 historic destinations and museums across New York, Vermont, Quebec, and tribal nations.

From the rivers, lakes, and mountains between Saratoga and Montreal, a defining chapter of the American Revolution was written. Today, the Northern Department initiative, inspired by this legacy, invites you to explore our historic sites and museums. As America commemorates its 250th anniversary, discover the enduring spirit of the War for Independence right here where it happened.

The Northern Department is featured in a NEW video production available across social media channels during the 250th commemorative period, which will place the region at the center of the conflict that shaped our nation. A new interactive website connects historic destinations and museums to the American Revolution. Additionally, Northern Department brochures are available throughout the region.

🎥 WATCH NOW! Link in stories ⬆️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ftou31rylnM

#America250 #FortTiconderoga #Northerndepartment #RevolutionaryWar

On this day 10 years ago, our tour boat the Carillon arrived at Fort Ticonderoga, to begin daily cruises of the historic waters of Lake Champlain. This photo is crossing the Crown Point bridge on the last leg of that journey in 2015. Celebrate our 10th anniversary season of the Carillon with your own cruise in 2025!
https://fortticonderoga.org/experience/boat-tours-champlain/

In May 1775, Connecticut chose to release Katherine and Mary Ann Margaret Skene, the daughters of British officer and Loyalist Philip Skene. The sisters, who were captured when American forces took their father’s settlement at Skenesborough, were sent to Montreal as noncombatants. 250 years ago today—June 10, 1775—the Continental Congress had to decide what to do with a more important prisoner: Philip Skene himself.

When Skenesborough was captured, Skene had been at sea returning from England, where he had been lobbying for a governorship over the posts in the Champlain Valley near his estates. He received an appointment as Lieutenant Governor of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, as well as a commission as Inspector and Surveyor of His Majesty’s Woods with an expansive purview as far as the Great Lakes, but war interrupted his plans. As soon as Skene’s ship landed in Philadelphia, he was taken into custody by the Continental Congress and kept in “Confinement Under the Custody of Centries with fixed Bayonets, and in a Guard Room”.

While Skene’s daughters were not politically active and could be safely sent to Canada, matters with Skene were different. As a lieutenant colonel in the British Army and with wide new authority along Lake Champlain, he was deeply distrusted by Continental officials. However, as an officer and a gentleman, Congress trusted Skene to keep his word of honor if offered a limited level of freedom. Congress resolved on June 10 “That Governor Skene be released from his present confinement and suffered to go at large anywhere within Eight Miles of the City… on his Parole of Honor.”

While giving Skene some freedom of movement seemed reasonable on June 10, the situation in America was changing quickly. Skene’s freedom would not last. In a note at the bottom of this copy of the resolution, Skene adds, “after the Affair at Bunkers Hill I was sent under an Escort of 700 men, a Prisoner to New York and from thence to Hartford in Connecticut”. He would remain a prisoner in Connecticut for over a year.

View the resolution (MS.7184.10) on the Ticonderoga Online Collections database: https://fortticonderoga.catalogaccess.com/archives/30815

During narrated boat tours aboard the Carillon, discover some of the most archaeologically rich waters in North America while surrounded by breathtaking lake views, commanding mountains, and the majestic fort.

Sit back and relax with a regional beer, wine, or cider, and allow our friendly and knowledgeable staff to narrate Ticonderoga’s epic story as one of North America’s most strategic strongholds.

Boat tours run Tuesday-Sunday through October 17. The 60-foot boat is available for daily tours, field trips, History Happy Hour cruises, and private charters. A selection of regional beer and cider, wine, soft drinks, water, and snacks are available for purchase on board. Tickets for the boat cruise are available online at www.fortticonderoga.org or can be purchased on-site, as available. Tours are available rain or shine.