Fort Ticonderoga

This Memorial Day, Fort Ticonderoga invites visitors to do more than remember — to truly understand what was sacrificed. As part of the America 250 commemoration and Fort Ticonderoga’s groundbreaking REAL TIME REVOLUTION®, visitors will step inside the Continental Army of May 1776 — experiencing their weapons, rations, music, and daily struggle — and witness firsthand what those soldiers believed they were fighting and dying for. Living history programs and immersive demonstrations run throughout Saturday and Sunday, May 23–24, 2026, 9:30am–5pm.

In May 1776, dozens of patriots who had seized Fort Ticonderoga the year before became thousands — an army trying to hold the line for liberty that was far from won. This Memorial Day, we want visitors to feel the weight of that moment: the muskets, the cannon, the music, the labor, and the extraordinary belief that what they were doing mattered. That is what we owe them.

LEARN MORE: https://fortticonderoga.org/news/where-the-revolution-was-won-honor-the-fallen-at-fort-ticonderogas-memorial-day-weekend-may-23-24-2026/

Fort Ticonderoga is thrilled to announce the appointment of Dr. Joseph Stoltz as Senior Director of Education. An accomplished historian and educator, Dr. Stoltz joins the leadership team during a transformative era for the historic site as it expands its national reach during 250th-anniversary commemorations.

In this role, Dr. Stoltz will lead a growing department dedicated to creating innovative and engaging content for students, educators, multi-generational audiences, and lifelong learners. He will leverage Fort Ticonderoga’s unparalleled resources—including its extensive museum collection, defining history, and highly acclaimed interpretive programs—to direct an expanded education department engaging learners of all ages.

"Dr. Stoltz is an exceptional addition to our leadership team, bringing a deep mastery of military history and a career defined by rich academic and public history experience," said Beth L. Hill, President and CEO of Fort Ticonderoga. "We have already expanded our affiliate K-12 school reach to more than 1,400 schools across all 50 states. Under Dr. Stoltz’s leadership, we are committed to reaching more than 10,000 schools over the next few years, ensuring that the history of our nation’s founding is accessible to every classroom in America."

READ MORE: https://fortticonderoga.org/news/fort-ticonderoga-appoints-dr-joseph-stoltz-as-senior-director-of-education-to-lead-national-education-expansion/

250 years ago today—May 10, 1776—most of the 4th Pennsylvania Battalion was finally fully armed, clothed, and in the field. Five of the companies were serving on Long Island, strengthening the area’s defenses; the other three were on their way north to reinforce the struggling American army in Canada. The battalion’s quartermaster John Harper was still back home in Chester County, PA, though, and he had more work to do before joining them in the field.

Before the war, the roughly 40-year-old Harper had spent his life in Chester County, where he worked as a farmer, a tailor, and keeper of a public house. At the start of 1776 he added “quartermaster” to his list of job titles. As quartermaster, he coordinated the outfitting of the new battalion, receiving and distributing clothing and other military supplies. As companies became ready to march, Harper was also involved in coordinating their travel.

On May 10, 1775, Harper paid 27 pounds, 13 shillings, 5 pence to Aaron Ashbridge Jr. “for Transporting two companeyes to Trentown”, as well as renting barracks in Trenton, NJ. Ashbridge was a “waterman” in Chester County, so his work likely involved transporting the companies by water up the Delaware River. Travel by waterways was often quicker and more efficient than relying on eighteenth-century roads.

Interestingly, while Ashbridge was willing to accept work transporting the Continental Army in early 1776, his loyalties shifted as the war went on. In July 1778, his name was included on a list of Pennsylvanians “who it is said have joined the Armies of the Enemy” and were called to stand trial for treason. He was later proclaimed a traitor, although a 1783 list records him as “discharged”. Harper, on the other hand, stayed loyal to the Continental Congress. By late May he left Pennsylvania at last en route to join his battalion, and he served in the Continental Army as ensign, lieutenant, adjutant, and quartermaster until 1783.

Learn about this receipt (object ID 1994.62.11) on the Ticonderoga Online Collections database: https://fortticonderoga.catalogaccess.com/archives/29894

The Revolutionary War was also a civil war. Explore how in our newest video!

Thousands of Americans, including recent immigrants and long-established families, remained loyal to King George III during the American Revolution. Many Loyalists faced intimidation and violence, and some fled their homes to seek safety behind British lines. The British organized many of these refugees and volunteers into Provincial units, raised in America for wartime service alongside regular British troops. As many as 50,000 men served in these units. They campaigned in almost every theater of the war, from Canada to the Gulf Coast, sometimes fighting against neighbors and relatives. Their experiences complicate the familiar story of a unified drive for independence.

Explore the objects that shed light on the global conflict of the American Revolution in Fort Ticonderoga`s newest exhibit in the A Revolutionary Anthology series-- Revolutionary Possibilities! And be sure to see these incredible objects in person in our NEW exhibit, A Revolutionary Anthology: Revolutionary Possibilities, open now!

Watch the video now at our link in bio!

#america250 #americanrevolution #REALTIMEREVOLUTION #realtimerevolution

On May 3, 1776—250 years ago today—the sergeants of Captain Persifor Frazer’s company made their first entry in a new orderly book. Their 4th Pennsylvania Battalion had been authorized on January 5, nearly four months before. The battalion’s officers had spent those months working to recruit men and supply them with all they needed for service. The process was slower for Frazer’s company than some of the others; three companies had marched for Canada by late February, but Frazer and his men were still in Pennsylvania as of April 8. By early May, though, they were in camp at Long Island, finally ready to serve.

Three of the sergeants of Frazer’s company signed the first page of the book. Sergeant Edward Verner started things off, writing in large and ornate letters, “An orderly Book of Capt. Frazers Company Kept by Edwd. Verner.” Two other sergeants added their own, much smaller signatures to the page, Daniel Harris and Evan James, and one of them wrote, “an orderly Book kept by the serjeants of Capt. Frazers Company.” This additional inscription proved to be more accurate than Verner’s title. The entries that follow, dating from May through August, are written in at least three different hands.

The May 3 entry contains a wide variety of orders. Several pertain to keeping things clean, with one stating, “Cleanness and well dressd is a great help to the health of a Soldier”. “Necessary Houses” were ordered to be built to keep human waste confined to one area: “any Soldier that should be found to Make any Nastiness anywhere else about the Camp shall be severely Punished.” The streets were to be swept daily, and tents were to be opened and aired out. Other orders pertained to roll calls, officers of the day, and camp business: “No beating of Drums [or] fife plays in the Camp will be allowd Except the ordinances. The Drummers & fifers must Exercise themselves Every Day Near the Waterside and not in camp.”

See this orderly book for yourself in The Archaeology of Independence exhibit in the Mars Education Center! Or learn more about it (object ID MS.7200) on the Ticonderoga Online Collections database: https://fortticonderoga.catalogaccess.com/archives/30799