REAL TIME REVOLUTION® Living History Event: Emissaries to Canada
Fort Ticonderoga invites the public and media to “Emissaries to Canada,” an immersive one-day Winter Quarters living history event on Saturday, April 11, 2026, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. As part of the REAL TIME REVOLUTION® experience, this program captures a pivotal moment in 1776: Benjamin Franklin’s congressional mission to Montreal in a high stakes attempt to unite Canadians with the American cause.
“This REAL TIME REVOLUTION® event shows that defeat in the north wasn’t a foregone conclusion, as the legendary Benjamin Franklin embraced Canadians as allies,” said Beth L. Hill, Fort Ticonderoga President and CEO. “Our innovative living history programs show the contingency of the American Revolution, reminding us that the events of each day could have led to radically different outcomes.”
Visitors to the event will step directly into the tenuous spring of 1776 as the Continental Congress’s special delegation arrives at the fort amid their long journey from New York City. Through engaging vignettes, guests can meet the Maryland members of this delegation and discover the strategic reasons they were selected to appeal to French Canadians. The experience extends into the officers’ quarters, where Major-General Philip Schuyler entertains his distinguished guests with the foods, spirits, and luxuries befitting American gentlemen of the era.
Beyond the political diplomacy, the event highlights the massive logistical effort required to sustain the Revolution. Attendees will witness the power of oxen teams hauling supplies between Lake George and Lake Champlain and hear the low rumble of heavy cannons being readied for the journey toward Quebec. The day also honors the “human story” of the campaign, focusing on the essential service of the women who served as laundresses and nurses—whose labor mending shirts and bedding was vital to the health and survival of soldiers marching north.
