Fort Ticonderoga, a museum, major cultural destination, and National Historic Landmark, has been awarded a $147,151 Preservation Planning Grant from the American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP), National Park Service for the survey of the American encampment on Liberty Hill.
As American forces retreated from their disastrous invasion of Canada and arrived at Ticonderoga in July 1776, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York troops took up residence to the east of the old French Lines of the Carillon Battlefield, where they began to rebuild the crumbling earthworks. The massive camp would include semi-permanent huts of board, log, and sod housing thousands of soldiers as well as many women and children. It was in this spot that General Arthur St. Clair first read the Declaration of Independence to the Continental Army on July 28, 1776. The soldiers renamed the position “Liberty Hill.”
“We are grateful to the American Battlefield Protection Program for their support in the first ever archaeological survey and investigation of the encampment on Liberty Hill,” said Margaret Staudter, Fort Ticonderoga Director of Archaeology. “As our nation nears the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, this project will enhance our understanding of a key moment in Fort Ticonderoga’s history and help create responsible access to this important site of American Independence.”
“Fort Ticonderoga’s historic landscape includes the most intact Revolutionary War earthworks that exist today in America,” said Beth L. Hill, Fort Ticonderoga President and CEO. “Uncovering Liberty Hill’s story through this vital grant funded project made possible through the American Battlefield Protection Program will enable a deeper understanding of the sites history, expanded interpretive and educational opportunities, and increased visitor access on a Liberty Hill battlefield trail.”
The “Uncovering Liberty Hill” project will develop a comprehensive historical analysis of Liberty Hill and explore the extent and level of preservation of the American encampment. Fort Ticonderoga will partner with the Advanced Metal Detecting for the Archaeologist (AMDA) as part of the museum’s commitment to creating educational opportunities in conjunction with the archaeology program.
About Fort Ticonderoga
Welcoming visitors since 1909, Fort Ticonderoga is a historic site, museum, center of learning and major cultural destination. Fort Ticonderoga engages more than 70,000 visitors each year on site 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 owned and operated by The Fort Ticonderoga Association, a non-profit educational organization which serves its mission to preserve, educate and provoke an active discussion about the past and its importance to present and future generations. Fort Ticonderoga reaches more than 20 million people through its digital outreach each year through its Center for Digital History and is supported in part through generous donations and with some general operating support made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts. To view Fort Ticonderoga’s electronic press kit, click here. © The Fort Ticonderoga Association. 2023 All Rights Reserved.
Photo: John Trumbull’s August 1776 map recorded the extensive American camps on Liberty Hill, just east of the old French Lines. Photo credit: Beinecke Rare Books & Manuscript Library. Yale University.