Fort Ticonderoga honors American Veterans with an exhibit open only on November 10, 2018. This exhibit will display the knapsack and accompanying note carried by Connecticut soldier, Benjamin Warner, during his service with the Continental Army and is considered one of the rarest and most fragile artifacts to survive from the Revolutionary War. As a veteran of some of the most difficult campaigns of the Revolution, Warner preserved his pack with a note to his children to keep it for posterity as a humble but lasting reminder of the sacrifices made to achieve independence and liberty.
“The ability to enhance living history with rare objects from everyday soldiers such as this exceedingly rare knapsack and a handwritten note is what makes Fort Ticonderoga best-in-class for its cultural heritage and as an international tourist destination,” said Beth Hill, Fort Ticonderoga’s President & CEO.
This one-time exhibit will be on display as part of a living history event at Fort Ticonderoga. Visitors will explore how British sailors and soldiers prepared for a campaign to be launched from Ticonderoga in the fall of 1781. Living history demonstrations throughout the day will focus on the range of people that fought for and supported the British Empire and their different roles in this last active campaign in the Champlain Valley of the Revolutionary War.
Highlighted programming throughout the day brings to life the technical skill of British forces and the many complicated mechanisms and practices used. Examine original British cannon in the Fort Ticonderoga collection to understand the math, science, and art of their time. Discover how sailors used ropes, levers, pulleys, and other simple machines to move heavy cannon and supplies to and from ships. Watch as oxen haul boats, supplies, and the weapons of war. Meet loyalist refugees from the nascent United States seeking security within British territory. Grapple with the same questions Americans did 237 years ago when British forces occupied Ticonderoga. Will the British Army stay at Ticonderoga for long? Will they move further into New York, or retreat back north?
Admission to the event is $12 for the general public and free to Veterans, Fort Ticonderoga Members, Ambassador Pass holders, and children age four and under. For more information, visit www.fortticonderoga.org or call 518-585-2821.
America’s Fort is a registered trademark of the Fort Ticonderoga Association.
Fort Ticonderoga: America’s Fort™
The Fort Ticonderoga Association is an independent nonprofit educational organization and museum, which serves its mission to ensure that present and future generations learn from the struggles, sacrifices, and victories that shaped the nations of North America and changed world history. It serves this mission by preserving and enhancing its historic structures, collections, gardens and landscapes; and educating the public as it learns about the history of Fort Ticonderoga. Welcoming visitors since 1909, it preserves North America’s largest 18th-century artillery collection, 2000 acres of historic landscape on Lake Champlain, and Carillon Battlefield, and the largest series of untouched 18th-century earthworks surviving in America. Fort Ticonderoga engages more than 75,000 visitors each year 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 accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and pursues its vision to be one of the premier cultural destinations in North America. Visit www.FortTiconderoga.org for a full list of ongoing programs or call 518-585-2821. Fort Ticonderoga is located at 102 Fort Ti Road, Ticonderoga, New York.
Photo: Copyright Fort Ticonderoga, photo credit Gavin Ashworth.