Fort Ticonderoga’s 2018 “Fort Fever Series” concludes on Sunday, April 15 at 2:00 pm with “Somewhere in France: Stephen Pell’s Great War” presented by Matthew Keagle, Fort Ticonderoga’s Curator. During this program, follow Stephen Pell from his passage across the Atlantic, through his first glimpse of combat, to the injury that ended his military service. The Fort Ticonderoga Museum will be mounting an exciting NEW exhibit this year to explore the impact of World War I on Ticonderoga. During this presentation, get a sneak peek at the contents of the exhibit, plus additional never-before-seen images.
“Stephen’s service took him across a wide swath of France and made him a witness to critical campaigns of the War,” said Matthew Keagle, Curator at Fort Ticonderoga. “Thanks to his own extensive letters as well as other men in his section, we can reconstruct a vivid picture of life at the front for an American volunteer in one of the most decorated units of the First World War.”
For many years Stephen Pell’s service as an ambulance driver in France has been a footnote in the story of Fort Ticonderoga’s restoration. To commemorate the centennial of the First World War, Keagle has undertaken extensive new research into Stephen Pell’s wartime experience. Aided by the cataloging of Stephen’s own collection of letters and photographs, the museum has a much clearer picture of his experience “somewhere in France” between 1917 and 1918.
A major new exhibit at the Mars Education Center opening in May 2018 focuses on “Great Wars: Ticonderoga and World War I.” This new exhibit will explore the lives of the Pell family and Ticonderoga from 1914-1919, as well as the important links between the Seven Years War and World War I. The exhibit will feature paintings, photographs, weapons, uniforms, and other artifacts, many rediscovered, newly restored, and on display for the first time.
Tickets for the Fort Fever program are $12 per person and can be purchased upon arrival; Fort Ticonderoga Members and Ticonderoga Ambassador Pass holders are admitted free of cost. The program will take place in the Mars Education Center.
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Photo: Corporal Stephen Pell, S.S.U. 646, 1918. Fort Ticonderoga Museum, 7002.2.