Meanwhile, the New England militia forces of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Vermont (the Green Mountain Boys), under the command of Benedict Arnold, seized the strategic post of Fort Ticonderoga and temporarily eliminated British control of Lake Champlain–using a small flotilla of shallow-draft vessels armed with light artillery. Early as May 1775, the sloop "" ushered eighteen men, presumably the Massachusetts militiamen, as marines on the payroll. Later in May, the Connecticut Committee of Public Safety consigned £500 to Arnold, the shipment of payment was "escorted with Eight marines..well spirited and equipped," although they were actually seamen. They are often referred to as the "Original Eight".