page_title: Fort Ticonderoga
section_title: One last attack
hierarchical_section_title: Fort Ticonderoga / Military history / One last attack
caption_attribution_description: The scene of the surrender of the British General John Burgoyne at Saratoga, on October 17, 1777, was a turning point in the American Revolutionary War that prevented the British from dividing New England from the rest of the colonies. The central figure is the American General Horatio Gates, who refused to take the sword offered by General Burgoyne, and, treating him as a gentleman, invites him into his tent. All of the figures in the scene are portraits of specific officers. Trumbull planned this outdoor scene to contrast with the Declaration of Independence beside it.John Trumbull (1756–1843) was born in Connecticut, the son of the governor. After graduating from Harvard University, he served in the Continental Army under General Washington. He studied painting with Benjamin West in London and focused on history painting. Major figures in the painting (from left to right, beginning with mounted officer): American Captain Seymour of Connecticut (mounted) American Colonel Scammel of New Hampshire (in blue) British Major General William Phillips (British Army officer) (in red) British Lieutenant General John Burgoyne (in red) American Major General Horatio Gates (in blue) American Colonel Daniel Morgan (in white) A full key is available here. The dimensions of this oil painting on canvas are 365.76 cm by 548.64 cm (144.00 in by 216.00 in).
context_page_description: Fort Ticonderoga, formerly Fort Carillon, is a large 18th-century star fort built by the French at a narrows near the south end of Lake Champlain, in northern New York, in the United States. It was constructed by Canadian-born French military engineer Michel Chartier de Lotbinière, Marquis de Lotbinière between October 1755 and 1757, during the action in the "North American theater" of the Seven Years' War, often referred to in the US as the French and Indian War. The fort was of strategic importance during the 18th-century colonial conflicts between Great Britain and France, and again played an important role during the Revolutionary War.
  The site controlled a river portage alongside the mouth of the rapids-infested La Chute River, in the 3.5 miles between Lake Champlain and Lake George. It was thus strategically placed for the competition over trade routes between the British-controlled Hudson River Valley and the French-controlled Saint Lawrence River Valley.
  The terrain amplified the importance of the site. Both lakes were long and narrow and oriented north–south, as were the many ridge lines of the Appalachian Mountains, which extended as far south as Georgia.
context_section_description: Following the British capture of Ticonderoga, it and the surrounding defenses were garrisoned by 700 British and Hessian troops under the command of Brigadier General Henry Watson Powell.  Most of these forces were on Mount Independence, with only 100 each at Fort Ticonderoga and a blockhouse they were constructing on top of Mount Defiance.  George Washington sent General Benjamin Lincoln into Vermont to "divide and distract the enemy".  Aware that the British were housing American prisoners in the area, Lincoln decided to test the British defenses.  On September 13, he sent 500 men to Skenesboro, which they found the British had abandoned, and 500 each against the defenses on either side of the lake at Ticonderoga.  Colonel John Brown led the troops on the west side, with instructions to release prisoners if possible, and attack the fort if it seemed feasible.
  Early on September 18, Brown's troops surprised a British contingent holding some prisoners near the Lake George landing, while a detachment of his troops sneaked up Mount Defiance, and captured most of the sleeping construction crew.  Brown and his men then moved down the portage trail toward the fort, surprising more troops and releasing prisoners along the way.  The fort's occupants were unaware of the action until Brown's men and British troops occupying the old French lines skirmished.  At this point Brown's men dragged two captured six-pound guns up to the lines, and began firing on the fort.  The men who had captured Mount Defiance began firing a twelve-pounder from that site.  The column that was to attack Mount Independence was delayed, and its numerous defenders were alerted to the action at the fort below before the attack on their position began.  Their musket fire, as well as grapeshot fired from ships anchored nearby, intimidated the Americans sufficiently that they never launched an assault on the defensive positions on Mount Independence. A stalemate persisted, with regular exchanges of cannon fire, until September 21, when 100 Hessians, returning from the Mohawk Valley to support Burgoyne, arrived on the scene to provide reinforcement to the besieged fort.
  Brown eventually sent a truce party to the fort to open negotiations; the party was fired on, and three of its five members were killed.  Brown, realizing that the weaponry they had was insufficient to take the fort, decided to withdraw.  Destroying many bateaux and seizing a ship on Lake George, he set off to annoy British positions on that lake.  His action resulted in the freeing of 118 Americans and the capture of 293 British troops, while suffering fewer than ten casualties.
caption: John Trumbull's depiction of the Surrender of General Burgoyne at Saratoga
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