Capture of Fort Ticonderoga The Capture of Fort Ticonderoga occurred during the American Revolutionary War on May 10 , 1775 , when a small force of Green Mountain Boys led by Ethan Allen and Colonel Benedict Arnold overcame a small British garrison at the fort and looted the personal belongings of the garrison . Cannons and other armaments from the fort were transported to Boston and used to fortify Dorchester Heights and break the standoff at the Siege of Boston . After seizing Ticonderoga , a small detachment captured the nearby Fort Crown Point on May 11 . Seven days later , Arnold and 50 men boldly raided Fort Saint - Jean on the Richelieu River in southern Quebec , seizing military supplies , cannons , and the largest military vessel on Lake Champlain . Although the scope of this military action was relatively minor , it had significant strategic importance . It impeded communication between northern and southern units of the British Army , and gave the nascent Continental Army a staging ground for the invasion of Quebec later in 1775 . It also involved two larger - than - life personalities in Allen and Arnold , each of whom sought to gain as much credit and honor as possible for these events . Most significantly , artillery from Ticonderoga would be dragged across Massachusetts to the heights commanding Boston harbor , forcing the British to withdraw from that city . Background . In 1775 , Fort Ticonderoga ' s location did not appear to be as strategically important as it had been in the French and Indian War , when the French famously defended it against a much larger British force in the 1758 Battle of Carillon , and when the British captured it in 1759 . After the 1763 Treaty of Paris , in which the French ceded their North American territories to the British , the fort was no longer on the frontier of two great empires , guarding the principal waterway between them . The French had blown up the fort ' s powder magazine when they abandoned the fort , and it had fallen further into disrepair since then . In 1775 it was garrisoned by only a small detachment of the 26th Regiment of Foot , consisting of two officers and forty - six men , with many of them " invalids " ( soldiers with limited duties because of disability or illness ) . Twenty - five women and children lived there as well . Because of its former significance , Fort Ticonderoga still had a high reputation as the " gateway to the continent " or the " Gibraltar of America " , but in 1775 it was , according to historian Christopher Ward , " more like a backwoods village than a fort . " Even before shooting started in the American Revolutionary War , American Patriots were concerned about Fort Ticonderoga . The fort was a valuable asset for several reasons . Within its walls was a collection of heavy artillery including cannon s , howitzer s , and mortar s , armaments that the Americans had in short supply . The fort was situated on the shores of Lake Champlain , a strategically important route between the rebellious Thirteen Colonies and the British - controlled northern provinces . British forces placed there would expose the colonial forces in Boston to attack from the rear . After the war began with the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19 , 1775 , the British General Thomas Gage realized the fort would require fortification , and several colonists had the idea of capturing the fort . Gage , writing from the besieged city of Boston following Lexington and Concord , instructed Quebec ' s governor , General Guy Carleton , to rehabilitate and refortify the forts at Ticonderoga and Crown Point . Carleton did not receive this letter until May 19 , well after the fort had been captured . Benedict Arnold had frequently traveled through the area around the fort , and was familiar with its condition , manning , and armaments . En route to Boston following news of the events of April 19 , he mentioned the fort and its condition to members of Silas Deane ' s militia . The Connecticut Committee of Correspondence acted on this information ; money was " borrowed " from the provincial coffers and recruiters were sent into northwestern Connecticut , western Massachusetts , and the New Hampshire Grants ( now Vermont ) to raise volunteers for an attack on the fort . John Brown , an American spy from Pittsfield , Massachusetts who had carried correspondence between revolutionary committees in the Boston area and Patriot supporters in Montreal , was well aware of the fort and its strategic value . Ethan Allen and other Patriots in the disputed New Hampshire Grants territory also recognized the fort ' s value , as it played a role in the dispute over that area between New York and New Hampshire . Whether either took or instigated action prior to the Connecticut Colony ' s recruitment efforts is unclear . Brown had notified the Massachusetts in March of his opinion that Ticonderoga " must be seized as soon as possible should hostilities be committed by the King ' s Troops . " When Arnold arrived outside Boston , he told the Massachusetts Committee of Safety about the cannons and other military equipment at the lightly defended fort . On May 3 , the Committee gave Arnold a colonel ' s commission and authorized him to command a " secret mission " , which was to capture the fort . He was issued £100 , some gunpowder , ammunition , and horses , and instructed to recruit up to 400 men , march on the fort , and ship back to Massachusetts anything he thought useful . Colonial forces assemble . Arnold departed immediately after receiving his instructions . He was accompanied by two captains , Eleazer Oswald and Jonathan Brown , who were charged with recruiting the necessary men . Arnold reached the border between Massachusetts and the Grants on May 6 , where he learned of the recruitment efforts of the Connecticut Committee , and that Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys were already on their way north . Riding furiously northward ( his horse was subsequently destroyed ) , he reached Allen ' s headquarters in Bennington the next day . Upon arrival , Arnold was told that Allen was in Castleton , miles to the north , awaiting supplies and more men . He was also warned that , although Allen ' s effort had no official sanction , his men were unlikely to serve under anyone else . Leaving early the next day , Arnold arrived in Castleton in time to join a war council , where he made a case to lead the expedition based on his formal authorization to act from the Massachusetts Committee . The force that Allen had assembled in Castleton included about 100 Green Mountain Boys , about 40 men raised by James Easton and John Brown at Pittsfield , and an additional 20 men from Connecticut . Allen was elected colonel , with Easton and Seth Warner as his lieutenants . When Arnold arrived on the scene , Samuel Herrick had already been sent to Skenesboro and Asa Douglas to Panton with detachments to secure boats . Captain Noah Phelps , a member of the " Committee of War for the Expedition against Ticonderoga and Crown Point " , had reconnoitered the fort disguised as a peddler seeking a shave . He saw that the fort walls were dilapidated , learned from the garrison commander that the soldiers ' gunpowder was wet , and that they expected reinforcements at any time . He reported this intelligence to Allen , following which they planned a dawn raid . Many of the Green Mountain Boys objected to Arnold ' s wish to command , insisting that they would go home rather than serve under anyone other than Ethan Allen . Arnold and Allen worked out an agreement , but no documented evidence exists concerning the deal . According to Arnold , he was given joint command of the operation . Some historians have supported Arnold ' s contention , while others suggest he was merely given the right to march next to Allen . Capture of the fort . By 11 : 30 pm on May 9 , the men had assembled at Hand ' s Cove ( in what is now Shoreham , Vermont ) and were ready to cross the lake to Ticonderoga . However , boats did not arrive until 1 : 30 am , and they were inadequate to carry the whole force . Eighty - three of the Green Mountain Boys made the first crossing with Arnold and Allen , and Douglas went back for the rest . As dawn approached , Allen and Arnold became fearful of losing the element of surprise , so they decided to attack with the men at hand . The only sentry on duty at the south gate fled his post after his musket misfired , and the Americans rushed into the fort . The Patriots then roused the small number of sleeping troops at gunpoint , and began confiscating their weapons . Allen , Arnold , and a few other men charged up the stairs toward the officers ' quarters . Lieutenant Jocelyn Feltham , assistant to Captain William Delaplace , was awakened by the noise , and called to wake the captain . Stalling for time , Feltham demanded to know by what authority the fort was being entered . Allen , who later claimed that he said it to Captain Delaplace , replied , " In the name of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress ! " Delaplace finally emerged from his chambers , fully dressed , and surrendered his sword . No one was killed in the assault . The only injury was to one American , who was slightly injured by a sentry with a bayonet . Eventually , as many as 400 men arrived at the fort , which they plundered for liquor and other provisions . Arnold , whose authority was not recognized by the Green Mountain Boys , was unable to stop the plunder . Frustrated , he retired to the captain ' s quarters to await forces that he had recruited , reporting to the Massachusetts Provincial Congress that Allen and his men were " governing by whim and caprice " at the fort , and that the plan to strip the fort and send armaments to Boston was in peril . When Delaplace protested the seizure of his private liquor stores , Allen issued him a receipt for the stores , which he later submitted to Connecticut for payment . Arnold ' s disputes with Allen and his unruly men were severe enough that there were times when some of Allen ' s men drew weapons . On May 12 , Allen sent the prisoners to Connecticut ' s Governor Jonathan Trumbull with a note saying " I make you a present of a Major , a Captain , and two Lieutenants of the regular Establishment of George the Third . " Arnold busied himself over the next few days with cataloging the military equipment at Ticonderoga and Crown Point , a task made difficult by the fact that walls had collapsed on some of the armaments . Crown Point and the raid on Fort Saint - Jean . Seth Warner sailed a detachment up the lake and captured nearby Fort Crown Point , garrisoned by only nine men . It is widely recorded that this capture occurred on May 10 ; this is attributed to a letter Arnold wrote to the Massachusetts Committee of Safety on May 11 , claiming that an attempt to sail up to Crown Point was frustrated by headwinds . However Warner claimed , in a letter dated May 12 from " Head Quarters , Crown Point " , that he " took possession of this garrison " the day before . It appears likely that , having failed on May 10 , the attempt was repeated the next day with success , as reported in Warner ' s memoir . A small force was also sent to capture Fort George on Lake George , which was held by only two soldiers . Troops recruited by Arnold ' s captains began to arrive , some after seizing Philip Skene ' s schooner " Katherine " and several bateaux at Skenesboro . Arnold rechristened the schooner . The prisoners had reported that the lone British warship on Lake Champlain was at Fort Saint - Jean , on the Richelieu River north of the lake . Arnold , uncertain whether word of Ticonderoga ' s capture had reached Saint - Jean , decided to attempt a raid to capture the ship . He had " Liberty " outfitted with guns , and sailed north with 50 of his men on May 14 . Allen , not wanting Arnold to get the full glory for that capture , followed with some of his men in bateaux , but Arnold ' s small fleet had the advantage of sail , and pulled away from Allen ' s boats . By May 17 , Arnold ' s small fleet was at the northern end of the lake . Seeking intelligence , Arnold sent a man to reconnoiter the situation at Fort Saint - Jean . The scout returned later that day , reporting that the British were aware of the fall of Ticonderoga and Crown Point , and that troops were apparently on the move toward Saint - Jean . Arnold decided to act immediately . Rowing all night , Arnold and 35 of his men brought their bateaux near the fort . After a brief scouting excursion , they surprised the small garrison at the fort , and seized supplies there , along with the , a seventy - ton sloop . Warned by their captives that several companies were on their way from Chambly , they loaded the more valuable supplies and cannons on the " George " , which Arnold renamed the . Boats that they could not take were sunk , and the enlarged fleet returned to Lake Champlain . This activity was observed by Moses Hazen , a retired British officer who lived near the fort . Hazen rode to Montreal to report the action to the local military commander , and then continued on to Quebec City , where he reported the news to General Carleton on May 20 . Major Charles Preston and 140 men were immediately dispatched from Montreal to Saint - Jean in response to Hazen ' s warning . Fifteen miles out on the lake , Arnold ' s fleet met Allen ' s , which was still heading north . After an exchange of celebratory gunfire , Arnold opened his stores to feed Allen ' s men , who had rowed in open boats without provisions . Allen , believing he could seize and hold Fort Saint - Jean , continued north , while Arnold sailed south . Allen arrived at Saint - Jean on May 19 , where he was warned that British troops were approaching by a sympathetic Montreal merchant who had raced ahead of those troops on horseback . Allen , after penning a message for the merchant to deliver to the citizens of Montreal , returned to Ticonderoga on May 21 , leaving Saint - Jean just as the British forces arrived . In their haste to escape the British , three men were left behind ; one was captured , but the other two eventually returned south by land . Aftermath . Ethan Allen and his men eventually drifted away from Ticonderoga , especially once the alcohol began to run out , and Arnold largely controlled affairs from a base at Crown Point . He oversaw the fitting of the two large ships , eventually taking command of " Enterprise " because of a lack of knowledgeable seamen . His men began rebuilding Ticonderoga ' s barracks , and worked to extract armaments from the rubble of the two forts and build gun carriage s for them . Connecticut sent about 1 , 000 men under Colonel Benjamin Hinman to hold Ticonderoga , and New York also began to raise militia to defend Crown Point and Ticonderoga against a possible British attack from the north . When Hinman ' s troops arrived in June , there was once again a clash over leadership . None of the communications to Arnold from the Massachusetts committee indicated that he was to serve under Hinman ; when Hinman attempted to assert authority over Crown Point , Arnold refused to accept it , as Hinman ' s instructions only included Ticonderoga . The Massachusetts committee eventually sent a delegation to Ticonderoga . When they arrived on June 22 they made it clear to Arnold that he was to serve under Hinman . Arnold , after considering for two days , disbanded his command , resigned his commission , and went home , having spent more than £1 , 000 of his own money in the effort to capture the fort . Congress , when it received news of the events , drafted a second letter to the inhabitants of Quebec , which was sent north in June with James Price , another sympathetic Montreal merchant . This letter , and other communications from the New York Congress , combined with the activities of vocal American supporters , stirred up the Quebec population in the summer of 1775 . When news of the fall of Ticonderoga reached England , Lord Dartmouth wrote that it was " very unfortunate ; very unfortunate indeed " . Repercussions in Quebec . News of the capture of Ticonderoga and Crown Point , and especially the raids on Fort Saint - Jean , electrified the Quebec population . Colonel Dudley Templer , in charge of the garrison at Montreal , issued a call on May 19 to raise a militia for defense of the city , and requested Indians living nearby to also take up arms . Only 50 men , mostly French - speaking landowning seigneurs and petty nobility , were raised in and around Montreal , and they were sent to Saint - Jean ; no Indians came to their aid . Templer also prevented merchants sympathetic to the American cause from sending supplies south in response to Allen ' s letter . General Carleton , notified by Hazen of the events on May 20 , immediately ordered the garrisons of Montreal and Trois - Rivières to fortify Saint - Jean . Some troops garrisoned at Quebec were also sent to Saint - Jean . Most of the remaining Quebec troops were dispatched to a variety of other points along the Saint Lawrence , as far west as Oswegatchie , to guard against potential invasion threats . Carleton then traveled to Montreal to oversee the defense of the province from there , leaving the city of Quebec in the hands of Lieutenant Governor Hector Cramahé . Before leaving , Carleton prevailed on Monsignor Jean - Olivier Briand , the Bishop of Quebec , to issue his own call to arms in support of the provincial defense , which was circulated primarily in the areas around Montreal and Trois - Rivières . Later actions near Ticonderoga . In July 1775 , General Philip Schuyler began using the fort as the staging ground for the invasion of Quebec that was launched in late August . In the winter of 1775 – 1776 , Henry Knox directed the transportation of the guns of Ticonderoga to Boston . The guns were placed upon Dorchester Heights overlooking the besieged city and the British ships in the harbor , prompting the British to evacuate their troops and Loyalist supporters from the city in March 1776 . Benedict Arnold again led a fleet of ships at the Battle of Valcour Island , and played other key roles in thwarting Britain ' s attempt to recapture the fort in 1776 . The British did recapture the fort in July 1777 during the Saratoga campaign , but had abandoned it by November after Burgoyne ' s surrender at Saratoga . Broken communications . Although Fort Ticonderoga was not at the time an important military post , its capture had several important results . Rebel control of the area meant that overland communications and supply lines between British forces in Quebec and those in Boston and later New York were severed , so the British military command made an adjustment to their command structure . This break in communication was highlighted by the fact that Arnold , on his way north to Saint - Jean , intercepted a message from Carleton to Gage , detailing the military troop strengths in Quebec . Command of British forces in North America , previously under a single commander , was divided into two commands . General Carleton was given independent command of forces in Quebec and the northern frontier , while General William Howe was appointed Commander - in - Chief of forces along the Atlantic coast , an arrangement that had worked well between Generals Wolfe and Amherst in the French and Indian War . In this war , however , cooperation between the two forces would prove to be problematic and would play a role in the failure of the Saratoga campaign in 1777 , as General Howe apparently abandoned an agreed - upon northern strategy , leaving General John Burgoyne without southern support in that campaign . War of words between Allen and Arnold . Beginning on the day of the fort ' s capture , Allen and Arnold began a war of words , each attempting to garner for himself as much credit for the operation as possible . Arnold , unable to exert any authority over Allen and his men , began to keep a diary of events and actions , which was highly critical and dismissive of Allen . Allen , in the days immediately after the action , also began to work on a memoir . Published several years later ( see Further reading ) , the memoir fails to mention Arnold at all . Allen also wrote several versions of the events , which John Brown and James Easton brought to a variety of Congresses and committees in New York , Connecticut , and Massachusetts . Randall ( 1990 ) claims that Easton took accounts written by both Arnold and Allen to the Massachusetts committee , but conveniently lost Arnold ' s account on the way , ensuring that Allen ' s version , which greatly glorified his role in the affair , would be preferred . Smith ( 1907 ) indicates that it was highly likely that Easton was interested in claiming Arnold ' s command for himself . There was clearly no love lost between Easton and Arnold . Allen and Easton returned to Crown Point on June 10 and called a council of war while Arnold was with the fleet on the lake , a clear breach of military protocol . When Arnold , whose men now dominated the garrison , asserted his authority , Easton insulted Arnold , who responded by challenging Easton to a duel . Arnold later reported , " On refusing to draw like a gentleman , he having a [ sword ] by his side and cases of loaded pistols in his pockets , I kicked him very heartily and ordered him from the Point . "