Green Mountain Boys The Green Mountain Boys were a militia organization first established in the late 1760s in the territory between the British provinces of New York and New Hampshire , known as the New Hampshire Grants ( which later became the state of Vermont ) . Headed by Ethan Allen and members of his extended family , they were instrumental in resisting New York ' s attempts to control the territory , over which it had won " de jure " control in a territorial dispute with New Hampshire . Some companies served in the American Revolutionary War , including notably when the Green Mountain Boys led by Ethan Allen captured fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain on May 10 , 1775 ; and the invasion of Canada later in 1775 . In early June of 1775 Ethan Allen and his then subordinate , Seth Warner induced the Continental Congress at Philadelphia to create a Continental Army ranger regiment from the then New Hampshire Grants . Having no treasury , the Congress directed that New York ' s revolutionary Congress pay for the newly authorized regiment . In July of 1775 Allen ' s militia was granted support from the New York revolutionary Congress . The Green Mountain Boys disbanded more than a year before Vermont declared its independence from Great Britain " as a separate , free and independent jurisdiction or state . " The remnants of the Green Mountain Boys militia were largely reconstituted as the Green Mountain Continental Rangers . Command of the newly formed regiment passed from Allen to Seth Warner . Allen joined the staff of the Northern Army of New York ' s Major General Philip Schuyler and was given the rank of lieutenant colonel . Under Warner the regiment fought at the battles of Hubbardton and Bennington in 1777 . The regiment was disbanded in 1779 . The Green Mountain Boys mustered again during the War of 1812 , the Civil War , and the Spanish - American War . Today it is the informal name of the Vermont National Guard which comprises both the Army and Air National Guards . Historical unit . The original " Green Mountain Boys " were a militia organized in what is now southwestern Vermont in the decade prior to the American Revolutionary War . They comprised settler s and land speculators who held New Hampshire titles to lands between the Connecticut River and Lake Champlain , an area then known as the New Hampshire Grants , that is now modern Vermont . New York was given legal control of the area by a decision of the British crown and refused to respect the New Hampshire titles and town charters . Although a few towns with New York land titles , notably Brattleboro on the Connecticut River , supported the change , the vast majority of the settlers in the sparsely populated frontier region rejected the authority of New York . With several hundred members , the Green Mountain Boys effectively controlled the area where New Hampshire grants had been issued . They were led by Ethan Allen , his brother Ira Allen , and their cousins Seth Warner and Remember Baker . They were based at the Catamount Tavern in Bennington . By the 1770s , the Green Mountain Boys had become an armed military force and " de facto " government that prevented New York from exercising its authority in the northeast portion of the Province of New York . New York authorities had standing warrants for the arrest of the leaders of the rebellious Vermonters , but were unable to exercise them . New York surveyors and other officials attempting to exercise their authority were prevented from doing so and in some cases were severely beaten , and settlers arriving to clear and work land under New York – issued grants were forced off their land , and sometimes had their possessions destroyed . At the same time , New York sought to extend its authority over the territory . During an event once known as the Westminster massacre , anti - Yorkers occupied the courthouse in Westminster to prevent a New York judge from holding court , and two men were killed in the ensuing standoff . Ethan Allen then went to Westminster with a band of Boys , and organized a convention calling for the territory ' s independence from New York . When the American Revolutionary War started in 1775 , Ethan Allen and a troop of his men , along with Connecticut Colonel Benedict Arnold , marched up to Lake Champlain and captured the strategically important military posts at Fort Ticonderoga , Crown Point , and Fort George , all in New York . The Boys also briefly held St . John ' s in Québec , but retreated on word of arriving British regulars . The Green Mountain Boys later formed the basis of the Vermont militia that selected Seth Warner as its leader . Some of the Green Mountain Boys preferred to stick with Ethan Allen and were captured along with Allen in August 1775 in a bungled attempt to capture the city of Montreal . Some members of this unit were Congressman Matthew Lyon and Lieutenant Benjamin Tucker . Benjamin Tucker joined the British Military during his capture , because of this his name was rebuked by Ethan Allen and his men . Vermont eventually declared itself an independent nation in January 1777 , and organized a government based in Windsor . The army of the Vermont Republic was based upon the Green Mountain Boys . Although Vermont initially supported the American Revolutionary War and sent troops to fight John Burgoyne ' s British invasion from Quebec in battles at Hubbardton and Bennington in 1777 , Vermont eventually adopted a more neutral stance and became a haven for deserter s from both the British and colonial armies . George Washington , who had more than sufficient difficulties with the British , brushed off Congressional demands that he subdue Vermont . During the Haldimand Affair some members of the Green Mountain Boys became involved in secret negotiations with British officials about restoring the Crown ' s rule over the territory . The " Vermont Army " version of the Green Mountain Boys faded away after Vermont joined the United States as the 14th U . S . state in 1791 , although the Green Mountain Boys mustered for the War of 1812 , The Civil War , the Spanish - American War , and following World War I as the Vermont National Guard . Flag . A remnant of a Green Mountain Boys flag , believed to belong to John Stark , is owned by the Bennington Museum . It still exists as one of the few regimental flags from the American Revolution . Although Stark was at the Battle of Bennington and likely flew this flag , the battle has become more commonly associated with the Bennington flag , which is believed to be a 19th - century banner . Vermont National Guard . Today , the Vermont National Guard , composed of the Vermont Army National Guard and Vermont Air National Guard are collectively known as the " Green Mountain Boys " , even though women have served in both branches since the mid - twentieth century . Both units use the original Green Mountain Boys battle flag as their banner .