Capture of Fort Ticonderoga

Capture of Fort Ticonderoga
Part of the American Revolutionary War
An 1875 idealized depiction of Ethan Allen demanding the fort's surrender
Date May 10, 1775 Location Ticonderoga, Essex County, New York 43°50′29″N 73°23′17″W / 43.84139°N 73.38806°W / 43.84139; -73.38806Coordinates: 43°50′29″N 73°23′17″W / 43.84139°N 73.38806°W / 43.84139; -73.38806 Result Ticonderoga and Crown Point captured by New England militia
Belligerents
Green Mountain Boys militia of the Connecticut Colony militia of the Province of Massachusetts Bay	Great Britain 26th Regiment of Foot
Commanders and leaders
Ethan Allen Benedict Arnold	William Delaplace
Strength
83 at Ticonderoga 50 at Crown Point 35 at Saint-Jean	48 at Ticonderoga 9 at Crown Point 21 at Saint-Jean
Casualties and losses
1 captured near Fort Saint-Jean 1 wounded at Ticonderoga	All captured

1 captured near Fort Saint-Jean

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 later 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.

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