text: 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 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 . 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 cannons , howitzers , and mortars , armaments that the americans had in short supply . the fort was situated on the shores of lake champlain , a strategically important route between the 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 committee of safety 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 , 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 , 50 miles ( 80 km ) 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 clothed , not with " his breeches in his hand " , as allen would later say ) and surrendered his sword . nobody was killed in the assault . the only injury was to one american , gideon warren , 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 liberty . 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 hms royal george , 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 enterprise . 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 100 miles ( 160 km ) 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 carriages 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 . when congress received news of the events , it 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 . 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