History isn't always about the grand charge or the heroic last stand. Sometimes, it’s about a bunch of guys realizing they forgot to look at the big hill next to them. That’s basically the 1777 Siege of Fort Ticonderoga in a nutshell. If you grew up in the Northeast, you probably heard about Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys taking the fort "in the name of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress" back in 1775. That’s a great story. It's also not the one that actually mattered for the survival of the American Revolution.
The real drama happened two years later.
By the summer of 1777, the British were tired of the "colonial nuisance." They had a plan. General John Burgoyne—a man who loved fine wine and high-stakes gambling almost as much as he loved military strategy—decided to cut the colonies in half. He wanted to sail down Lake Champlain, take Ticonderoga, and meet up with other British forces in Albany. If he pulled it off, New England would be sliced away from the rest of the colonies like a piece of cake.
It almost worked.
The Gibraltar of the North That Wasn't
For years, everyone called Fort Ticonderoga the "Gibraltar of the North." It sits on a narrow choke point between Lake Champlain and Lake George. If you want to move an army through the wilderness in the 18th century, you need water. Ticonderoga sat right on the highway.
Major General Arthur St. Clair was in charge of the American defense. He had about 3,000 men. On paper, that sounds okay, but the fort was a wreck. It was too big for the number of soldiers he had, and the walls were literally crumbling in places. St. Clair knew he was in trouble, but he expected a traditional siege. He thought the British would walk up to the front door, dig some trenches, and trade cannon fire for a few weeks.
He was wrong.
✨ Don't miss: Taking the Ferry to Williamsburg Brooklyn: What Most People Get Wrong
Burgoyne didn't play by the rules. He looked at a massive, 800-foot crag called Mount Defiance that overlooked the fort. The Americans hadn't fortified it because they thought it was too steep to get a cannon up there. "Nature has made it inaccessible," they said.
British Lieutenant William Twiss disagreed. He spent a few days hacking a path through the brush. On July 5, 1777, the Americans woke up, looked up at the peak of Mount Defiance, and saw British redcoats staring back at them. Even worse? The British had dragged two 12-pounder cannons to the top.
The "Gibraltar of the North" was suddenly a giant target in a shooting gallery.
The Midnight Escape
St. Clair had a choice. He could stay and let his entire army be pulverized or captured, or he could run. He chose to run. Honestly, it was the only smart move he had left, but the American public absolutely hated him for it.
They left in the middle of the night.
Imagine 3,000 soldiers trying to sneak across a floating wooden bridge in total darkness without making a sound. It was going pretty well until a house on the Vermont side of the lake—specifically the quarters of General de Fermoy—suddenly burst into flames. To this day, nobody is 100% sure if it was an accident or if Fermoy was just drunk and careless. Either way, the fire acted like a giant "we are over here" flare.
🔗 Read more: Lava Beds National Monument: What Most People Get Wrong About California's Volcanic Underworld
The British saw the flames, realized the fort was empty, and the chase was on. This led to the Battle of Hubbardton, which was essentially a brutal rearguard action where the Americans fought like hell just to let the rest of the army escape into the woods.
Why This "Failure" Actually Saved the Revolution
You’d think losing the most famous fort in America would be the end of the war. People in Philadelphia were panicked. George Washington was stunned. John Adams famously wrote that they should probably "shoot a general" just to encourage the others.
But here is the weird part: Taking the fort was the worst thing that could have happened to Burgoyne.
- The Garrison Trap: Once Burgoyne took the fort, he had to leave nearly 1,000 of his best soldiers there to guard it. His main army just got smaller.
- The Supply Nightmare: Every mile Burgoyne moved south of Ticonderoga, his supply line got longer and more vulnerable. The Americans didn't just run; they burned every bridge, chopped down every tree across the roads, and salted the earth.
- Overconfidence: Burgoyne thought the war was basically over. He started moving slowly. He brought thirty wagons of personal luggage. He brought his mistress. He let the Americans regroup.
Because St. Clair saved the army instead of letting it die at the Siege of Fort Ticonderoga, those same soldiers were able to fight again a few months later. They eventually surrounded Burgoyne at Saratoga. Without the "failure" at Ticonderoga, there is no victory at Saratoga. And without Saratoga, the French never join the war.
No French? No United States.
Visiting the Site Today
If you go to Fort Ticonderoga today—which is in upstate New York, near the Vermont border—you can actually stand where those British cannons were. They call it the Mount Defiance overlook. When you look down at the fort from there, you realize how terrifying it must have been for those Continental soldiers. You can see every inch of the parade grounds.
💡 You might also like: Road Conditions I40 Tennessee: What You Need to Know Before Hitting the Asphalt
The fort itself is a private museum now, and it’s arguably one of the best-preserved military sites in North America. They do live musket demonstrations and have an incredible collection of 18th-century artillery.
But the real lesson isn't in the stones. It’s in the geography.
What We Get Wrong About the Siege
Most people think the Americans were cowards for leaving. That’s the narrative that followed St. Clair for the rest of his life. He was court-martialed for it (though eventually cleared).
The reality is that Ticonderoga was a "prestige" target. It looked important on a map, but it was a tactical nightmare. The Americans learned that holding a specific piece of ground matters less than keeping your army alive to fight another day.
Key Logistics of the 1777 Campaign
- Distance: Burgoyne was trying to move through over 200 miles of dense wilderness.
- The Cannon Problem: Dragging a 12-pound cannon up an 800-foot hill in the 1770s involved pulleys, dozens of men, and sheer desperation.
- Casualties: During the retreat and the subsequent Battle of Hubbardton, the Americans lost about 300 men (killed or captured), while the British and their Hessian allies lost around 200.
Actionable Insights for History Buffs
If you’re planning to dive deeper into the Siege of Fort Ticonderoga, don't just read the Wikipedia page. The nuance is in the primary sources.
- Read the Court Martial Records: Look up the 1778 proceedings of Arthur St. Clair. It’s a fascinating look at how military leaders justify their "failures" to a public that wants easy victories.
- Check the Topography: Use Google Earth to look at the relationship between Mount Defiance, Mount Hope, and the fort. You’ll see instantly why the fort was a "sitting duck."
- Visit in the "Off-Season": If you go to the site in late autumn, the lack of leaves on the trees gives you a much better sense of the sightlines the British had in 1777.
- Study the "Bateaux": The fort has a massive project dedicated to the colonial-era boats found in the lake. These were the real logistics engines of the siege.
The Siege of Fort Ticonderoga proves that sometimes losing a battle is the only way to win a war. It wasn't about the walls; it was about the people who walked away from them.
To truly understand this event, start by mapping the British route from Quebec down through the Richelieu River. Observe how the narrowness of the Champlain Valley dictated every move. Then, compare the American "loss" at Ticonderoga with the British "loss" at Yorktown—one was a loss of stone, the other a loss of an entire empire. Focus your research on the logistical failures of the British supply chain following the capture of the fort to see how a tactical victory becomes a strategic disaster.