Ben Franklin's World 436 Fort Ticonderoga & Henry Knox's Noble Train of Artillery
62 snips
Mar 10, 2026 Matthew Cagle, curator and historian at Fort Ticonderoga with a PhD in material culture studies, guides a brisk tour of the fort's French origins and its role in 18th-century warfare. He traces the chaotic 1775 capture, the logistics of hauling sixty tons of artillery through winter, and how those guns forced the British from Boston. Visit and research resources are also highlighted.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
British Neglect Left Ticonderoga Dilapidated
- After 1759 the British partly improved Ticonderoga but prioritized Crown Point, leaving Ticonderoga neglected and partially ruined by 1774.
- Reports noted crumbling masonry and garrisons sometimes as small as a handful of men.
Allen And Arnold's Rival Capture
- Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold led separate unauthorized expeditions to seize Ticonderoga for its artillery immediately after Lexington and Concord.
- Their simultaneous, competing commissions created command disputes and political headaches for Congress and local committees.
Quick Capture Yielded Massive Ordnance
- The May 10, 1775 capture of Ticonderoga was swift with minimal resistance, yielding nearly 200 cannons between Ticonderoga and Crown Point.
- The operation's optics far outweighed the small-scale actual fight and revealed abundant ordnance for the Americans.