We took the dinghy in and finally found a path through the weeds allowing us
to walk up to Ft Ticonderoga. This is a restoration of the original Ft Ticonderoga. The restoration was begun in 1909 and completed in 1930.
A little history...
The original fort (Ft Carrillon) was constructed by the French in 1755 in this location to cover the waters connecting Lake Champlain and Lake George. These were the only north-south "roads" in the 18th century from Canada to New York.
In 1758, a French force of 3,600 defeated a British invasion force of nearly 16,000 at the Battle of Carillon (French & Indian War). Next year they celebrate the 250th anniversary of this...at least the French do. But, a year later the British seized the fort.
In 1775, the colonists captured the fort from the British in a surprise raid led by Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen and 
the Green Mountain Boys. The capture of the fort was an important victory for the Americans because it had big-gun artillery not available to them in Boston.
Gen George Washington needed firepower to shoot across Boston Harbor at the British ships in the harbor. The colonists, led by Gen Henry Knox stripped the fort of its guns and dragged them in the dead of winter on 42 sleds all the way to Boston. Over 60 tons of cannon were pulled through the forests by men and oxen.
Later in the war, the British took back the fort. They dragged two cannon atop of Mt Defiance which overlooks Ft Ticonderoga. This was enough to convince the Americans to abandon it without a shot being fired.
Fort Ticonderoga still flies these flags daily:
-French
-British
-Canadian
-American
-White Flag (surrender) no lie!
We toured the fort and had a wonderful time. The exhibits are fantastic and the re-enactors very informative. There is also an exhibit of the USS Ticonderoga (CV 14) commissioned in 1942. She ended her career picking up the Apollo astronauts in 1972.
Photo: 5:30 am wake up to a most spectacular sunrise with not another boat in sight.
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