Fort Ticonderoga, on the western shore of Lake Champlain in New York state, was a stronghold during the Revolutionary War in America (1775-1783). It controlled an invasion route from Canada to the American Colonies. The fort was originally a British post.
After the war began, a group of Americans organized an expedition to seize the fort. The group included Ethan Allen, leader of a group of Vermont soldiers called the Green Mountain Boys. On May 10, 1775, Allen and Colonel Benedict Arnold led a force of 83 men in an attack on Fort Ticonderoga. They surprised the unprepared British troops and seized the fort without firing a shot. The British recaptured the fort in 1777 but abandoned it in 1780. In 1908, the fort was rebuilt, and a museum opened there.
