Connections and Conversations: Moving the Guns of Ft. Ticonderoga

Presenters: Dr. Matthew Keagle, Ft. Ticonderoga and Julia Mize, National Parks of Boston

Join the National Parks of Boston and the Ft. Ticonderoga Association for Connections and Conversations.

Many of us learned in elementary school how the cannons from Fort Ticonderoga were put on Dorchester Heights, forcing the British evacuate Boston. But that is neither the beginning, nor the end, of the story.

The siege of Boston lasted 11 months (April 19, 1775 – March 17, 1776). The logistics of moving the heavy guns 300 miles, over the Berkshire Mountains, in winter were difficult.   The need for cooperation and coordination among colonists from New England, Virginia, and New York made the job more challenging.  And individual egos didn’t help.

Discover how the fledgling “First Army of the United Colonies” (later called the Continental Army) held the siege line on a shoestring budget, forced the evacuation of British Army, Navy and Loyalists, and invaded Canada.  All before the Declaration of Independence was signed.