Fort Ticonderoga, 1777 Siege of
1777 CE
The 1777 Siege of Fort Ticonderoga occurs between July 2 and 6, 1777 at Fort Ticonderoga, near the southern end of Lake Champlain in the state of New York.
Lieutenant General John Burgoyne's eight thousand-man army occupies high ground above the fort, and nearly surrounds the defenses.
These movements precipitate the occupying Continental Army, an under-strength force of three thousand under the command of General Arthur St. Clair, to withdraw from Ticonderoga and the surrounding defenses.
Some gunfire is exchanged, and there sre some casualties, but there is no formal siege and no pitched battle.
Burgoyne's army occupies Fort Ticonderoga and Mount Independence, the extensive fortifications on the Vermont side of the lake, without opposition on July 6.
Advance units pursue the retreating Americans.
The uncontested surrender of Ticonderoga causes an uproar in the American public and in its military circles, as Ticonderoga is widely believed to be virtually impregnable, and a vital point of defense.
General St. Clair and his superior, General Philip Schuyler, are vilified by Congress.
Both are eventually exonerated in courts martial, but their careers are adversely affected.
Schuyler has already lost his command to Horatio Gates by the time of the court martial, and St. Clair will hold no more field commands for the remainder of the war.
Subject
Related Events
Showing 4 events out of 4 total
The screening activities of Burgoyne's native support are highly effective at keeping the Americans from learning the details of his movements.
St. Clair has been ordered by General Schuyler to hold out as long as possible, and has planned two avenues of retreat.
By July 4, most of the American garrison is either at Fort Ticonderoga or nearby Mount Independence, the extensive fortifications on the Vermont side of the lake.
Unknown to the Americans, their withdrawal from an outer defensive position clears a way for the British to place artillery on the hilltop known then as Sugar Loaf (now Mount Defiance), whose heights command the fort.
St. Clair withdraws the night after spotting British cannon on Sugar Loaf on July 5, and Burgoyne's men occupy the main fortification and the positions on Mount Independence on July 6.
The uncontested surrender of the supposedly impregnable fort causes a public and political uproar.
Although a later investigation will clear both Schuyler and St. Clair of any wrongdoing in the withdrawal, it will cause the Continental Congress to replace Schuyler with General Horatio Gates as commander of the Northern Department of the Continental Army in August.
The British, two years into the American Revolutionary War, change their plans.
Giving up on the rebellious New England colonies, they decide to split the Thirteen Colonies and isolate New England from what the British believe to be the more loyal southern colonies.
The British command devises a grand plan to divide the colonies via a three-way pincer movement.
The western pincer, under the command of Barry St. Leger, is repulsed when the Siege of Fort Stanwix fails, and the southern pincer, which is to progress up the Hudson valley from New York City, never starts since General William Howe decides instead to capture Philadelphia.
The northern pincer, proceeding southward from Montreal, enjoys the most success.
After the British victories at Hubbardton, Fort Ticonderoga, and Fort Anne, General John Burgoyne proceeds with the Saratoga campaign, with the goal of capturing Albany and gaining control of the Hudson River Valley, where Burgoyne's force can (as the plan goes) meet the other pincers, dividing the colonies in two.