The Capture of Fort Ticonderoga occurred during the American Revolutionary War on May 10, 1775, when a small force of Green Mountain Boys led by Ethan Allen and Colonel Benedict Arnold overcome a small British garrison at the fort and loot the personal belongings of the garrison.
Cannons and other armaments from the fort are later transported to Boston and used to fortify Dorchester Heights and break the standoff at the Siege of Boston.
After seizing Ticonderoga, a small detachment capturea the nearby Fort Crown Point on May 11.
Seven days later, Arnold and fifty men boldly raide Fort Saint-Jean on the Richelieu River in southern Quebec, seizing military supplies, cannons, and the largest military vessel on Lake Champlain.
Although the scope of this military action is relatively minor, it has significant strategic importance.
It impedes communication between northern and southern units of the British Army, and gives the nascent Continental Army a staging ground for the invasion of Quebec later in 1775.
It also involves two larger-than-life personalities in Allen and Arnold, each of whom seek to gain as much credit and honor as possible for these events.
Most significantly, artillery from Ticonderoga will be dragged across Massachusetts to the heights commanding Boston Harbor, forcing the British to withdraw from that city.
