Читать книгу Revolution An Uncommon Chronicle of the American War for Independence - Kenneth JD Samcoe - Страница 10

Strategic Fort Falls to Ethan Allen’s Green Mountain Boys

Colonel Arnold came to us with his orders and demanded the command of our people, as he said we had no proper orders. We told him we could not surrender the command to him, as our people were raised on condition that they would be commanded by their own officers.

Captain Edward Mott, Connecticut Militia

May 8, 1775

Colonel Allen is a proper man to head his own wild people, but entirely unacquainted with military service; and as I am the only person who has been legally authorized to take possession of this place I am determined to insist on my right and I think it my duty to remain here against all opposition until I have further orders.

Colonel Benedict Arnold

To the Massachusetts Committee of Safety

May 11, 1775

Ticonderoga, New York: May 10, 1775. A British garrison of 42 officers and men stationed at Fort Ticonderoga was overwhelmed by 250 New Hampshire Green Mountain Boys early last week.

Captain William Delaplace surrendered the fort to rebel leader Ethan Allen, who reportedly accepted in the name of “The Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress.”

Allen and his men were accompanied by rebel Colonel Benedict Arnold, who was commissioned to lead an assault on the fort by the Massachusetts Committee of Safety. Colonel Arnold had ridden ahead of his 50 volunteers when he learned that Allen’s Green Mountain Boys were preparing to attack. The two men agreed that Allen’s mountaineers would storm the fort, and Arnold’s party would dismantle the heavily armed fort after its capture.

Ticonderoga is situated on the Hudson River, 180 miles northeast of Boston. Built by the French in 1755, it was once considered the gateway to the continent. Because the Hudson River divides the northern colonies in half and flows south into New York, control of Ticonderoga guarantees a flow of supplies in the event of major actions in Canada and south to the middle colonies.

In other news, Dr. Benjamin Franklin, the celebrated inventor and author of Poor Richard’s Almanac returned from England on the 5^th of this month. Dr. Franklin has resided in London, acting as the colonies’ unofficial ambassador for nearly 15 years. His homecoming marks the end of an unsuccessful campaign to resolve a land dispute between the Pennsylvania colony and its founder, William Penn.