Fort Ticonderoga

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Fort Ticonderoga Fort Ticonderoga is a historic site, museum, center of learning and major cultural destination. Rain or shine, there’s something for everyone!
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Find inspiration and create family memories as we celebrate America’s 250th! World class exhibits, thrilling weapons demos, epic battle reenactments and hands-on activities connect you to America’s story. Enjoy stunning views from aboard the Carillon boat and our historic gardens.

Join Fort Ticonderoga today for day 1 of the culminating REAL TIME REVOLUTION Signature event of the season! This two-da...
10/24/2026

Join Fort Ticonderoga today for day 1 of the culminating REAL TIME REVOLUTION Signature event of the season!

This two-day "Hold the Line for Liberty" reenactment will recreate one of the Continental Army’s most consequential, yet lesser-known, victories of 1776: the moment American forces at Ticonderoga convinced an advancing British Army to abandon its push south and return to Canada.

The stand came at the end of a desperate campaign on Lake Champlain. Earlier that month, on October 11, Benedict Arnold’s outnumbered American fleet had engaged a larger British force at the Battle of Valcour Island. The Americans suffered heavy losses, but their resistance helped slow the British advance.

Tickets are valid for 2 consecutive days - be sure to come back tomorrow for more epic vignettes and programming! https://fortticonderoga.org/ft_events/battle-reenactment-hold-the-line-for-liberty/

A frosty morning down by the King's Garden as fall settles in along Lake Champlain.
10/22/2026

A frosty morning down by the King's Garden as fall settles in along Lake Champlain.

New video! Digging for Independence: Entrenchments in the American RevolutionOne of the great legends of the Revolutiona...
10/21/2026

New video! Digging for Independence: Entrenchments in the American Revolution

One of the great legends of the Revolutionary War is that Americans quickly won by simply ducking behind rocks & trees, shooting away from this cover as the British foolishly marched out in the open. The reality of defending the independence of the United States was a much bigger and more compelling story.

The landscape surrounding Fort Ticonderoga bears silent witness to the labor of liberty, the real work of fighting for Independence, a skill for which Americans garnered considerable respect: building fortifications. In 1776, Pennsylvanians, New Jersey soldiers, Massachusetts militia, and New England Continental soldiers strengthened the French Lines, rechristened Liberty Hill after the reading of the Declaration of Independence, and built fortifications and cannon batteries on Mount Independence. On the morning of October 28, 1776, 13,000 Continental soldiers and militia took up their alarm posts along the miles of earthen walls they raised that summer. As British General John Burgoyne wrote, "the mode of defense they invariably adopted, and at which they were beyond all other nations expert, was that of entrenchment..."

Watch our latest video to learn more!
https://youtu.be/RYaQ7pj2GQI

The warm brick walls of the King's Garden staved off frost for another night, with delphiniums, echinops, galardia, dahl...
10/20/2026

The warm brick walls of the King's Garden staved off frost for another night, with delphiniums, echinops, galardia, dahlias, and roses in bloom this fall morning.

By October 20, 1776—250 years ago today—Lieutenant Edmund Munro of the Massachusetts militia had been stationed at Fort ...
10/20/2026

By October 20, 1776—250 years ago today—Lieutenant Edmund Munro of the Massachusetts militia had been stationed at Fort Ticonderoga for just over two months. During that time he had endured miserably wet weather, evaded camp illnesses that sickened and killed his fellow soldiers and neighbors, worked hard to fortify the Ticonderoga peninsula, and witnessed the remnants of the American fleet straggling back into camp after their defeat at the Battle of Valcour Island. Through it all, he wrote frequent letters to his wife Rebekah, at home with their three young children in Lexington, MA.

On October 20, Munro wrote another letter to Rebekah. As many soldiers did in their letters home, he opened by reassuring her that all was well with him: “These are to inform you that I am in good health and high Spirits, Through Divine goodness, I wish they may find you & the little ones in Perfect health and prosperity.”

Munro’s high spirits may seem surprising given the situation he described in his next paragraph: “We have had no attack from the Enemy, but are hourly expecting them. The last Intelligence we had from them they were at Crownpoint; that was Several days since. We hope to have intelligence of their numbers & situation… we endeavor to be in the Best Preparation.” After months of preparation, a battle finally seemed imminent.

Munro did not share his personal feelings about the approach of the British, aside from his reference to high spirits. Was he afraid? Excited to test the strength of the American defenses after months of preparation? Calmly awaiting the enemy’s arrival? This was not Munro’s first battle; he had served with the famed Rogers’ Rangers during the French and Indian War, and in 1775 he had fought in the Battle of Lexington and Concord as war broke out on his doorstep. Was this just another battle to him? We do know one thing he was thinking: he was as devoted to Rebekah as ever. He signed his letter, “I am my Dear Your Loving Husband, Edm’d Munro”.

Learn more about this letter (object ID MS.1965) on the Ticonderoga Online Collections database: https://fortticonderoga.catalogaccess.com/archives/29990

This weekend, October 24-25, join us at Fort Ticonderoga to experience the two-day REAL TIME REVOLUTION® Signature Event...
10/19/2026

This weekend, October 24-25, join us at Fort Ticonderoga to experience the two-day REAL TIME REVOLUTION® Signature Event that commemorates the 250th anniversary of the American stand at Ticonderoga in late October 1776. Hold the Line for Liberty tells the essential, little-told story of what it took to keep the Declaration’s promise alive, on the ground where it unfolded, in the same season, 250 years later.

Plan your visit & view the full weekend schedule: https://fortticonderoga.org/ft_events/battle-reenactment-hold-the-line-for-liberty/

In the wake of the Battle of Valcour Island, Fort Ticonderoga was alive with activity and tension. With the destruction ...
10/17/2026

In the wake of the Battle of Valcour Island, Fort Ticonderoga was alive with activity and tension. With the destruction of the American fleet on Lake Champlain clearing the way for the British to sail south, an attack was expected imminently. The garrison worked to improve the fortifications at Ticonderoga and Mount Independence as quickly as they could. Over 100 miles north at Fort Saint-Jean, elements of the British Army were also working hard, but the mood in their camp was quite different.

On October 17, 1776—250 years ago today—an 18-year-old artillery lieutenant and engineer named Charles Terrot wrote a letter to his friend John Frott back home in England. While he wasn’t present with the British fleet at Valcour Island, Terrot had been busy. “I have had so much Business to do from Gun Firing to Gun Firing again that I have neglected though not forgot My best Friend. You must forgive me, my dear Frott,” Terrot’s letter opens. While busy, he was happy: “I am in a very good way at present, never was half so rich in my Life, if it should continue I shall not tire of this Country.”

Just as the Americans expected, the British were preparing to head south and press their advantage. “I shall in a very short time set out for Crown Point. Shall go as far as the Isle aux Noix tonight”, Terrot told Frott. The Americans had done little to refortify Fort Crown Point, which had been largely destroyed by an accidental fire in 1773. The single Pennsylvania regiment that had been stationed there had abandoned it on October 13. The British hoped to use Crown Point as a base from which to mount their next attack. They had control of the lake; their next stop, they hoped, would be Ticonderoga.

Learn more about this letter (object ID MS.2087) on the Ticonderoga Online Collections database: https://fortticonderoga.catalogaccess.com/archives/30092

On October 7, 1776, as the garrison at Fort Ticonderoga and Mount Independence worked to fortify the site, Massachusetts...
10/16/2026

On October 7, 1776, as the garrison at Fort Ticonderoga and Mount Independence worked to fortify the site, Massachusetts militia officer Ebenezer Smith wrote a letter to his wife Sarah: “I have one Minut to Write, Which I Gladly Improve”. Events moved quickly over the next ten days. By October 16—250 years ago today—in the wake of the British victory at Valcour Island, an attack on Ticonderoga was thought to be imminent. General Horatio Gates ordered extra fatigue patrols and exhorted the army to live up to the example that the fleet had set at Valcour. Amidst this activity, Smith found time yet again to write to Sarah.

Smith opens with a gentle joke about the frequency of his letters. “My Dear,” he begins, “I Don’t know but you Will think Me Impertinent in Writing every Day. I have wrote one Letter this week but I Cannot Let one Opportunity slip.” He has not been receiving letters as frequently as he’s been writing them, though: “I have Not heard From you this Long Time which Makes Me Impationt to hear, hope to hear Soon.”

Smith assures Sarah that he is healthy. He is now living in a soldiers’ hut rather than a tent: “I have Moved Into My house yesterday, Got it Comfortable”. Despite his comfort, the tension and chaos of the moment weighs on his mind. As many soldiers did at the time, he turns to religion to understand the current situation. “! O the Destress of our Land, Blood and Slaughter thro Out, Oppresion and Every Kind of Vice Prevalent. Can we think that God will Bless Us without Sum kind of Refomation,” he laments.

While the situation may be dire, Smith sees a solution in faith. “Let Us Trust in God and Pray for a Reformat[ion]”, he tells Sarah, “that it May Take Place immediately and that Each one May Reform one.” In the tense and chaotic days ahead, Smith would have his faith to lean on. He would also have the love for Sarah and for his other family and friends that shines through in each of his letters. He closes the letter, “I am in Sincerity your own, Eben. Smith.”

Learn more about this letter (object ID MS.7079.2) on the Ticonderoga Online Collections database: https://fortticonderoga.catalogaccess.com/archives/30598

Address

102 Fort Ti Road
Ticonderoga, NY
12883

Opening Hours

Tuesday 9:30am - 5pm
Wednesday 9:30am - 5pm
Thursday 9:30am - 5pm
Friday 9:30am - 5pm
Saturday 9:30am - 5pm
Sunday 9:30am - 5pm

Telephone

+15185852821

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