Fort Ticonderoga was built by the French around 1755 near the south end of Lake Champlain (Seven Years War/French and Indian War). In 1759 the British drove out the French and 16 years later the Green Mountain Boys took it back from the British (Revolutionary War). A couple more years of fighting led to some back and forth between British and American occupation until the British finally abandoned it near the end of 1777.
The fort is currently owned by a foundation and presents a bit of a Disneyfied introduction to history. The entrance fee is pricey ($23 per person) but if you are willing to spend the entire day watching demonstrations it seems appropriate.
Every year they choose a different year to demonstrate and while I was there the Fort was Carillon under French occupation. I gotta say that they did an amazing job. Costumes were detailed down to the color of the piping for different troops and commands to subordinates given in French even when they weren't meant to be heard by the audience.
They really do shoot off the firearms.
Love the details on the cannons and mortars.
The Fife and Drum (brigade? squad?) is composed of high school students. Pretty awesome summer job.
This guy gave a great talk on the history of the fort and also mentioned that every pair of shoes that period people were wearing had been hand made at the fort.
The two guys on the right built the cannon that they then fired. They had the barrel made to spec at one location, got an Amish wheelwright in Ohio to make the wheels on the carriage and they then spent the summer putting it all together.
The view is amazing
No comments:
Post a Comment