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Nowhere else in North
America will you find more 18th century forts and
battlefields than the Lake Champlain and the Upper
Hudson River valleys. This corridor, from Albany,
New York through Lake Champlain to Canada, witnessed
key struggles in both the French and Indian War and
the Revolutionary War. Sites include the ruins of
Crown
Point, the restored Fort
Ticonderoga, the Hubbardton,
Bennington
and Saratoga
Battlefields, and even shipwrecks
on the bottom of Lake Champlain.
In Vermont, Mount
Independence is the site of one of the largest
colonial military encampments during the American
Revolution. At the Hubbardton
Battlefield, colonial forces staged one of the
most successful rear guard actions in the annals of
American military history. And the Bennington
Battle Monument, the tallest structure in Vermont,
marks the location of the military supply depot that
the British tried to acquire but failed, contributing
to their stunning defeat at Saratoga.
Today, visitors may
tour many of these sites, not only for the historical
value but also to enjoy this now peaceful and pastoral
slice of North America.
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MOUNT
INDEPENDENCE
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Atop this rugged promontory
along the Vermont shore of Lake Champlain, American
Revolutionary War troops built a fort complex to guard
against a British attack from Canada. The troops named
it Mount Independence in honor of the Declaration of
Independence.
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HUBBARDTON
BATTLEFIELD
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A year after the signing
of the Declaration of Independence, the War raged on.
A massive British invasion from Canada chased the Continental
Army from Mount Independence south through Hubbardton.
Here, on a steamy July day in 1777, the Green Mountain
Boys, a small rag-tag band under the leadership of Seth
Warner, stayed behind to slow the advance of the Redcoats
so that the main force would have time to retreat. On
a grassy hill, the scrappy New Englanders made their
stand.
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BENNINGTON
BATTLE MONUMENT
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In late summer, 1777, the Continental Army beat a
hasty retreat toward Bennington from the forts at
Mount Independence and Ticonderoga. A combined force
of British and Germans pursued, but were badly in
need of supplies. The Americans, carrying what is
believed to be the first American flag in battle,
defeated a Hessian raid on Bennington, and forced
the British to proceed to Saratoga without the necessary
supplies. At Saratoga, the British met a stunning
defeat that turned the tide of the War.
MORE
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OLD
CONSTITUTION HOUSE
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Less than
a year after the signing of the Declaration of Independence,
another new Republic was taking shape. Delegates from
the newly independent Republic of Vermont gathered at
a tavern in Windsor to draft a constitution. The Vermont
constitution was far reaching - the first to prohibit
slavery, establish universal voting rights for all males
and authorize a public school system. The constitution
guided the Republic for 14 years until 1791, when Vermont
was admitted to the Union as the fourteenth state.
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