FORT TICONDEROGA: The Last Campaigns: The War in the North, 1777-1783

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During the American Revolution, Fort Ticonderoga dominated north-south communications in upstate New York and was considered the Key to the Continent. American efforts to defend the fort in June against British Lieutenant General John Burgoyne's 1777 campaign entailed political and military intrigue, bungling, heroism, and ultimately a narrow escape for the Continental and provincial forces under Major General Arthur St. Clair.

The loss of Ticonderoga stunned patriot morale and ignited one of the greatest political firestorms of the war. But the fortunes of war turned. Two months later, the rebels mounted a sensational-if little known-counter-attack on Ticonderoga that had major implications for Burgoyne's eventual defeat at Saratoga in October. Yet Saratoga brought no peace, and Ticonderoga would be central to additional military and political maneuverings-many of them known only to specialist historians-that would keep the region on edge until the end of the war in 1783.