Summary
Ethan Allen and his rugged Green Mountain Boys, joined by Benedict Arnold, surprise the British garrison at Fort Ticonderoga and capture it without a fight — seizing dozens of cannons the new Continental Army desperately needs. Henri learns that boldness and timing can matter as much as numbers.
Viewer safety
Animated battle sequences — cannon fire, troops maneuvering. No graphic wounds or death shown.
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Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Discussion
Fort Ticonderoga guarded the route between New York and Canada. Taking it early — and hauling its heavy cannons all the way to Boston — gave the Americans firepower they could not have built themselves.
- Why were the cannons at Fort Ticonderoga so valuable to an army that was just forming?
- Allen's men took the fort by surprise at dawn with almost no fighting. What are the advantages of surprise?
- Moving the cannons hundreds of miles over snow and rivers was nearly impossible. Why attempt something so hard?
- When has being quick and daring helped someone beat a bigger, stronger opponent?
Quick work-a-long
Vocabulary: garrison, fort, artillery, surprise attack, frontier.
Try it: On a map, find Fort Ticonderoga and Boston. Draw the route the cannons traveled and label one obstacle (mountains, rivers, snow). Write a sentence about why geography made the mission so difficult.