Tigonderoga and Saratoga

We've been in eastern New York visiting some historic sites pertaining to the Revolutionary War.  Fort Ticonderoga sits at the southern end of Lake Champlain at a strategic point for vessels traveling south to the Hudson River.  In mid 1775, Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold led a group of men and captured the fort from the British.  With the capture of the fort came a number of much-needed cannons.  These were hauled to Boston and given to General Washington, who placed them on a promontory overlooking the city.  When the British, who had seized control of Boston Harbor, saw the cannon aimed at them, they made a hasty retreat and left Boston and headed to New York.  In 1777, the British sent an army from Montreal down Lake Champlain and were headed for the Husdson River.  Their goal:  to completely cut off rebellious New England from the rest of the colonies.  THe Americans had been defeated in a number of battles along the way, but they built a line of fortification at Saratoga, NY.  When the British arrived, there were several battles that occured in Sept and Oct of 1777, and the British were finally defeated and surrendered.  Again, Benedict Arnold played an important role in the victory, and proved to be quite an asset to the American army in the early part of the war before he turned traitor towards the end of the war.  With the victory at Saratoga, the French finally took the Americans seriously and declared war on Great Britain, and joined the fight with the Americans.

Fort Ticonderoga

The outer corner of the fort.  They positioned the cannon so that they could fire in all directions without any blind spots.

The inside of the fort with the officer's and enlisted men's quarters

At Saratoga Battlefield

More Views of Saratoga Battlefield

The beautiful woods around here

It was interesting to watch this demonstration of loading and firing a cannon

 There is a monument commemorating the victory at Saratoga, which was the turning point in the war for the Americans.  You can climb to the top of the monument via a stair case inside, but it was closed when we got there.

We have been staying in this beautiful home near Albany while here in New York.  I would guess that it is at least 100 years old.  We have the entire right half of the house, and the owners live on the left half.  We feel like we are living in a palace!