Mount Independence at Orwell Vermont

This dramatic aerial photograph, taken in May 2003 by guest contributors Doug and Mark Harwood, clearly shows the strategic importance of Mount Independence. At center left can be seen the Ticonderoga peninsula, the promontory extending from the upper right of the photo is Mt. Independence. The two peninsulas were connected by a floating bridge during the Revolution. To the right, outside of the photo is Mt. Defiance. The British sealed the fate of the American fortresses when they dragged cannon to its summit.

MOUNT INDEPENDENCE
Orwell, Vermont
(click here for map)

By James P. Millard

NOTE: This material is provided as a public service. America's Historic Lakes is not affiliated with the Mt. Independence State Historic Site.
Contact the site for additional information.

Just across a narrow strait from Ticonderoga lies another promontory that juts into the lake from the eastern shore. Here in June of 1776, American troops under the command of General Philip Schuyler built a massive fortress to prevent invasion from Canada. Named by the troops themselves Mount Independence in honor of the newly signed document they were fighting for, this complex of batteries, blockhouses and parapets was deemed necessary due to Ticonderoga's southerly posture and poor condition at the time.

The Lake Champlain/Lake George corridor had always been the key to the south for invading armies, and the American rebels knew that soon the King would send his troops south down the lake. Sure enough, a fleet under Sir Guy Carleton, fresh from his defeat of Benedict Arnold's gallant navy at Valcour approached the fortresses in October 1776. By then, some three brigades had been stationed upon the mount, and it fairly bristled with cannon. Carleton was faced with a large shore battery, a well-designed parapet, or horseshoe shaped battery, and a star-shaped picket fort garrisoned by some 12,000 troops.

The season was late, Carleton was intimidated by the impressive sight of the combined fortresses- he turned his fleet around and sailed back to Canada. This bought the rebels precious time to prepare for a future invasion they knew would come.

The Americans reduced dramatically the size of the forces occupying the Mount. By winter of 1776-1777, some 2,500 troops remained. Those who stayed behind suffered terribly. Decimated by illness and the cold, hundreds succumbed to smallpox or froze to death. In the spring, the garrison was reinforced slightly but the huge complex was not sent nearly enough troops to prepare an adequate defense. In July another mighty British force, this time commanded by General John Burgoyne appeared north of the forts. Intelligence reports showed that a huge army had embarked from the ships and was approaching the forts on each side of the lake- British regulars on the New York side, and German Hessian (Braunschweig) troops under Baron Riedesel on the side we now know as Vermont.

In addition the British had wisely performed what imprudent American generals had deemed "impossible"- hauled cannon to the summit of Mt. Defiance. Their position was now untenable, American commander Arthur St. Clair did the only thing possible in light of this hopeless position- retreat, and save the forces to fight again. Some forces retreated down the lake in what few ships were available, the bulk of the army fled south along the crude roads towards Skenesborough.

They were pursued to Hubbardton, where a heroic rear guard action was fought. Another decisive battle was fought at Bennington. Burgoyne inexplicably chose to continue south in pursuit through the "drowned lands" of Wood Creek rather than travel the proven route south down Lake George. Finally, several months later, British and American troops met at Saratoga. Here the American forces proved victorious over the exhausted and woefully over-extended British army. Some British and Hessian troops remained at the fort until November, when they burned the complex upon hearing of Burgoyne's surrender.

Photographs of historic
Mount Independence

Unless otherwise noted, all photos by the author
(click on the thumbnails below for a larger view)

Left to Right: Foundation, used as a base for a huge crane that lifted cannon and other heavy supplies from the shore below. Ships would anchor below here at Catfish Bay for unloading to this hoist. Center photos: Horseshoe battery or parapet, commanded the north face of the mount. The Polish patriot Thaddeus Kosciusko is believed to have helped to engineer this work. Right: Catfish Bay, where vessels would have anchored and the bateaux would have been kept.

Far left: view up the old road to the top of the Mount from the shore and the famous bridge across the lake to Ticonderoga. It is up this road that fleeing soldiers from Ticonderoga would have taken as they hurried to evacuate the forts before the British attack. Next: view of shoreline below the parapet- here is where the bridge to across the lake to Ticonderoga began. Four photos, left to right: views of the Masting Point- believed to be the spot where masts for ships in Benedict Arnold's fleet were stepped. The center photo is the view straight down the cliff to the water.

Left to right: Memorial erected at the site of the horseshoe battery where the Revolutionary War flagpole once stood. Center photos: views across the narrow strait to Ticonderoga. Right: memorial obelisk at Mount Independence.

Left to right: another view of the crane site, the well at Mount Independence, historic marker along the route of the retreat to Hubbardton, site of the star-shaped picket fort, and another view across the lake to Ticonderoga.

Wording on the Mount Independence Monument:

MOUNT INDEPENDENCE
BASTION OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR+

Fortification was begun in June of 1776, and
THE NAME MOUNT INDEPENDENCE WAS BESTOWED
FOLLOWING THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
lIEUT. coL. jEDUTHAN BALDWIN WAS THE CHIEF
CONSTRUCTION ENGINEER. HERE THE EXHAUSTED
AMERICAN ARMY, NORTHERN DEPARTMENT, WAS
STATIONED AFTER WITHDRAWING FROM ITS
DISASTROUS CANADIAN CAMPAIGN. BUILT ON A
ROCKY PLATEAU AND STOUTLY FORTIFIED, THE
POST WAS A NATURAL STRONGHOLD FACING ANY
APPROACHING FOE FROM THE NORTH. WITHIN ITS
RUGGED CONFINES THOUSANDS OF NEW ENGLANDERS,
MANY SUCCUMBING TO ILLNESS AND LACK OF
SUPPLIES, WERE QUARTERED. because OF ITS
COMMANDING POSITION AND FORMIDABLE BATTLE
WORKS, WHICH MADE IT MORE POWERFUL AT THE
MOMENT THAN IMPAIRED TICONDEROGA, IT CHECKED
FOR A YEAR A BRITISH THRUST SOUTHWARD, UNTIL
AT THE FALL OF ITS COMPANION FORTRESS
ACROSS THE CHANNEL IT WAS EVACUATED IN THE
EARLY MORNING DARKNESS OF July 6, 1777. this
CRITICAL YEAR OF REPRIEVE GAVE THE AMERICAN
FORCES TIME TO ORGANIZE FARTHER SOUTH, MEET
AND DESTROY general Burgoyne AT SARATOGA,
WIN FRENCH SUPPORT, AND EVENTUALLY SUBDUE
GENERAL CORNWALLIS AT Yorktown, FULFILLING
THE PROPHECY OF THE MOUNTAIN'S NAME.
-------------------

erected BY
Vermont SOCIETY
SONS OF THE American REVOLUTION
IN OBSERVANCE OF THE
BICENTENNIAL YEAR OF INDEPENDENCE, 1976

*America's Historic Lakes is a favorite of educators around the world. You can feel confident that the material
on this site is accurate, well-researched, properly cited and presented.

Copyright © 1997, 2010. All rights reserved.
America's Historic Lakes
The Lake Champlain and Lake George Historical Site
Post Office Box 262
South Hero, Vermont 05486-0262
mail@historiclakes.org

IMPORTANT NOTE:
Please check your JUNK EMAIL or SPAM filter for our reply.
We NEVER spam but have discovered our messages are sometimes discarded by spam filters.
Be sure to add mail@historiclakes.org to your address book or list of acceptable senders.

We regret that we are unable to accommodate personal requests for information or research.

Electronically published materials are protected by the same copyright laws as conventional or printed works.
Permission to reproduce material from this site must be obtained from the publisher.