During the American Revolution, Fort Ticonderoga located on the western side of Lake Champlain in New York was an important post on the route from Canada to the colonies.

Colonel Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen with his Green Mountain Boys led a surprise attack on the British fort in May of 1775. The Americans took the fort without firing a shot.

In mid-winter of January 1776, Colonel Henry Knox led an expedition to Fort Ticonderoga to bring back the cannons that Arnold and Allen had captured. The cannons were lined up to face the British ships that were blockading the port of Boston. The British were forced to evacuate Boston, leaving the city and port to the Americans.