Ethan Allen (January 21, 1738–February 12, 1789) is remembered for the capture of Fort Ticonderoga and the struggle for Vermont’s independence from neighboring colonies and states. Born in Connecticut, he became a farmer and land speculator in the New Hampshire Grants, a territory claimed by both New Hampshire and New York. That dispute helped shape the Green Mountain Boys before the American Revolution began.
Browse all Genealogy Gold Podcast EpisodesEthan Allen and the New Hampshire Grants
Allen became a leader of the Green Mountain Boys, who defended settlers holding New Hampshire land grants against New York’s competing claims. Their campaign included intimidation and property destruction. This land dispute was distinct from the later conflict with Britain, even though some of the same men became important participants in the war.
The capture of Fort Ticonderoga
After Lexington and Concord in April 1775, men in Connecticut planned an attack on Fort Ticonderoga, the British post on Lake Champlain. Allen agreed to join the expedition with the Green Mountain Boys. The fort’s location and artillery made it an important objective. Allen’s later account emphasized his patriotism, but it cannot establish every private motive behind his decision.
Benedict Arnold arrived with a Massachusetts commission and asserted his own authority to command the expedition. The Green Mountain Boys preferred Allen. Allen and Arnold ultimately accompanied the attacking force together, an uneasy arrangement that later produced competing claims about leadership and credit.
Before dawn on May 10, 1775, the Americans surprised the small British garrison and captured Fort Ticonderoga without a battle causing loss of life. The captured artillery later became especially valuable when Henry Knox transported guns from the Lake Champlain forts to the Boston area.
Allen’s captivity and release
Allen’s next major undertaking ended very differently. In September 1775, he took part in an unsuccessful attempt against Montreal and was captured. The British transported him across the Atlantic and later returned him to North America. His published narrative describes harsh conditions, but its dramatic details should be recognized as his own account rather than an independent record of each incident.
Allen spent much of the next three years as a prisoner, at times with limited parole in New York. His captivity separated him from his family and from the political changes taking place in the Grants. Like other prisoners’ narratives, his recollections are useful evidence when read alongside contemporary military and family records.
He was exchanged in May 1778. The timing matters: his release followed a long captivity, rather than occurring almost immediately after a brief episode of solitary confinement.
After his release, Congress granted Allen the brevet rank of colonel and compensation for his service and captivity. He visited Washington’s army at Valley Forge but did not receive a continuing battlefield command. The appointment was congressional recognition, not a commission personally created by Washington.
Vermont and Allen’s later years
During Allen’s captivity, the Grants declared independence in 1777 under the name Vermont. After returning, Allen resumed political work on Vermont’s behalf and opposed New York’s territorial claims. He also participated in controversial negotiations with British officials about Vermont’s status. Those discussions complicate a simple picture of an unchanging national allegiance.
Allen died in Burlington on February 12, 1789, at fifty-one. He had five children with his first wife, Mary Brownson, and three with his second, Frances “Fanny” Buchanan; his youngest child was born after his death. Vermont entered the United States as the fourteenth state in 1791. Allen did not live to see admission, but his role in its earlier struggle made him one of the state’s best-known historical figures.
Learn More
Ethan Allen — National Museum of the United States Army
Ethan Allen — Vermont Historical Society
The Capture of Fort Ticonderoga — Original Letters and Accounts
George Washington in the American Revolution
Who’s Who in the American Revolution — Free eBook
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