Fort Independence (Vermont)

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"Fort Independence" is an infrequently used and incorrect alternative name for the extensive Revolutionary War fortifications located on Mount Independence in Orwell, Vermont. [1] Although "Fort Independence" can be found occasionally in Revolutionary War documents referring to the fortifications on Lake Champlain, the proper and official name of the peninsula and fortifications was Mount Independence. During the American Revolution, "Fort Independence" nearly always refers to a fort in the Boston Harbor or one in Bronx County, New York. [2] [3] [4]

American Revolutionary War War between Great Britain and the Thirteen Colonies, which won independence as the United States of America

The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), also known as the American War of Independence, was an 18th-century war between Great Britain and its Thirteen Colonies which declared independence as the United States of America.

Mount Independence (Vermont) mountain in Vermont, United States of America

Mount Independence on Lake Champlain in Orwell, Vermont, was the site of extensive fortifications built during the American Revolutionary War by the American army to stop a British invasion. Construction began in July 1776, following the American defeat in Canada, and continued through the winter and spring of 1777. After the American retreat on July 5 and 6, 1777, British and German troops occupied Mount Independence until November 1777.

Orwell, Vermont Town in Vermont, United States

Orwell is a town in Addison County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,250 at the 2010 census. Mount Independence was the largest fortification constructed by the American colonial forces. The 300-acre (1.2 km2) site is now one of Vermont's premier state-operated historic sites.

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References

  1. "In consequence of the disagreeable event which has taken place in the evacuation of Ticonderoga and Fort Independence—though our situation does not make it prudent to send on any very considerable reinforcements immediately besides those already gone, yet it is necessary we should be preparing to throw them in, when it can be more safely done, and the true state of affairs in that quarter is more clearly unfolded. I have therefore to desire, you will order General Glover to hold his Brigade in constant readiness to embark at a moments warning; and, at the same time, that you will collect at your post, as fast as possible, a sufficient number of vessels to transport them with their baggage, tents &c. to Albany." George Washington to General Israel Putnam, 12 July 1777 from the National Archives.
  2. Starbuck, David. The Great Warpath: British Military Sites from Albany to Crown Point, University Press of New England (1999), pgs. 124-159
  3. Zeoli, Stephen. Mount Independence: The Enduring Legacy of a Unique Historic Place, Hubbardton, Vt. (2011).
  4. Williams, John A. "Mount Independence in Time of War, 1776-1783," Vermont History (April 1967) 2: 60-79.

Coordinates: 43°49′37″N73°22′50″W / 43.82694°N 73.38056°W / 43.82694; -73.38056

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

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