Myself and my 2 sons went up to Ti today to have fun at the re-enactment of the Battle. Met NH K9,his lovely wife and his son there and we all had a ball!! Weather a bit overcast, light sprinkles and temp just right to be comfy. The Fench won again, but that was the real deal. I have pics but only one in the ready rack. Old Glory flying from the highest point on the battlements of the fort

When I was a kid I read a lot of fictionalized history about that time and place. When I got to visit Fort Ti (as a slightly older kid) it was very cool.

One of the things I miss out here is not being able to go to Fort Ti.

I love that area of the state for the history..........

I would love to make a trip to New York, just to see Fort TI.

You can't unless you wear your Black Watch kilt.

I ain't scairt to wear a Kilt! I got good legs. All 3 of them!

I went through school in central Vermont and every class trip was to good old FT Ti it seemed.
Ol Ethan and Ira Allen were a pair to draw to, apparently!

Fred

Wife just calls it "Trolling for Queers"

Jim, that picture of Fort Ti is AWESOME, I love the cannons with the Flag flyin high overhead. can you email me the unedited one, I would like to use that as a background on my laptop.

Ft Ti, really great place to visit. My brothers class graduated in 1976 and had their yearbook pictures taken there. They let them dress in the uniforms, the girls wore the period dresses. Turned out fantastic!

Here's more:
Lovely Quebec Ladies encountered inside the Fort

The letter with the Warner knapsack

Rogers Rangers company area

British Regimental surgeon


Beware of Hurons ready for war

Cool pics ET. Another place to put on my list to visit!

More
Rogers Rangers deployed for battle


French field piece firing. Surprisingly big concussion


New York Militia engaging the enemy



Perspective is a bit difficult, but the battle lines were LESS than 50 yards apart mostly. The powder smoke from a few hundred guns and the closeness causes reflection on the slaughter that occured when several THOUSAND men were engaged at such close range. We were actually standing on bloody ground with a LOT of unknown dead still somewhere under our feet. The Ghosts of Ticonderoga have strong medicine.

Great pics!Was a young tike when I was there...warrants a return trip for sure!

Cool pics! Wonder how long it takes them injuns to get the red paint off when they go home after the re enactment? .

maddog

I believe their squaws help WEAR it off

Boy, they have made a lot of improvements since I've been there.

very cool ET!

Good Stuff ET. I have got to get up to Fort TI someday.

Great pics Jim. I'll see if I can add to 'em when I get the camera unloaded.

We pulled into the house at about 1500 and had to pick up the dogs. Connor has been talking about "his" new friends Jim and Shane since yesterday. I had to pry that damn claw out of his hands for bed. It's currently sitting with his wooden knife and tee-ball tropy.

George

probally been 25 yrs since i've been there.i would like to visit again

Shane and I discussed borrowing Connor to go out with us. He picks up gurls like a cashmere sweater draws lint!! Have ya figured out how to hook him up with Onstar yet???

I'll put him on loan to you boys!

I don't worry about tracking him. I figure anyone who grabs him will have their fill pretty quick. They'll be taking out ads to get him back to his handler .

George

Another pic. This is a surgeon who tended to the Militia and the Rangers. Note the OLD microscope. Lenses are in box next to it

Sorry that I missed you folks, but the trip was a last minute thing.

Left Northern Va at 3:30AM Friday. Made it to the Saratoga Battlefield in the early afternoon. Toured there until about 6pm. Then headed up to Plattsburgh where I stayed the night. Toured Plattsburgh, site of an important War of 1812 battle in the morning and then drove down to Ft Ticonderoga. I arrived there just before the re-enactment started. After the re-enactment I toured the Fort and encampment and then headed back to Northern Va, arriving home around 4AM.

Here's a few pictures:

From the Saratoga Battlefield, the American North Redoubt. Looking east over the Hudson River towards Vermont. (The Hudson is in the trees, just past the fields.)


On the same redoubt I saw a Yellow Warbler. I couldn't coax him from behind the branch, though.


The "Boot Monument"


at the rear of the Breymann Redoubt:



And finally, of course, the monument to Timothy Murphy:


And his prey:

At Fort Ticonderoga, the Saturday re-enactment was a "tribute" to the generalship of Braddock and Abercrombie:

There were Brits:


Provincials:


French Regulars:


French-Canadian militia:


And Indians:


There was the final charge of the French:


And a Last Stand by the Brits:
[img]http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb56/ckatz2003/Web_128.jpg[/img]

Afterwards, they all marched off to the encampment:
[img]http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb56/ckatz2003/Web_162.jpg[/img]

All in all twas a fun, if brief, trip.

Beautiful pics my friend. I really enjoyed them.

The flinter group was superb, btw.

Actually for me the single most awe inspiring thing I have EVER had the privilege of laying my eyes on is the Warner knapsack and the accompanying letter. I get the shivers every time I see it. I hope a bunch of Campfire guys make it to Fort Ti for either the F&I re-enactment or the Revolutionary
War re-enactment. We came from Heroes. That is our Heritage. Don't let those Heroic Men and Women down!!!!

Short explanation of the "Boot Monument" Benedict Arnold was wounded in the leg at Saratoga. He was a genuine Hero before he was a traitor. The y did not want to praise a traitor so the Boot is there because the leg was wounded in Honorable service. Very clear thinking IMHO.

I visited the fort in 1953 (as a kid). Not much has changed.

Well... damn....

I was locked into heading back south on my motorcycle that very day, my schedule determined by that of my brother, who rode back with me...

..else I would have been there fer sure.

Birdwatcher

I've been there 3 or 4 times during my life and I can't wait to get back there again! It is just an awe inspiring place that everyone should see if they have the chance! Great pitures gentlemen!

There is nothing like the smell of black powder in the morning air at Fort Ti. If it doesn't make every hair on your body tingle just a bit then you ain't alive.

My wife has gone on the tour there 3 times, and swears she gets a creepy supernatural feeling/buzz in one particular room of one of the old buildings. I've seen her face when she told me about it and I have to believe her on it. She's not normally that kind of fruitcake either. It is certainly hallowed ground.

Because of my late arrival, I didn't really have a chance to spend enough time touring the Fort and checking out the exhibits. The backpack sounds pretty interesting. I walked through the sutler area, the Fort, and around it's grounds. I also wasn't able to spend any time in the area where Abercrombie assaulted Ft Carillion. I guess that means that I will have to make it back up. There is a reenactment at Lake George later in the summer, and the Revoluutionary War one in September.

The earlier picture of the French unit looks like most of the pans have ignited, but not yet the muskets.

Here's a few more pictures from the re-enactment:

The "Thin Red Line":




In this one you can see the British line is being flanked:




Another shot of the French line, with some of the muskets discharging:




Interesting shot of the British line. The pan going off is just a few feet from the faces of the firer and his neighbors. No wonder why there were so few hits during a battle. (3% of all shots fired by veteran European troops in close combat. Iirc. In the 1848 Mexican War, some veteran US troops made it up to 6%. Iirc.)




Regarding warpaint, the various posters were right on, even if that was not their intent.

From the Re-enactment rules:

"Participants whose portrayal requires that they wear body paint should be considerate of other
reenactors and visitors who do not want to get paint stains on their clothing and hands. Please
wipe off as much of the paint as possible before using the Fort�s showers and remove any
residual paint left on the Fort�s chairs and benches."


And regarding wearing of the kilts. (At least by the re-enactors, not tourists):

"Scottish portrayals are restricted to the Highland units that served with the British Army in North
America during the periods 1755-1764 and 1775-1783.
� Civilians may NOT wear Scottish Highland dress
� Jacobite clothing or insignias of any kind are specifically prohibited"

Finally, Ft Ticonderoga was privately owned at one point and there was a Vacation Resort built between the Fort and Lake Champlain. On the frontyard of the hotel were these signs. Certainly the incident happened within a few miles, though.





Chuck