Siege of Fort Ticonderoga and Battle of Hubbardton

Background. American forces had held Fort Ticonderoga, near the southern end of Lake Champlain in New York, since capturing it in May 1775, and spent 1776 and 1777 strengthening its defenses. After the failed invasion of Quebec and the October 1776 Battle of Valcour Island, General Guy Carleton declined to assault Ticonderoga in 1776. In 1777, having convinced King George III of Carleton's faults, Burgoyne received command of the forces charged with seizing the lake and the Hudson River valley.

The Siege and Evacuation. Burgoyne moved an army of 8,000 down Lake Champlain in late June, arriving near Fort Ticonderoga on July 1; the siege ran from July 2 to July 6, 1777. When the Americans under St. Clair discovered that British cannons had been placed on a position overlooking the fort, they evacuated that night, marching down a rough road toward Hubbardton in the disputed New Hampshire Grants territory. The British occupied the forts without firing a shot.

Battle of Hubbardton. General Simon Fraser discovered the American abandonment early on July 6 and advanced in pursuit, camping about three miles from Hubbardton. On the morning of July 7 his forces surprised elements of the American rear guard, though other elements formed defensive lines. The British defeated the rearguard, taking many prisoners, but the engagement cost them enough that they did not pursue the main American army, which escaped to join Schuyler at Fort Edward.

Aftermath and Significance. Hubbardton was a British tactical victory but a strategic American one, since the troops who evacuated Ticonderoga lived to continue resisting Burgoyne's invasion. Many captured Americans were marched back to Fort Ticonderoga, while most British troops moved to Skenesboro to rejoin Burgoyne. The escaped main body later contributed to American successes at Bennington and the Battles of Saratoga, where Burgoyne surrendered on October 17, 1777.