British+Capture+Fort+Ticonderoga

= **British Capture Fort Ticonderoga** = **Started: July 2, 1777** **Ended: July 6, 1777**

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__ **Background:** __

The Battle of Ticonderoga of 1777 was fought in Lake Champlain, upstate New York. The British, Hessians, and Brunswickers all fought together against the American Colonists. The Americans withdrew from the battle leaving the capture to the British. Major generals John Burgoyne and [|William Phillips] were the general of the British. Major General Arthur St. Clair was the general of the Americans.The British, Hessians, and Brunswickers had 7,213 troops in their army. On the other had the Americans had around 3,150 troops in their army. There was some gunfire between the two sides. There were not many deaths during the four day battle. Seven American's were killed and eleven wounded. On the other side, five British soldiers were killed and 6 were wounded. = =

The British wore redcoats. They wore headgear such as, bearskin caps and leather hats. This depended on whether the troops were grenadiers, light infantry, or battalion company men. The Germans wore blue coats. They kept the Prussian style grenadier mitre hats with a bass front plate. The Americans dressed the best that they could. Since they were a new colony they did not have much money to put toward nice uniforms, like the British did. The colonists didn't care if they = = had uniforms or not, they just wanted to fight and beat the British. They came up just short in the battle, but they would get their wish in future battles.

On July 4, 1777, the Americans had a quite celebration for their one year of independence. The British were aware of the significance of that date. That night, the Indians tried to worn the American's danger was ahead by lighting small fires on sugar loaf. Apparently, the American's did not receive that message. On the morning of July 5, 1777, Arthur St. Clair held a war council when the decision was made to retreat. They decided to make this decision after their position was completely exposed to the British. St. Clair said this after making the decision, "I could have saved my character and lost my army" by holding the fort, or "save my army and lose my character." This quote is very strong and shows how he was such a good man.

=media type="youtube" key="W1U26or844A" height="315" width="420" = **__John Burgoyne:__**

General John Burgoyne, nicknamed General Johnny, was born on February 24, 1722, and died August 4, 1792, (Age 70). He was a British officer. He got his first war experience in during the [|Seven Years' War]. Burgoyne is known for what he did in the. During the Battle of Saratoga he and his 5,000 troops surrendered to the American Troops on October 17, 1777. Most people do not know this but John Burgoyne was also an accomplished playwright. Some of his works were, [|The Maid of the Oaks] and [|The Heiress]. His plays never reached as much fame as his military career did.

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**__Arthur St. Clair:__**

Arthur St. Clair was born March 23, 1737, and died August 31, 1818, (Age 81). He was an American soldier and also a politician. Since he was born in Scotland, he served in the British Army during the French and Indian War. Later in his life he moved to Pennsylvania and held local office. During the American Revolutionary War he became major general of the Continental Army. However, he later lost command after a controversial retreat. After the conclusion of the war, St. Clair was elected to the Continental Congress. He served a term as president and had the opportunity to govern all of the Northwest territory. In 1791, Arthur St. Clair led his army against the natives. In this small battle St. Clair got his worst defeat he would ever get as a general. The Native America = = ns destroyed his army in a timely fashion. =     = =    =