Two Revolutionary War letters are reunited at Fort Ticonderoga after 250 years apart
Two Revolutionary War letters were recently brought together at a museum in upstate New York, exactly 250 years after they were written.
Fort Ticonderoga in Essex County, near Lake Champlain, announced the reunion of the letters in a May 21 statement. The fort was the setting of several battles during the American Revolution and the French and Indian War.
The then-British fortress was famously captured by Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold in May 1775, marking a pivotal moment in the early stages of the Revolutionary War.
The letters by Arnold and his correspondent John Stevens were written after the historic event.
In his May 17 letter, Arnold informed Stevens that he had crossed paths with Allen, who had just led a raid on the British-controlled Fort St. Jean (or John) in Québec.
"Col. Allen & his party is just arrived from St. Johns, when they were attacked," Arnold's letter read. "[And they] were obliged to make a precipitate retreat … They have returned without provision & much fatigued."
In his reply, Stevens wrote that more provisions were on the way to support American forces, despite difficulties with enlistments.
"He had helped capture Fort Ticonderoga, and had already sailed north and attacked another British post at St. Jean in Québec."
"[T]he City of Albany and Country are sending in provisions continually … I am informed there is a great quantity more coming from different parts of the country," he wrote.
Speaking to Fox News Digital, Fort Ticonderoga curator Matthew Keagle stressed that the letters were written long before Arnold famously defected to the British.
"At the time these letters were written, Arnold was less than two weeks into consolidating control over Ticonderoga and Crown Point," the historian noted.
"He had helped capture Fort Ticonderoga, and had already sailed north and attacked another British post at St. Jean in Québec, capturing more redcoats and the only British sloop on Lake Champlain."
Keagle also noted the rivalry between Arnold and Allen.
Although Allen commanded the mighty Green Mountain Boys militia during the expedition, Arnold was the only one with official government authorization from the Massachusetts Committee of Safety.
"This was a tense alliance, and it collapsed the day after the capture [of Fort Ticonderoga]," Keagle said.
"Arnold tried to assert control over what he saw as unruly pilfering of the garrison's supplies and a lack of discipline and preparations."
He added, "His departure to attack St. Jean got him away, and he and Allen did not serve together again."
And who exactly was Stevens, Arnold's less-famous correspondent?
Keagle said that while Stevens "is not a familiar name," he played an active role in the fight for independence.
"After Fort Ticonderoga was taken, Stevens came to Fort George at the southern end of Lake George, and commanded the forces there through July 1775," Keagle noted.
"He was later commissioned as a captain in a Connecticut regiment and was captured by the British at the Battle of the Cedars in May of 1776 in Canada."
The Arnold letter was recently given to the museum in memory of a former trustee.
Interestingly, the letters have not been this physically close together since Stevens wrote his response to Arnold's letter in May 1775.
Stevens' letter has been in the possession of Fort Ticonderoga for decades, but the Arnold letter was recently given to the museum in memory of former trustee George M. Jones.
Rather than being on display in an exhibit, the letters are part of the "Ticonderoga's Treasures of 1775" experience; Keagle is bringing guests face-to-face with original documents and artifacts from Ticonderoga's collections.
The recently unified letters reflect the significant role that New York state played during the American Revolution.
In a similar venture, the New York State Museum recently began displaying a Revolutionary War-era ship at its Albany headquarters, around 100 miles south of Ticonderoga.
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