Bert Gildart: Writer and Photographer

PURSUING PHOTOS AND PROSE
With Kayaks, Mountain bikes, Backpacks, Daypacks, Walking Sticks, Fishing Poles—and an Airstream Travel Trailer

Bert Gildart: If you visit Fort Ticonderoga in New York—the site back-dropping one of the first significant battles for the Colonies in the Revolutionary War—your first stop should be Mount Defiance rather than the 1700s fort.

Though that’s not what we did yesterday, it’s what we now know we should have done. From the small village of Ticonderoga, located along Lake Champlain, it’s about a five minute drive to the top of the small hill over looking the fort—and much of what that fort once commanded.

That’s what we should have done, for it’s the quickest way to acquire an understanding of the fort’s strategic importance—and the significance of its name.

Mohawk Indians helped name the area, and to them the word Ticonderoga meant “the place between the great waters.” Standing there on top of Mount Defiance, it’s easy now to envision the fort’s importance. To the east, Lake Champlain sprawls before you. Turn now 180 degrees and you can see the drainage of Lake George, something cannon fire could control. And now, it’s time to visit the fort proper.

If you join one of the tours you learn right away that the security of New France and New England depended on the fortification and defense of this critical pass. And so, in 1755, the French began to build a fort, but because war was being waged in Europe, little attention was paid to this far flung outpost, and it remained unfinished—and vulnerable. In 1758, English troops, which outnumbered French troops five to one, stormed the fort. But under the superb leadership of the French general, Marquis de Montcalm, Fort Carrilon, as it was then known, held. Today, a marker commemorates the bravery of General Montcalm. In fact, you see the marker along the picturesque drive leading to the fort.

Subsequently, the British acquired the fort through negotiations, but they didn’t hold it long. On May 10, 1775 Ethan Allen demanded surrender from the British. He was joined by Benedict Arnold (Yes, the man who later turned traitor to the American cause), and together they claimed the first victory in the Revolutionary War.

That is a thumbnail sketch of the historic significance of this colorful fort, but it’s only a part of what we came to see. We wanted to see the pageantry still celebrated at this fort, and part of that is the first order of the day.

Because the history of the fort was shaped by three nations, each morning at the fort the day begins with the raising of French, British and American flags. About an hour later, there’s a cannon demonstration, and interpreters demonstrate the correct way to load a cannon. Simultaneously, they explain that cannon ball range is well over a mile, and that that range is adequate to control the passage to and from Lake George.

As well, the grounds on which the fort is housed also contains an elegant series of gardens, reminiscent of the time early French soldiers produced their own staples, as well as of the first attempts to attract tourist interested in Revolutionary history.

Recognizing a business opportunity, William Ferris Pell purchased the fort and the grounds in 1820, built a hotel and enhanced the grounds with a garden that offered beauty and the historic interpretation of the French to produce their own food.

Though the fort and grounds subsequently passed through several owners, today management is controlled by the Fort Ticonderoga Association. It’s all very photogenic, and is what Janie and I spent an entire day attempting to interpret.

Typically, Janie approached images with more standard lenses while I search for close-up opportunities with my 80-400 Nikon lens with image stabilization. At this stop, Janie also devoted more attention to the gardens. It’s a way of optimizing our time at a site that has such an incredible amount of material to absorb.

After all, Fort Ticonderoga lays claim to America’s first victory in the Revolutionary War, and they’ve gone to lengths to interpret, in time and place, the conditions of that claim.

 

——–

 

This entry was posted on Friday, August 25th, 2006 at 12:12 pm and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.