Ethan Allen and The Green Mountain Boys
Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys are some of Vermont's greatest heroes. They are some of the great Vermonters who have done their share for our state and country. Ethan Allen spent much of his adult life fighting for independence for Vermont; first, fighting the British in the Revolutionary War (1775-1783), and then fighting New Yorkers to keep them from taking over Vermont.
The evening of May 9th 1775 found Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys holding a strategy meeting at what they called their headquarters. Most of townspeople called it the Catamount Tavern. After a good night of planning strategy in the pub, they attacked Fort Ticonderoga.
Ethan Allen and his men had considerable advantage over the British soldiers. Word had not reached the British that the war had begun. Allen decided it wasn't worth fighting a big fight if there was an easier way to capture the fort. He more or less just knocked on the gate of the fort and when the British soldiers opened the gate to find out who was waking them up, Allen told them they'd been captured. Now, stories change as they get told. Most of our history books have Allen demanding that the British surrender "in the name of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress." But, another version, quoted by Israel Harris who was there with Allen, says something different. Harris claims that Allen said "Come out of there, you goddamn old rat."
In the end, all 22 of the British soldiers surrendered and Fort Ticonderoga belonged to the Colonials. Allen quickly captured British forts at Crown Point and Fort Ann on Isle La Motte. He continued north to capture the town that was then called St. John, Quebec. (Now known as St. Jean.) In all, Allen captured three British forts and a British town. Most importantly, he captured a large number of cannon and gun powder that the Colonials used to drive the British out of Boston in October 1775.
Ethan Allen's luck ran out all too soon as he and the Green Mountain Boys continued their way north. General P. J. Schuyler of the Continental Army took charge of the Green Mountain Boys and the invasion of Montreal. In September 1775, The Green Mountain Boys attacked the British in Montreal. Unfortunately, the Continental Army they'd been expecting to help in attack hadn't yet shown up. The British soldiers in Montreal tried a new tactic - fighting back.
Ethan Allen was captured. The British shipped him off to England. Eventually, the British saw that the war wasn't going their way and they'd need to give us back the soldiers they'd captured if they expect to get back their soldiers. They shipped Allen to New York where the New Yorkers didn't treat him very well either.
The Revolutionary War was still going on. Vermont had not joined the original 13 Colonies. In 1777, Vermont declared itself independent and became New Connecticut and then, the Vermont Republic.
In 1778, Ethan Allen was released by New York and in 1779, he was back in Vermont. He negotiated with the British for a while to see if Vermont could become part of Canada. But, Vermont remained independent.
Back then, ownership of much of the land in Vermont had been granted by a law called the New Hampshire Grants. Most of the people living in the Vermont Republic thought they owned their land under this law. But, New York claimed the grants were invalid and New York claimed the right to issue titles to new owners - most to New Yorkers. This didn't sit very well with Vermonters. Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys got together in Fay’s Tavern in Bennington and decided they'd go to war with New York. There were several small fights along the border for a while before New York gave up.
Well, after all the fighting wound down, Ethan Allen spent more time farming and writing - all Vermont school kids used to read his Only Oracle Of Man. As Vermont grew our politicking got tamer. Ethan Allen was more suited to fighting than making speeches, and his influence dwindled. Allen died in 1789.
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