NEWSLETTER
Rare objects to be on display including documents signed by President George Washington
Ticonderoga, N.Y. – Fort Ticonderoga, a premiere historic and travel destination, will honor U.S. military veterans during a one-day event on Nov. 9 in advance of Veterans Day. Visitors will experience the American Army’s trials at Ticonderoga and can reflect on the sacrifices which led to victory and independence.
In addition, a one-day exhibit will feature rare objects of American service. On display in the museum during this special history event will be Charles Peale Polk’s portrait of Commander (later President) George Washington in front of Nassau Hall at Princeton, the site of his important victory. Displayed alongside Polk’s stunning portrait will be contemporary maps of New York and New Jersey, visualizing the journey of Continentals from Ticonderoga to Delaware. Two of the rare objects of Continental service will be on public display: a sergeant’s discharge and an officer’s diploma of membership in the society of the Cincinnati, both signed by their commander Washington.
“Washington and a small core of long-serving soldiers maintained the war for American independence,” said Matthew Keagle, curator at Fort Ticonderoga. “Many officers and men of Washington’s army of 1783 were veterans of a range of campaigns, including the defense of Ticonderoga in 1776. When the soldiers of the Ticonderoga garrison marched to Washington, few likely imagined that the war would last until 1783. The perseverance of this small army maintained pressure of the British that was vital to winning the independence of the nation. These soldiers justifiably felt that they had sacrificed for their country, and often took different views of what that meant, but one constant was Washington’s guiding presence.”
Highlighted programming throughout the day will recreate the life of the soldiers of the Continental Army at Ticonderoga in 1776. From packing up their tents for their journey south to support Washington’s ranks, to the stirring martial music of the fifes and drums, visitors will experience the final preparations for their march to their winter quarters.
This event is free for all active and retired military personnel. For more information, visit fortticonderoga.org.
Photo: Photo caption: Charles Peale Polk, nephew of the famous American painter Charles Willson Peale, painted this portrait of George Washington circa 1790. The painting depicts Washington in front of Nassau Hall in Princeton, New Jersey, a reference to his important victory there in 1777. Fort Ticonderoga Museum Collection.
About Fort Ticonderoga:
Welcoming visitors since 1909, Fort Ticonderoga preserves North America’s largest 18th-century artillery collection, 2,000 acres of historic landscape on Lake Champlain, and Carillon Battlefield, and the largest series of untouched Revolutionary War era earthworks surviving in America. As a multi-day destination and the premier place to learn more about our nation’s earliest years and America’s military heritage, Fort Ticonderoga engages more than 75,000 visitors each year with an economic impact of more than $12 million annually and offers programs, historic interpretation, boat cruises, tours, demonstrations, and exhibits throughout the year, and is open for daily visitation May through October. Fort Ticonderoga is supported in part through generous donations and with some general operating support made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.