Siege of Fort Ticonderoga (1777)

Siege of Fort Ticonderoga (1777)
Part of the American Revolutionary War
Fort Ticonderoga as seen from Mount Defiance
Date 2–6 July 1777 Location Fort Ticonderoga, New York 43°50′29″N 73°23′17″W / 43.84139°N 73.38806°W / 43.84139; -73.38806 Result British victory
Belligerents
Great Britain Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Hesse-Hanau Iroquois	United States
Commanders and leaders
John Burgoyne William Phillips	Arthur St. Clair Philip Schuyler
Strength
7,800[1][2]	3,000[3]
Casualties and losses
5 killed[4][5]	18 killed and wounded[6][4]

The siege of Fort Ticonderoga occurred between 2 July and 6 July 1777 at Fort Ticonderoga, near the southern end of Lake Champlain in the state of New York. Lieutenant General John Burgoyne's 8,000-man army occupied high ground above the fort, and nearly surrounded the defenses. These movements precipitated the occupying Continental Army, an under-strength force of 3,000 under the command of General Arthur St. Clair, to withdraw from Ticonderoga and the surrounding defenses. Some gunfire was exchanged, and there were some casualties, but there was no formal siege and no pitched battle. Burgoyne's army occupied Fort Ticonderoga and Mount Independence, the extensive fortifications on the Vermont side of the lake, without opposition on 6 July. Advance units pursued the retreating Americans.

The uncontested surrender of Ticonderoga caused an uproar in the American public and in its military circles, as Ticonderoga was widely believed to be virtually impregnable, and a vital point of defense. General St. Clair and his superior, General Philip Schuyler, were vilified by Congress. Both were eventually exonerated in courts martial, but their careers were adversely affected. Schuyler had already lost his command to Horatio Gates by the time of the court martial, and St. Clair held no more field commands for the remainder of the war.