Known as the leader of Vermont’s Green Mountain Boys, Ethan Allen is considered a folk hero of the American Revolution and of the state of Vermont. Allen was born and raised on the rugged frontier of eighteenth-century New England. He successfully ran his family’s farm, participated in the French and Indian War, played a significant role in founding the state of Vermont, and led American forces in capturing Fort Ticonderoga at the beginning of the American Revolution. Because he was a pivotal personality in the American Revolution and the establishment of the state of Vermont, Allen’s life has been subject to much legend-making.
Few stories of heroism in American legend equal the account of Ethan Allen’s march on Fort Ticonderoga in May of 1775. The fort occupied an important geographical position on Lake Champlain near the border between New York and British Canada. Allen’s forces captured the fort and its crucial supply of cannon and shot, which were moved to the front lines and used to force withdrawal of British forces from Boston. Coming early in the war, Allen’s expedition inspired the American independence movement. (Library of Congress)
Allen was born in 1738 in northern Connecticut, which was frontier wilderness at the time. Allen was the oldest of eight children. At an early age, he was widely known in his community for his intelligence (he started reading at an early age) and his feats of strength. As a young man he stood six feet five inches tall, making him nearly a foot taller than the average man at the time. There are several accounts of his extraordinary strength, but it is difficult to separate fact from myth. It is said that Allen once strangled a mountain lion after it attacked him; that he was once bitten by a rattlesnake and compared its bite to that of a mosquito; it was also said that he could lift a one-hundred-pound bag of flour with his teeth and fling it onto his shoulder. These specific tales may or may not be true, but the fact that he was much stronger than most men was widely reported by his contemporaries.
Allen’s parents planned on sending him to Yale for his education. However, Allen’s father died unexpectedly and the responsibilities of taking care of the family and running the family farm fell to Ethan. Allen ran the family farm successfully for two years, and then at nineteen years of age, he participated briefly in the French and Indian War that was raging around the world, including Great Britain’s North American colonies. Allen returned to managing his family farm for a few years, but once his brothers were old enough to run it themselves, Allen moved about the New England area engaged in several different business ventures. Ever on the move and always eager to be on the frontier, Allen made his way to Vermont in 1770 after learning of new lands and business opportunities. Allen settled in the New Hampshire Grants, an area that was claimed by both New Hampshire and New York. He became the commander of the Green Mountain Boys, a militia unit created to fight off other land speculators coming from New York. The Green Mountain Boys took their name from the Green Mountain range, which is located in what eventually became the state of Vermont. The Green Mountain Boys were not an official military unit, though they did give Allen the rank of colonel. The dispute between the Green Mountain Boys and New Yorkers was largely a war of words, debates, and posturing. After a brief stare down of opposed armed forces, the New Yorkers backed down. The outbreak of the American Revolution in 1775 soon pushed this minor conflict to the side.
The pivotal event that made Ethan Allen a notable part of American folklore was his role in the early stages of the American Revolution. Just days after the conflicts at Lexington and Concord, Connecticut authorities asked Allen if he would lead an assault against the British at Fort Ticonderoga. Situated on Lake Champlain in New York, the fort gave the British a strategic base of operations in eastern New York and New England. It also had artillery pieces that George Washington’s army badly needed. Capturing the fort and the guns could help the rebel effort immensely. The capture of Fort Ticonderoga by Allen and the Green Mountain Boys has gone down in American history as a significant moment. This, however, was not a battle. In fact, no one on either side was killed. Allen might have died when a British sentry shot at him at short range, but the sentry’s musket misfired. There were only fifty British soldiers at the fort, and they were caught by surprise in the middle of the night. While not a heated battle, the capture of the fort was significant. It was very symbolic that a group of rag-tag militia had captured an important British fort and that Allen narrowly escaped death. That symbolism was not lost on American rebels and their sympathizers; many saw it as divine intervention on their behalf. It was also significant because the artillery from the fort was sent all the way to Boston under the direction of Henry Knox. Once in Boston, the artillery pieces were used by General George Washington to force the British to evacuate the city. These early victories gave the Americans hope, especially in more difficult times that were yet to come.
Allen never felt as if he were ever sufficiently recognized for his role in the capture of Fort Ticonderoga. When he was not promoted for his efforts, he became bitter and resentful. He was given a small command and sent to Canada to recruit for the American effort. While there, he acted rashly and decided to capture the city of Montreal with just one hundred men. It was a disastrous decision. Allen was captured by the British and spent two and a half years on a British prisoner ship. Eventually, he returned to the colonies as part of a prisoner exchange. Soon after, Allen wrote a best-selling book about his experiences as a prisoner of the British. After that he seemed to lose interest in the revolution, instead throwing himself into the cause of Vermont’s independence. Allen continued his war of words and legal action against New Yorkers who claimed Vermont as their own. Toward the end of the American Revolution, Allen negotiated with the British, offering peace if the British would recognize the independence of Vermont. Of all of Allen’s actions, these are the most controversial, and historians have debated his intentions ever since. Some argue that Allen was simply trying to buy time, hoping that the war would end; others argue that he was trying to force Congress into recognizing Vermont as its own state, thus ending the battle with New York. The American War for Independence ended in 1783, removing the British threat. Allen continued to work for Vermont statehood, which was achieved in 1791 when Vermont became the fourteenth state. Unfortunately, Ethan Allen died in 1789 and never saw his dream become reality. Regardless, Allen was enshrined in the pantheon of American Revolutionary War heroes, and celebrations of their heroism throughout the nineteenth and twentieth century ensured that Allen’s legend would grow in the retelling.
Arnold, Benedict (1741–1801)
Although he fought alongside Ethan Allen at the Battle of Fort Ticonderoga, the name “Benedict Arnold” is seared into the American consciousness as the epitome of the word “treason”; in the secular myth of the founding of the United States he takes on the role of Judas, the ultimate betrayer. Indeed, in popular parlance, “Benedict Arnold” has long been American shorthand for “traitor.” A general in the American forces, Arnold became a turncoat in 1779, possibly because of his marriage to a loyalist bride; moreover, he felt his heroism had been slighted and his reputation had been tarnished by charges of corruption. When Arnold’s British handler, Major André, was captured and executed, Arnold openly declared his allegiance to the Crown, going so far as to lead a raid on New London, Connecticut. Benedict Arnold relocated to England after the revolution, dying in ignominy in London in 1801.
C. Fee
Paul Frazier
See also Attucks, Crispus; Founding Myths; Ross, Betsy; Washington, George; Yankee Doodle
Further Reading
Duffy, John J. 2014. Inventing Ethan Allen. Lebanon, NH: University Press of New England.
Randall, Willard S. 2011. Ethan Allen: His Life and Times. New York: W. W. Norton.
Raphael, Ray. 2014. Founding Myths: Stories That Hide Our Patriotic Past. London: New Press.
Smith, Richard. 2010. Ethan Allen and the Capture of Fort Ticonderoga: America’s First Victory. Charleston, SC: History Press.