THE HOGGATTEER REVOLUTION
  • Homeroom
  • Orientation
    • Class Handbook
    • Families: The Wind Beneath Our Wings
    • Meet the Teacher
    • Place in the World
    • Teachers: File Cabinet
  • Positivity
    • Earn Your Wings
    • G.R.O.S.S.
    • Insightful Poetry
    • Inspirational Prose
    • Meaningful Quotes
    • Positive Behavior Conversations
  • Exploration
    • Celebrate Good Times (Come On)
    • Cerebral Cinema >
      • Hoggatt-Made Videos
      • Mood Music
      • Music Appreciation
      • Positive Behavior Conversations
    • Coursework >
      • Cultivating America
      • Focus on Science
      • Let's Communicate
      • M4+HEM4+1C5
      • Missouri, USA
      • Recess Bell

Fort Ticonderoga:  First Looks

8/18/2019

0 Comments

 
When I first stepped onto the grounds at Fort Ticonderoga, everything was silent.  The first thing I noticed was how few people were there - barely anyone stirring as the fort woke up for the day.  A couple of soldiers just arrived in the parking lot and walked to the front gates just ahead of me.

At the entry gate, a couple of gift shop workers carried on a conversation.  I approached the counter to see if I could get in as one of the teachers participating in the Teacher Institute scheduled to begin later that day.
Picture
​And pretty soon, I was through the door and walking the short path to the fort.  I'll mention that it was silent once again, because the silence really was surreal.  I seemed alone, though there was some distant movement inside the walls.  Outside, however, the cricket and cicada sounds that I am used to were no where to be heard.  Looking over the lake, I noticed no motorized boats on the lake, no planes or helicopters in the air, and no cars from the parking lot.
Picture
I felt like I could take my time and appreciate my surroundings.  I walked up the steps to the flag pole, sans flag at this time of the day, and peered over the wall at the La Chute River for the first time.  The La Chute is the waterway that descends from Lake George into Lake Champlain, so steeply that it is unnavigable by boat.  From the fort, it appears as a marshy part of the lake, with water plants all over - really something of a unique setting.
Picture
Then, of course, came the rows of 18th century cannon and mortars - large guns just standing before me waiting to be touched.  I spent time with many of them individually, laying my hands on them in an attempt to read their memories of battles 200-300 years ago.  I ran my fingers across their designs trying to imagine the soldiers whose jobs it was to move them or manipulate them, trying to figure out how they could be aimed accurately, and trying to hear those distant reports as they fired point-blank into an approaching collection of boats on the water or up onto Mount Defiance on the other side.
A few plaques decorated the walls of the fort, commemorating the rich history of the place.  Beginning with the French and Indian battles fought there, the courageous men who led or the brave soldiers who fought around the great fort.  I remembered that I was walking in the same place of famous Americans, Frenchmen, and British leaders - people like George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, but also Benedict Arnold, Phillip Schuyler, Henry Knox, and Ethan Allen.  Names like Montcalm, Amherst, Burgoyne, and Rogers stood out to me, and I had to stop to consider each of their contributions to the history of our nation.

Finally ready to enter the fort past the the big wooden doors and through the tunnel, I could hear French troops drilling, fifes and drums fifing and drumming, and chickens.  A few guests already shuffled along in the gravel, also waking up to a very warm morning that would become a dangerously hot day later.

Find more about the Fort Ticonderoga Teacher Institute on my Fort Ticonderoga page.
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Anthem

    The Hoggatteer Revolution
    is
    an extensive,
    award-winning, 
    inimitable,
    digital platform
    for Encouraging
    ​and Developing
    ​the Arts and Sciences

    in the beautiful, friendly

    LAND OF THE FREE
    AND THE HOME
    ​OF THE BRAVE
    This site is described as
    "a fantastic site... chockablock full of interesting ideas,
    hilarious ane
    cdotes,
    and useful resources."
    Picture
    Picture
    ...to like, bookmark, pin,
    ​tweet, and share

    about us...and check in regularly for updates, posted before DAWN'S EARLY LIGHT, daily!
    Picture

    Campus Map

    Picture
    Your Source for At-Home Learning during Social Distancing for the Spring of 2020
    Picture

    Passing Notes

    GigSalad Member Since 2022
    Book Mr. Hoggatt Securely
    ​for Your Event
    ​at GigSalad.com.
    Email Mr. Hoggatt
    Picture

    Trophy Case

    Picture
    Selected Participant for 2020-2022
    Picture
    Selected Honoree/Celebrant, 2022
    Picture
    Outstanding Achievement, 2022
    Picture
    Nominated, January 2022
    Picture
    2021 Missouri History Teacher of the Year and National History Teacher of the Year Nominee
    Picture
    Recognized in Joplin Globe, February 2021
    Picture
    Teacher Institute Participant, 2019
    Picture
    Ancestry Classroom Grant, Since 2018
    Picture
    Summer Residency Participant, 2018
    Picture
    "The Bus Stops Here" Grant, November 2018
    Picture
    Summer Residency, 2018
    Picture
    Recognized 2017
    Since 2017
    Picture
    MSTA Media Award, KOAM-TV's "Manners Matter", Featuring Our Class, May 2017
    Picture
    Third Place, 2016 Film Festival
    Picture
    Recognized 2016
    2014 Recipient
    Picture
    Slide Certified, 2012
    Picture
    2009 Outstanding Class Website
    Picture
    2005 Nominee
    Picture
    2005 Joplin Teacher of the Year and Missouri Teacher of the Year nominee
    Picture
    2004 Recipient
    Picture
    2002 Excellent Education Program
    Picture
    2001 Nominee
    Picture
    1996 Outstanding Classroom Video
    Picture
    Grant Recipient, 1993

    Picture

    Fireside Chats

    Picture
    Choose Your Platform:
    Anchor
    ​Apple Podcasts (iTunes)
    Breaker
    Google Podcasts
    ​
    Overcast
    Pocket Casts
    RadioPublic
    Spotify
    Stitcher
    Picture

    Archives

    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012

    Picture

    Checks & Balances

    Links to external sites
    on the internet are for convenience only.

    No endorsement or approval of any content, products, or services is intended.

    Opinions on sites are not necessarily shared
    by Mr. Hoggatt
    (In fact, sometimes
    Mr. Hoggatt doesn't agree with anyone.)
    Picture

The Hoggatteer Revolution

H

O

P

E