| 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. |  |
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.
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.
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.
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.
