Fort Ticonderoga from its construction prior to the French and Indian Wars was always felt to be impregnable from a frontal assault. It was also believed that it was impossible to drag cannon to the top of any nearby hill to bombard it. Yet in the summer of 1776, but a year before, semi lame Benedict Arnold accompanied by Colonel Jonathan Trumbull and Anthony Wayne shattered this myth by ascending the same hill the British used which overlooked the fort. They postulated dragging a cannon up the gentle south slope would be no problem. Shells fired from the peak could hit anywhere in the fort. They went so far as to have the fort cannonade the hill to prove that its shells could only reach three quarters of the way up the slope. The trio presented their finding to General Horatio "Granny" Gates the commander at the time. He dismissed them out of hand stating the hill was unscalable. Gates was so out of touch that he could not realize that over the sixty some years of Ticonderoga's existence cannons were now lighter, more mobile, and the improved powder could throw shells farther. Thus the Rebel's Gilbraltar of the North fell. Yet Gates, the man responsible for the loss, would receive future promotions while others would receive the blame. Battle of Saratoga Simon Fraser We Have Met The Enemy and He Is Us Why Build a Road Through the Wilderness? Ticonderoga's Fatal Flaw Three British Generals Battle of Saratoga Jumbo Map (very slow: 349K) More Benedict Arnold Part 1: Early Activities Part 2: Invasion of Canada Part 3: The Battle of Valcour Island Part 4: Prelude to Saratoga Part 5: Battle of Saratoga Back to Cry Havoc #28 Table of Contents Back to Cry Havoc List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by David W. Tschanz. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com