Fort Ticonderoga

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Happy #ManuscriptMonday! The last major battle between the Continental Army and the British Army during the Revolutionary War may have been the siege of Yorktown in September-October 1781, but the Treaty of Paris which ended the war wasn’t signed until September 3, 1783. Parliament voted against continuing the war on the American continent on February 27, 1782, and peace negotiations began in Paris in May 1782. American and British forces then settled into an armistice, but British troops remained in New York City until November 25, 1783. As negotiations dragged on, General Guy Carleton, the former governor of Canada who had menaced Ticonderoga in 1776 and the new commander-in-chief of the British army in North America, was left to an uneasy coexistence with American authorities. He prepared for an orderly evacuation of New York City and tried to remain on good terms with Americans while protecting British interests. Today’s manuscript, MS.2155, illustrates this uneasy truce. The document is a letter dated July 25, 1783 from Carleton to Massachusetts governor and former Continental Congress president John Hancock. Carleton responds to a request from Hancock, stating that he has ordered an enquiry and that he is enclosing a report with the results. The report itself is not with the cover, and it is not known what Hancock requested or how the matter was resolved, but the letter hints at Carleton’s attitude towards cooperation with his former enemies. It is full of scrupulously polite good wishes without containing any real promises: “I sincerely wish the affair may be adjusted by amicable agreement, so as to give satisfaction for all concerned.” While Carleton’s tenure in New York may not have given satisfaction to all, he walked a diplomatic tightrope and successfully evacuated the British Army, tens of thousands of loyalists, and thousands of Black men, women, and children who had escaped enslavement to seek safety in British lines.

This document can be found on our online database in the link in bio. #TiconderogaCollections #OpeningTheVault https://fortticonderoga.pastperfectonline.com/Archive/C80CAB7B-76D7-4E34-9E68-115031522187

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Exciting artifact news this week! This newly cataloged plate rim fragment with the text “Success to the” was found during survey work in 1998 and is likely from the same plate as a fragment found during the early 20th century restoration that says “and His Forces”. The whole plate rim would have read “Success to the King of Prussia and His Forces”, and dates to the British and Prussian alliance during the Seven Years’ War, also known as the French and Indian War. You’ll be able to learn more about Prussia’s role in the end of the Seven Years’ War and see this new artifact in our upcoming exhibit “Success: The End of the Seven Years’ War”! #TiconderogaCollections #FortTiconderoga #Archaeology #archaeology #artifact #britain #prussia #plate #foodways #18thcentury #sevenyearswar #frenchandindianwar

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MARK YOUR CALENDARS! Fort Ticonderoga opens for the daily visitation season starting May 6th!

Hailed as the premier living history site in North America, Fort Ticonderoga’s staff brings history to life every day! This year, join us Tuesday-Sunday to see the unfolding story as British soldiers and American provincials prepare on land and on Lake Champlain for their last campaign into the heart of French Canada!

Ticonderoga’s epic history and signature stories are highlighted through innovative storytelling on a grand scale featuring historic trades, daily soldiers’ life programs, thrilling weapons demonstrations, endless outdoor activities, and captivating special events. Enhance your Ticonderoga experience with a narrated boat cruise on Lake Champlain late May-early October.

Fort Ticonderoga and Mount Defiance are open Tuesday-Sunday May 6-October 29, 2023 from 10am-5pm (last entry 4:30pm).

More information on daily programming, special events, boat cruises, and premium experiences can be found by clicking the link in our bio www.fortticonderoga.org

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Happy #ManuscriptMonday! In previous posts, you’ve seen some photography setups used by the Collections department to photograph objects of all shapes and sizes. Today we’re taking a deeper dive into some tools of the trade that come in handy when photographing manuscripts. While the word “manuscript” may call to mind an unpublished draft of an author’s work, the definition used in an archives is a document that is handwritten (or typewritten) rather than printed. A manuscript can be a small scrap of paper used as a receipt, a large and extravagantly calligraphic military commission, a bound journal, or anything in between. Fort Ticonderoga’s archives also contain materials other than manuscripts, such as broadsides or maps. To catalog this material, staff must photograph objects ranging from tiny to huge that present a variety of challenges. Some documents are worn and fragile; some have been folded for long enough that they no longer lie flat; bound documents tend to flip shut on their own and can be harmed by too much pressure on their spine. The items seen in these photos help Ticonderoga’s catalogers deal with those challenges. Our adjustable copystand column lets us position our camera at different heights, allowing us to get in close to tiny documents and position the camera so that large documents can be captured in a single photo. For fragile manuscripts, a microspatula (the small silver object) can be used to gently turn pages and make precise adjustments. If items will not lie flat, their corners can be held down with small squares of transparent acrylic or with a book snake (a cotton-covered weighted tube) to coax them into alignment with the camera. For more stubborn creases or for bound documents, we use a book holder, a device with a panel of glass that can be adjusted to the correct height and lowered onto a document, holding it open and in plane. To prevent any damage to delicate spines, foam blocks of different thicknesses are used to support either or both sides of the document.

Documents photographed with these tools can be seen in our database, link in bio: https://fortticonderoga.pastperfectonline.com/Archive #TiconderogaCollections

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Everyone seems to be talking about hoops this month! Fort Ticonderoga`s collections include this copper barrel hoop found on Rogers Island. The hoop is marked with a Broad Arrow indicating that it was British military property. Powder barrels typically used bands of thin wood or copper to prevent sparks, eliminating the danger of an accidental explosion.

Check out the record and additional photos on the Ticonderoga Online Collections database through the link in bio! #TiconderogaCollections #Marchmadness #hoop #archaeology #NewYork #FortTiconderoga #museum #copper #England #Britain

https://fortticonderoga.pastperfectonline.com/webobject/A93B3FEF-99F0-47BE-B7E4-538547947500

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This platter rim fragment was recovered in the 2006 Northeast Bastion excavations as part of work prior to the building of the Mars Education Center and recently cataloged by Jaron from @castletonedu Made in the mid-18th century in France, likely in Rouen, this platter once featured alternating blue, black, and white stripe designs with leaf-like ornamentations on the rim. It is also possible that the center of the platter was decorated with a floral pattern. During the French’s occupation at Ticonderoga from 1755 to 1759, this platter was used by officers while dining. Take a look at other French ceramics found at Fort Ticonderoga through the Ticonderoga Online Collections database through the link in bio! This project was made possible by the Alma Gibbs Donchian Foundation. #TiconderogaCollections #FindsFriday #fortticonderoga #archaeology #artifact #catalog #internship #French #ceramics

https://fortticonderoga.pastperfectonline.com/Search?search_criteria=faience&onlyimages=false