View of Fort Ticonderoga

Fort Ticonderoga, in New York state, is a large eighteenth-century fort.

Its name comes from an Iroquois word which means "it is at the junction of two waterways." Those waterways are Lake Champlain and Lake George.

During colonial America, the fort was significant for trade routes between French-controlled territory (the Saint Lawrence River Valley) and English-controlled territory (the Hudson River Valley).

During the early months of the American Revolutionary War, Britain stored weapons at the fort. The Patriots wanted those weapons to force the Redcoats out of Boston.