🇺🇸 WEEKLY AMERICAN HERITAGE: Mount Independence in Vermont

(Explore the history and landscape of the United States as we approach the 250th anniversary of American Independence. Get out your atlas and almanac and follow along!)

Vermont is our homeschool state-of-the-week, so why not spend a few minutes today with your students learning about one of Vermont’s important historic places: Mount Independence, which was a key fortification site on Lake Champlain during the American Revolution.

“Mount Independence State Historic Site is one of the nation’s most significant Revolutionary War sites, offering six miles of trails along the archaeological remains of the fortification. Jointly owned and managed by the State of Vermont’s Division for Historic Preservation and the Fort Ticonderoga Association, Mount Independence documents the critical efforts to defend northern New York, New England, and the cause of American liberty.”

From July 1776 to July 1777, the fate of the newly independent United States of America rested on this rocky peninsula on the east side of Lake Champlain, located in what is today Orwell, Vermont. This strong defensive position was first called East Point or Rattlesnake Hill but was renamed Mount Independence after the Declaration of Independence was read to the soldiers assembled here.

Lieutenant Colonel Jeduthan Baldwin of Massachusetts, chief engineer of the American Northern Army, with assistance from Thaddaeus Kosciusko, designed the sophisticated three-tier defensive system at Mount Independence. By late October 1776, three brigades had completed encampments, the large shore battery and horseshoe-shaped battery, and began a picket fort in the center of the Mount. The sight of Mount Independence, Fort Ticonderoga, and 12,000 assembled troops proved so impressive that British General Guy Carleton and his fleet abandoned an attempted invasion, retreating to Canada for the winter.

The American soldiers strategically retreated from Mount Independence in July 1777 as the German and British troops occupied the area. Over a period of four months, the enemy strengthened the defenses to withstand an American counterattack as the bulk of the invading army under British General John Burgoyne marched south to defeat at Bennington and ultimately to surrender at Saratoga. (vermont.gov)

You can find a wealth of additional information about the history, landscape, and visitor facilities at Mount Independence on the webpages of the Mount Independence Coalition and the Vermont Division of Historic Preservation, and also on the Mount Independence page on Wikipedia.

Explore America’s National Parks, National Historical Parks, National Historic Sites, National Monuments, and more via Wikipedia and via the U.S. National Park Service’s website today.

What American treasures have you and your students explored in your homeschool this Cygnus Term? 🇺🇸

❡ The great globe itself: This is one of our regular Homeschool Geography posts featuring important natural and historical sites in the United States. Print your own copy of our River Houses American Heritage Calendar and follow along with us, and add your name to our weekly mailing list to get great homeschool teaching ideas delivered right to your mailbox all through the year. 🌎

❡ We set to-day a votive stone: If you want a great long-term history and geography project for your homeschool, explore the Historical Marker Database online (hmdb.org) and make a plan to find all the markers that are listed in your local area. Add any new ones you know of that are missing, and add new photos or descriptions for the ones already included. Your students will gain a better appreciation for your local community and will learn a wealth of new information about history and geography. 🏛️

❡ Print this little lesson: Down at the bottom of this post you’ll find a special “Print” button that will let you create a neat and easy-to-read copy of this little lesson, and it will even let you edit and delete sections you don’t want or need (such as individual images or footnotes). Give it a try today! 🖨️

❡ Books in the running brooks: You can always turn to your River Houses atlas and almanac for more information about any of our homeschool states-of-the-week. The almanac has detailed profiles of all the U.S. states and territories, and the endpapers of the atlas are indexes that will show you where all of the individual national and regional maps may be found. 📚

❡ Homeschool calendars: We have a whole collection of free, printable, educational homeschool calendars and planners available on our main River Houses calendar page. They will help you create a light and easy structure for your homeschool year. Give them a try today! 🗓️

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