Ethan Allen

After volunteering for service in the French and Indian War, Ethan Allen settled in what is now Vermont, where he organized The Green Mountain Boys militia unit in the late 1760’s. At the outbreak of the American Revolution, Allen summoned his militia unit, and with the assistance of Connecticut troops led by Benedict Arnold, he captured the British Fort Ticonderoga, in May of 1775, without firing a shot. Later, as a volunteer in General Philip Schuyler’s Canadian Campaign, Allen conducted a foolhardy attempt to take Montreal, in the course of which he was captured by the British. Allen remained a prisoner until May 6, 1778, enduring rather rough treatment given his officer status. Congress gave Allen the brevet rank of colonel with back pay, but he did not serve in the war after his release. Instead, he devoted his time to local affairs in Vermont, especially working for separate statehood from New York throughout the remaining years of the Revolutionary War.