250th Anniversary Celebration Tour
Saturday, May 10, 2025 (8am to 5pm)
Led by: Jim Rowe and Bruce Venter
Departure: Hampton Inn, Bennington, VT
Tour Registration: $175.00
This year America’s History, LLC will kick off our country’s 250th anniversary of the American Revolution by offering a special one-day bus tour following the route of the Green Mountain Boys along with their comrades from Connecticut and Massachusetts under the leadership of Ethan Allen. This tour will be on the actual date of the capture of Fort Ticonderoga 250 years ago. It will also coincide with some special anniversary activities planned by Fort Ticonderoga.
Our tour will start in Bennington, Vermont, the proverbial headquarters of the “Bennington Mob” otherwise known as the Green Mountain Boys. We’ll discuss the major characters we’ll meet on today’s tour, plus provide background on the Hampshire Grants dispute between New England settlers led by Ethan Allen and New York officials. At Bennington we’ll set the stage for what happened on May 10, 1775. In Bennington, we’ll see several landmark sites associated with Ethan Allen like the Catamount Tavern, as the plot to capture Fort Ticonderoga unfolds
From Bennington we’ll trace the march of the Green Mountain Boys and their New England comrades through the towns and villages in what was called the “Hampshire Grants” at the time. We have some additional site visits planned which were not included in last year’s tour.
At this point, Benedict Arnold will enter the story as he catches up to the Green Mountain Boys in Castleton. A major highlight of the tour will be Hand’s Cove, the jump off spot for Allen, Arnold and the “Boys” on Lake Champlain. This site is on private property but America’s History has made special arrangements for you to walk to this historic location.
We will then cross to the New York side of Lake Champlain at Crown Point to tell the story of Seth Warner’s capture of this British fort a day after Ticonderoga fell. Then we’ll catch up to Allen and Arnold’s attack on Fort Ticonderoga which included the patriotic services of a Pittsfield lawyer named John Brown. We’ll make the attack on the fort and cover all the stories related to the capture of the fort, some real, some myth. We will also clear up many mistaken notions about why the fort was a target, who was in charge of the attack and what happened after the fort capitulated. Fort Ticonderoga will also be celebrating its first 250th event so there should be plenty of 18th century uniformed activity to witness. On the return to Bennington, we will pass thru Skenesborough (present-day Whitehall, NY) to see where Captain Herrick captured boats used in subsequent actions by Arnold and Allen. We also are fortunate to have Richard “Dick” Smith, author of Ethan Allen & the Capture of Fort Ticonderoga: America’s First Victory along with us on the bus.
What’s Included: Motor coach transportation, lunch, snack and beverage breaks, Lynne’s world-famous brownies, all admissions and gratuities, a map package and the services of two experienced tour leaders selected for their knowledge and expertise of the subject area.
Hotel:Even though this is a one-day tour, we have arranged for folks to stay at a hotel in Bennington the night before the tour, if they so desire. Our tour will leave from the Hampton Inn, 51 Hannaford Square, Bennington, VT. Overnight accommodations are available at the Hampton Inn on May 9 at the rate of $189 and may be made by calling 802-440-9862 and identifying yourself as being with the America’s History tour. Or you can book online at: https://www.hilton.com/en/attend-my-event/benvthx-aht-cd058232-d8b8-4854-a178-c118085be3f9/ The room block will be held until April 13, 2025.
Our Tour Leaders: Jim Rowe and Bruce Venter. Jim is historian and past president of the Crown Point Road Association and a member of the Descendants of Green Mountain Boys Association. Bruce is the president of America’s History LLC and led a similar tour with Jim Rowe last year. Jim and Bruce also led a previous tour for Fort Ticonderoga of the military road from Mount Independence to Hubbardton in 2019.
Register Online: $175
Register by phone, e-mail or postal mail:
- Phone: 1-703-785-4373
- Email us at: info@AmericasHistoryLLC.com
- Postal mail: America’s History LLC, P. O. Box 1076, Goochland, VA 23063
Visa, Master Card and Discover accepted. We take checks too!