Stonewall Jackson (@1776Stonewall)

History Nugget, 1775-1776 - The Battle of Fort Ticonderoga, and the Siege of Boston: Just 3 weeks after the opening battles of Lexington and Concord, and with the British controlling the Boston Harbor, General Ethan Allen and his "Green Mountain Boys", along with General Benedict Arnold, led a journey 300 miles Northwest to Essex County, New York on the shores of Lake Champlain and attacked the lightly-guarded Fort Ticonderoga, which was loaded with mortars, as well as 12 and 18-pounder cannons, and one massive 24-pounder cannon, nicknamed “Old Sow,” weighing over 5,000 pounds. (12, 18, 24 "pounders" refers to the weight of the projectile/cannon ball). Colonel Henry Knox led the journey back to Massachusetts without losing a single weapon (one cannon fell through ice in lake Champlain, and it took all day to recover it). The historic trek took 56 days for Knox and his men to transport the weapons from Ticonderoga to Boston in the winter of 1775-1776. This involved dragging 59 cannons and mortars 300 miles across land and ice, with the help of oxen and ice sledges. The journey is known today as the "noble train of artillery," and played a crucial role in the Continental Army's defense of Boston and ultimately helped lead to the British evacuation of Boston. On the morning of March 17, 1776 Commander-in-Chief of British land forces, General William Howe, and the British Army, were stunned to see that in the middle of the night General Washington had somehow managed to fortify Dorchester Heights - the highest elevation in the area, commanding views of all of Boston and the Boston Harbor. Remember that the British had occupied Boston for 8 years. Tensions had come to a boiling point with incidents such as the Boston Massacre in 1770, and the Boston Tea Party in 1773. But now, out of nowhere, the Colonists had fortified the heights around the city, with their sights set on British ships in the harbor below. How this was accomplished was the night before, under orders from Gen. Washington, General John Thomas quietly led a force of 2,000 soldiers and workers to Dorchester Heights to build fortifications and set up the cannons and mortars that had just arrived from Ticonderoga. Oxen were used to assemble the artillery. And in typical General Washington fashion, the British didn't hear a thing. (Washington was brilliant at deception and disguising sounds - As was the case during the Battle of Princeton, as well as Washington's mid-night escape after the Battle of Long Island). . In this instance Washington ordered a loud bombardment of the outskirts of the city, to cover the sound of construction. By daylight there were over a dozen cannons in place, ready for war. After an 8 year occupation, having first arrived in October, 1768, the British were now forced to evacuate. On the morning of March 17, 1776, known to history as "Evacuation Day", 11,000 redcoats and hundreds of Loyalists fled the city by boat. Boston was now in control of the Patriots