Fort Ticonderoga History: Library & Archives
The museum’s collections are the culmination of a century of very focused collecting. The dream of the museum’s founder, Stephen H.P. Pell, was to assemble a collection of 18th century military manuals, and all the documentation necessary to accurately reconstruct Fort Ticonderoga to its former glory.
The Library Collection
The library contains over 13,000 volumes focusing on the military history of northeastern North America and New France during the 18th century. The library’s cornerstone collection is the collection of the 19th century military historian and author William L. Stone. These books were Stone’s personal copies of the major historical works which influenced generations of scholarship on the War for American Independence. Many of Stone’s books are rich with his personal annotations and tipped-in collections of correspondence and supporting documentation.
Another focal point of the rare book collection is the collection of original 17th, 18th and early 19th century military manuals. Here are found most of the major French, English and American works on the art of war, military discipline and fortification. These include the works of Bélidor, Bland, Coehorn, Muller, St. Remy, Saxe, Stevenson, Steuben and Vauban.
The museum’s collection of 18th century English and American newspapers and literary magazines is an additional valuable resource. The London Magazine and Annual Register cover the Seven Years’ War and American War for Independence in their entirety. Significant runs of newspapers including the London Chronicle, Boston Gazette, Providence Gazette and Pennsylvania Evening Post provide the “breaking news” coverage of all the major events in these conflicts.
The Archival Collections
The archival collections consist of thousands of manuscripts, diaries, orderly books, maps, and photographs. The manuscript collection includes correspondence of both officers and common soldiers who served at Fort Ticonderoga in the 18th century. Found within this collection are the letters, reports and returns of Ethan Allen, George Washington, Benedict Arnold, James Abercromby, the Marquis de Montcalm, Robert Rogers, John Burgoyne, Philip Skene and Jonathan Potts, surgeon to the Northern Department of the Continental Army. Thirty journals and orderly books contain first-hand accounts and day-to-day orders of an army at Fort Ticonderoga and the Lake George / Champlain valleys during the Seven Years’ War and War for American Independence.
Original maps, engraved portraits and photographs provide the visual link to the past. The museum’s collection of maps documents change in the landscape from the 1690s to the mid 19th century. Engraved portraits bring researchers face-to-face with the key figures involved in the conflicts for North America. The photographic collections document the preservation and reconstruction of Fort Ticonderoga, now a National Historic Landmark, in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries.
The library, archival and artifact collections are all accessible for research purposes. Nearly 40 thematic research bibliographies serve as finding aids to guide researchers through the library collections. Historical inquiries may be made by mail, telephone, or by fax. Researchers are encouraged to schedule an appointment for large or specialized inquiries.
Use of the collections is by appointment only. Researchers are asked to register each day, provide positive photographic identification and abide by the established collection use policies. A limited number of photocopies may be made available for research use, as the materials’ condition, access restrictions, and staffing permit.
Materials in the museum’s library are not available through interlibrary loan.