TICONDEROGA — The 250th anniversary of the fight for American independence continues long into 2026 and 2027, including commemoration of the first-ever reading of the Declaration of Independence to the Northern Continental Army at Fort Ticonderoga.
The REAL TIME REVOLUTION signature reenactment, “Today We Are a Nation Among the People of the World” on Tuesday, will mark arguably the bleakest point in the Revolution, when the Northern Continental troops first heard the words of the founding document on which they staked their lives in the fight for freedom.
“This reading of the Declaration of Independence at Ticonderoga for the first time in July 1776 occurred when the Continental Army was at one of its lowest points, retreating from a resounding defeat by the British at Quebec,” Fort Ticonderoga President and CEO Beth Hill said in a press release. “Soldiers were injured, sickened and exhausted, and yet they dug in to hold the line of liberty.
“By all accounts, that reading of the Declaration reinvigorated their spirits, so much that they renamed the place of the reading ‘Liberty Hill,’ which is still so named on our grounds today.
“Visitors to Fort Ticonderoga for this event will be able to witness this historic moment which set the stage for the turning point in the Revolution later in 1776 and 1777.”
Earlier this year at Liberty Hill, Fort Ticonderoga announced the discovery, verification and preservation of more than 500 new military artifacts, with several of the most compelling examples originating from the American Revolution in 1776.
The artifacts range from musket parts and personal effects, to actual regimental coat buttons from Northern Continental Army soldiers who served at Fort Ticonderoga.
Read the previous Press-Republican article about these found artifacts at tinyurl.com/bddwrywx