(1738–89). A patriot and soldier, Ethan Allen led an important early victory in the American Revolution. The battle pitted local militias, including Allen's Green Mountain Boys, against the British at Fort Ticonderoga.

Early life

Ethan Allen was born on January 21, 1738, in Litchfield, Connecticut, the oldest of eight children. His father died when Ethan was 17 years of age. In 1757 Ethan fought in the French and Indian War. In 1762 he began to operate an iron forge and married Mary Brownson, the first of two wives with whom he would have eight children in all. In 1769 or 1770 he moved to what is now Vermont.

Military career

At the time, Vermont was not a separate colony. It was then known as the New Hampshire Grants but was also claimed by New York. Ethan Allen was a leader of those who claimed the area for New Hampshire. In 1770 he organized some of his fellow settlers into a militia to fight the people from New York who wanted the land. The militia was called the Green Mountain Boys, after the Green Mountains from which Vermont takes its name. (Vert mont means “green mountain” in French.) The group successfully fought against the New Yorkers until the start of the American Revolution.

On May 10, 1775, the Green Mountain Boys and others led by Allen and Benedict Arnold captured Fort Ticonderoga, in what is now New York. Later that year, as a volunteer in the forces of General Philip Schuyler, Allen made an unsuccessful attempt to take Montreal, Canada. He was captured by the British and held until May 6, 1778, when he was released in an exchange of prisoners. Congress rewarded him with the rank of colonel, but he fought no more in the war.

Later life

Allen spent most of the last years of his life trying to get statehood for his beloved Vermont, which was an independent republic from 1777 to 1791. His efforts were blocked by New York, which still wanted the territory for itself. After the war he also talked with the British about the possibility of making Vermont a province of Canada. This damaged Allen's reputation as a patriot. Allen's memoir of his wartime experiences, published in 1779, was a best-seller. He died on February 12, 1789, at Burlington, Vermont.