As part of its ongoing excavation and study of the Ticonderoga‘s Liberty Hill site, Fort Ticonderoga is announcing the discovery, documentation and preservation of more than five hundred new artifacts at the site – where the Declaration of Independence was read to the Continental Army at Ticonderoga for the first time in July 1776 — with several of the most compelling examples dating from the American Revolution in 1776.
The artifacts range from musket parts and personal effects, to actual regimental coat buttons from Northern Department Continental Army soldiers who spent time at Fort Ticonderoga in 1776, exhausted by their defeat and retreat from the Invasion of Québec, and ravaged by smallpox.
The artifacts were uncovered during a 2024 survey and excavation of the famed earthworks at Liberty Hill, less than a mile from the walls of Fort Ticonderoga.
Liberty Hill was also the site of one of the bloodiest conflicts of the French and Indian War in 1758: the Battle of Carillon. This battle, which saw the out-manned French defeat a superior British force, helped to confirm the strategic importance of control of the junction of Lake George and Lake Champlain.
The surveys and digs were assisted by the consulting archaeology program at the University of Vermont, and American Veterans Archaeological Recovery (AVAR), which trains modern military veterans in professional, research-driven archaeology services.
The newly discovered artifacts are not currently on display but will be considered as part of future exhibits. Currently, Fort Ticonderoga is in the midst of a five-year series, “A Revolutionary Anthology” at its Mars Education Center.
The current installment, “Revolutionary Possibilities,” features stories of people and places transformed through the complex, diverse world of the American Revolution.
In addition and only for the month of July 2026, Fort Ticonderoga will display one of its most significant objects: Benjamin Warner’s Knapsack, carried by Revolutionary War soldier Benjamin Warner and handed down to his descendants.
The knapsack and its accompanying handwritten message call on future generations to defend America’s hard-won liberty against all threats.
Images of the artifacts and the survey and dig process at Liberty Hill may be viewed here. More information about the individual artifacts is available online at Fort Ticonderoga’s collections database.
Open every Tuesday through Sunday until October 25, 2026, Fort Ticonderoga is currently taking visitors through the critical year of 1776, drawing from written and archaeological evidence to reveal the day-to-day experience and uncertain struggle of the Continental Army in the fight for independence.
For a complete visitor schedule and more information about other Fort Ticonderoga programs, visit www.fortticonderoga.org. Due to the anticipated high demand for events this year, visitors are strongly encouraged to purchase tickets online in advance.
Photos of Liberty Hill excavations provided by Fort Ticonderoga.
Read more about the American Revolution in New York.
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