Ticonderoga, NY – Through the keen eye of a museum supporter and generosity of an important donor, a rare British musket that may have seen use at Fort Ticonderoga has recently joined the museum’s collection enabling Fort Ticonderoga to more completely interpret the site’s remarkable history.

Fort Ticonderoga’s Curator of Collections, Christopher Fox said “The donation of this Wilson musket fills an important and long-standing gap in the collection. It is a type we know was used by troops who served at the Fort. It is also an important reminder of the struggles armies sometimes faced in arming their troops in wartime and the great diversity of arms that found their way into military service as a result.”

The Wilson musket will be placed on exhibit this season in the museum’s highly acclaimed exhibit Bullets & Blades: The Weapons of America’s Colonial Wars and Revolution. The exhibit, featuring over 150 weapons, tells the story of the use of military and civilian weapons in America during the 17th and 18th centuries. Fort Ticonderoga’s collection of 18th-century military objects is celebrated as one of the best of its type in the world.

During the French & Indian War, the London gun maker Richard Wilson produced muskets to arm the militias of several American colonies including New York, New Jersey, probably Massachusetts. Though they bear similarities to muskets produced for the British army, the weapons produced by Richard Wilson are not “army” muskets, they are “commercial” or “contract” muskets.” Their brass parts, stocks, and barrels resemble British army guns, but are simpler and lighter overall. Of the estimated 4,000 contract weapons that may have been produced by Wilson, only a handful has survived through today.

The potential connection with Fort Ticonderoga’s history stretches back to the British army’s planned invasion of Canada and the disastrous attack on the French lines on July 8, 1758. As British General James Abercromby was preparing his 17,000-man army, he had considerable difficulty obtaining enough weapons to arm his troops. Among the weapons he was eventually able to acquire were 1,000 muskets owned by the City of New York. These weapons had originally been purchased by the city from Richard Wilson in 1755. While it is not known with absolute certainty, it is thought that at least some of those weapons were issued to New York Provincial troops. Many of those troops took part in the battle before the French lines on July 8. It is known, however, that many of Wilson’s muskets were used at Ticonderoga as numerous brass pieces of these guns have been recovered on the site during various periods of reconstruction.

2012 Season Begins Friday, May 18

Ticonderoga, NY – Fort Ticonderoga opens for the 103rd season on Friday, May 18 and will offer new programs, living history weekends, events, exhibits, gardens, and a six-acre corn maze designed in the shape of the Fort! Visitors will immerse themselves in nearly 2000 acres of exquisite landscape at Fort Ticonderoga and experience the story of how the blood spilled to create an empire in the French and Indian War resulted in the struggle for liberty and America’s independence a generation later.

Recently recognized as the top destination in the Adirondacks by USA News Travel, Fort Ticonderoga connects all visitors to a place and time that defined a continent, a nation, and its continued legacy.

“Fort Ticonderoga is a family destination and a center of learning. A visit is an interactive, multi-disciplined experience,” said Beth Hill, Executive Director. “It’s exploring the beautiful gardens, finding adventure in our events, marching with the Fife and Drum Corps, and learning about a historic trade. It’s a walk through the restored Fort, a stroll overlooking Lake Champlain and the Green Mountains of Vermont, and an afternoon in our exhibit galleries exploring our premier collections.”

2012 Highlights:

Benedict Arnold is a hero at Fort Ticonderoga this year! Visitors to Fort Ticonderoga will be immersed in the year 1775 when Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen secured the Fort and America’s first victory of the Revolution. Daily interpretive programs will engage visitors in the “moment” where they can learn to ply an 18th-century trade and thrill at the pageantry of arms as Minute Men become soldiers of the newly formed American army.

Fort Ticonderoga’s newest exhibit Bullets & Blades: The Weapons of America’s Colonial Wars and Revolution will showcase nearly 100 weapons from Fort Ticonderoga’s internationally significant weapons collection including many never-before-seen recent acquisitions exhibited together to illustrate the remarkable beauty and broad diversity of muskets, pistols, swords, and related weaponry used in America and at Ticonderoga through the American Revolution.

The internationally acclaimed exhibit Art of War: Ticonderoga as Experienced through the Eyes of America’s Great Artists continues a second season and brings together for the first time in one highlighted exhibition fifty of the museum’s most important artworks. Fort Ticonderoga helped give birth to the Hudson River School of American Art with Thomas Cole’s pivotal 1826 work, Gelyna, or a View Near Ticonderoga, the museum’s most important 19th-century masterpiece to be featured in the exhibit.

Several new seminars, workshops, and popular author series will be presented this season. New this year, Fort Ticonderoga will highlight Lake Champlain and Lake George in a “Lakes” Conference held August 11-12. Foodies visiting the Adirondacks during peak foliage season will delight in the Chocolate Covered History: A Spirited Weekend of History, Chocolate and Wine and Spirits event, on October 12-13. The Fort’s Author Series begins on June 3 with Author Eliot A. Cohen, author of “Conquered into Liberty: Two Centuries of Battles along the Great Warpath that Made the American Way of War.

The beautiful King’s Garden, one of North America’s oldest gardens and the largest public garden in the Adirondack-Lake Champlain region, will open on June 1 and offer daily tours and garden-related programs. The formal garden along with the Discovery Gardens – the Garrison Garden, Children’s Garden, and Three Sisters Garden – offer opportunities to enjoy and learn about plants and explore how agriculture on the Fort Ticonderoga peninsula has changed since French troops planted the first gardens in 1756. A new program entitled Growing up with Gardening: Sow, Grow & Know! will be offered in July and August for children ages three through eight years.

The Heroic Maze: A Corn Maze Adventure, the popular Fort family activity, will continue in its second year. Visitors will find clues connected to Fort Ticonderoga’s history while they explore a six-acre corn maze designed in the shape of Fort Ticonderoga! The corn maze opens August 15 and is included with general admission.

Hours and Admission:
Fort Ticonderoga is open daily from May 18 through October 18, 2012 from 9:30 am until 5 pm. General admission to Fort Ticonderoga, a private non-profit organization, is $17.50 for adults, $14.00 for those 62 and over; and $8 for children 5 through 12. Children 4 and under are admitted free of charge. Friends of Fort Ticonderoga and Ticonderoga Resident Ambassador Pass holders are also admitted free.

Fort Ticonderoga offers more than one hundred exciting and unique events and programs this season! Visit www.Fort-Ticonderoga.org for a full list of ongoing programs or call 518-585-2821. Funding for the 2012 season is provided in part by Amtrak. Visit http://www.fortticonderoga.org/visit/directions for a special 2 for 1 Amtrak offer!

FORT TICONDEROGA
America’s Fort
Located on Lake Champlain in the beautiful 6 million acre Adirondack Park, Fort Ticonderoga is a private not-for-profit historic site and museum that ensures that present and future generations learn from the struggles, sacrifices, and victories that shaped the nations of North America and changed world history. Serving the public since 1909, Fort Ticonderoga engages more than 70,000 visitors annually and is dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of Fort Ticonderoga’s history. Accredited by the American Association of Museums, Fort Ticonderoga offers programs, historic interpretation, tours, demonstrations and exhibits throughout the year and is open for daily visitation May 18 through October 18. A full schedule and information on events can be found at www.Fort-Ticonderoga.org or phone (518) 585-2821. Fort Ticonderoga is located at 100 Fort Ti Road, Ticonderoga, New York.