Archaeologists Unearth Hundreds of Artifacts at Fort Ticonderoga, the Site of America’s First Offensive Victory of the Revolutionary War

The objects were discovered on Liberty Hill, the place where many Continental Army soldiers heard the text of the Declaration of Independence for the first time

Sarah Kuta | Daily Correspondent

June 17, 2026 2:54 p.m.

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On July 28, 1776, some Continental Army soldiers gathered near Fort Ticonderoga at Liberty Hill to hear the text of the Declaration of Independence read aloud for the first time. Now, nearly 250 years later, archaeologists are unearthing artifacts that offer a fresh glimpse into that important period in American history.

Researchers recently excavated more than 500 artifacts at Fort Ticonderoga, which is now a historic site and living history museum. Many are thought to have been left behind by the Continental Army soldiers who were stationed there in 1776, reports Shannon Fromma for the Times Union.

Archaeologists found the objects in 2024 while excavating Liberty Hill, a strategic hilltop where Continental Army troops established a large camp during the Revolutionary War. The artifacts include pieces of firearms, mortar shell fragments, part of a cast iron kettle, the lid of a traveling inkstand known as a “penner,” a knuckle guard from a sword and numerous regimental coat buttons.

For now, researchers are still studying and conserving the objects. But, moving forward, they say they’ll be considering them for future exhibitions.

During the French and Indian War, Liberty Hill—then known as the “Heights of Carillon”—was the site of a bloody battle between French and British troops on July 8, 1758. Some of the recently discovered artifacts are also linked to that battle, per the Times Union.

Later, during the Revolutionary War, Liberty Hill was home to a sprawling camp that troops from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York set up to house soldiers, women and children. Finding “tangible evidence” from that period is a “tremendous honor”—one that reinforces the fort’s importance in the “American lineage of freedom, from 1776 to today,” Beth L. Hill, president and chief executive officer of Fort Ticonderoga, says in a statement shared with the Times Union.

Located on the shore of Lake Champlain in upstate New York, Fort Ticonderoga was originally a French base called “Fort Carillon.” Construction began at the direction of the Marquis de Vaudreuil in 1755, when the region was claimed as “New France.” The French chose the site because of its proximity to Lake Champlain and Lake George, since boats were the fastest and most efficient means of transportation at the time.

Work on the fort continued until 1759, when it was captured and renamed by the British during the French and Indian War. Afterward, the British maintained a small presence at the fort, but largely let the structure itself deteriorate.

Led by Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen, American patriots captured Fort Ticonderoga in May 1775, early in the Revolutionary War. But British forces, led by General John Burgoyne, took it back in 1777. Later that same year, Burgoyne surrendered to the Continental Army at Saratoga and the British troops stationed at Fort Ticonderoga fled to Canada, destroying anything they could not bring along for the journey.

Though the patriots held the fort for only two years, its capture is regarded as the first American offensive victory of the Revolutionary War. The fort secured a strategic route north to Canada and yielded a valuable cache of weapons that proved crucial in breaking the British siege of Boston in March 1776.

When the Continental Congress ratified the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776, the Continental Army troops stationed at Fort Ticonderoga were an “ill-equipped and demoralized force, stinging from a disastrous campaign against British-held Canada during the previous winter and spring,” according to the fort museum.

They heard news of the Declaration of Independence in the days and weeks after its ratification. But they did not learn what the document said until several weeks later, when General Arthur St. Clair read the text aloud on Liberty Hill.

According to the fort museum, an unknown person who attended the reading wrote afterward that “the Army manifested their joy with three cheers. It was remarkably pleasing to see the spirits of the soldiers so raised, after all their calamities; the language of every man’s countenance was ‘Now we are a people; we have a name among the States of this world.’”

Though the newly discovered artifacts are not yet on display, Fort Ticonderoga is celebrating America’s 250th anniversary with an exhibition called “Revolutionary Possibilities” and numerous historic reenactments. In July, the museum also plans to show off the painted linen knapsack that belonged to Benjamin Warner, a Connecticut soldier who fought in the Revolutionary War.

Sarah Kuta | Read More

Sarah Kuta is a writer and editor based in Longmont, Colorado. She covers history, science, travel, food and beverage, sustainability, economics and other topics.