author
Ethan Allen
1738–1789
Remembered as the bold leader of the Green Mountain Boys, he became one of the most colorful figures of the American Revolution after helping seize Fort Ticonderoga. He was also a restless writer and political agitator whose life was closely tied to the early making of Vermont.
2 Audiobooks
About the author
Born in Litchfield, Connecticut, in 1738, he grew up in a large colonial family and later moved into the New Hampshire Grants, the disputed territory that would become Vermont. There he emerged as a fierce defender of local settlers against outside land claims, helping lead the Green Mountain Boys and building a reputation for blunt courage and defiance.
He is best known for the capture of Fort Ticonderoga in May 1775, one of the Revolution’s first dramatic American victories. Later that year he took part in the failed attempt to seize Montreal and was captured by the British, spending years as a prisoner before being exchanged.
After his release, he remained deeply involved in the struggle over Vermont’s future. Alongside his military fame, he also wrote on politics and religion, showing a more argumentative and independent-minded side than his battlefield legend suggests. He died in Burlington in 1789, leaving behind a legacy that blends frontier rebellion, Revolutionary War heroics, and the early story of Vermont.