expedition of Burgoyne had been the open talk of Montreal and the
surrounding country during many months. He had built Fort
Independence, on the east shore of Lake Champlain, and with a
great expenditure of labor had sunk twenty-two piers across the
lake and stretched in front of them a boom to protect the two
forts. But he had neglected to defend Sugar Hill in front of Fort
Ticonderoga, and commanding the American works. It took only
three or four days for the British to drag cannon to the top,
erect a battery and prepare to open fire. On the 5th of July, St.
Clair had to face a bitter necessity. He abandoned the untenable
forts and retired southward to Fort Edward by way of the
difficult Green Mountains. The British took one hundred and
twenty-eight guns.

These successes led the British to think that within a few days
they would be in Albany. We have an amusing picture of the effect
on George III of the fall of Fort Ticonderoga. The place had been
much discussed. It had been the first British fort to fall to the
Americans when the Revolution began, and Carleton's failure to
take it in the autumn of 1776 had been the cause of acute
heartburning in London. Now, when the news of its fall reached
England, George III burst into the Queen's room with the glad
cry, "I have beat them, I have beat the Americans." Washington's
depression was not as great as the King's elation; he had a
better sense of values; but he had intended that the fort should
hold Burgoyne, and its fall was a disastrous blow. The Americans
showed skill and good soldierly quality in the retreat from
Ticonderoga, and Burgoyne in following and harassing them was led
into hard fighting in the woods. The easier route by way of Lake
George was open but Burgoyne hoped to destroy his enemy by direct