The Life of Ethan Allen
... of the land grants from New Hampshire were legal. This decision made Allen and many other settlers extremely mad, because they would have to buy back land that they had previously paid for (“Ethan Allen”). Following a rejection by the New York authorities of an appeal that the region be established as a separate province, Allen organized a volunteer militia called the Green Mountain Boys, in order to resist and remove proponents of New York. Allen was appointed Colonel Commandant (Encarta, “Ethan Allen”). He was declared an outlaw, and the New York governor offered a reward of about $485 for Allen’s capture (Good 308). At the outbreak of the American Revolution, Allen and his force offered their services against the British (Encarta, “Ethan Allen”). Even though it might mean war, Ethan Allen was one of the patriots who supported the independence from Britain. He took his Green Mountain Boys with him to Fort Ticonderoga. On May 10, 1775, Allen and Benedict Arnold led a force of eighty-three men and attacked Fort Ticonderoga (“Ethan Allen”). They arrived at dawn, and the astonished British commander surrendered (Good 308). They did not have much trouble from the sleeping British, and they captured the fort and all of the weapons there. The cannons and mortars were sent to Boston Harbor and were one of the causes of the British deciding to leave Boston. After the capture of Fort Ticonderoga, the Green Mountain Boys chose to have Seth Warner lead them. Allen was then voted out of the command of the Green Mountain Boys (“Ethan Allen”). In 1775 Allen went to Canada and fought with Montgomery’s army. On September 25, 1775, when attacking Montreal, Allen was captured. He was identified as a captor of Fort Ticonderoga (“A Journey towards Freedom”), and the British put him in chains and sent him to England (Encarta, “Ethan Allen”). The British government decided not to hang him, because they did not want to stir up any more trouble with the Colonies (“Ethan Allen”). He was returned to New...