Editing Ethan Allen (section)

==Revolutionary War==

===Capture of Fort Ticonderoga===
{{Main|Capture of Fort Ticonderoga}}
Allen received a message from members of an irregular Connecticut militia in late April, following the [[battles of Lexington and Concord]], that they were planning to [[Capture of Fort Ticonderoga|capture Fort Ticonderoga]] and requesting his assistance in the effort.<ref name="Jellison109">Jellison, p. 109</ref>  Allen agreed to help and began rounding up the Green Mountain Boys,<ref name="B116">Bellesiles, p. 116</ref> and 60 men from Massachusetts and Connecticut met with Allen in Bennington on May 2, 1775, where they discussed the logistics of the expedition.<ref name="Jellison109"/> By May 7, these men joined Allen and 130 Green Mountain Boys at Castleton. They elected Allen to lead the expedition, and they planned a dawn raid for May 10.<ref name="Jellison110">Jellison, p. 110</ref> Two small companies were detached to procure boats, and Allen took the main contingent north to Hand's Cove in [[Shoreham, Vermont|Shoreham]] to prepare for the crossing.<ref name="Jellison111">Jellison, p. 111</ref>

[[File:Benedict arnold illustration.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Engraving of [[Benedict Arnold]]]]
On the afternoon of May 9, [[Benedict Arnold]] unexpectedly arrived, flourishing a commission from the Massachusetts Committee of Safety. He asserted his right to command the expedition, but the men refused to acknowledge his authority and insisted that they would follow only Allen's lead. Allen and Arnold reached an accommodation privately, the essence of which was that Arnold and Allen would both be at the front of the troops when they attacked the fort.<ref name="Randall90">Randall (1990), p. 90</ref>

The troops procured a few boats around 2 a.m. for the crossing, but only 83 men made it to the other side of the lake before Allen and Arnold decided to attack, concerned that dawn was approaching.<ref name="Jellison115">Jellison, p. 115</ref> The small force marched on the fort in the early dawn, surprising the lone sentry, and Allen went directly to the fort commander's quarters, seeking to force his surrender. Lieutenant Jocelyn Feltham was awakened by the noise, and called to wake the fort's commander Captain William Delaplace.<ref name="Randall95">Randall (1990), p. 95</ref> He demanded to know by what authority the fort was being entered, and Allen said, "In the name of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress!"<ref name="Randall96">Randall (1990), p. 96</ref>{{efn | Despite holding a commission from neither one}} Delaplace finally emerged from his chambers and surrendered his sword,<ref name="Randall96"/> and the rest of the fort's garrison surrendered without firing a shot.<ref name="B118">Bellesiles, p. 118</ref> The only casualty had been a British soldier who became concussed when Allen hit him with a [[cutlass]], hitting the man's hair comb and saving his life.<ref name="Randall307">Randall (1990), p. 307</ref>

=== Raids on St. John ===
On the following day, a detachment of the Boys under Seth Warner's command went to nearby [[Fort Crown Point]] and captured the small garrison there.<ref name="B118"/> On May 14, following the arrival of 100 men recruited by Arnold's captains, and the arrival of a [[schooner]] and some [[bateau]]x that had been taken at [[Whitehall (village), New York|Skenesboro]], Arnold and 50 of his men sailed north to raid [[Fort Saint-Jean (Quebec)|Fort St. John]], on the [[Richelieu River]] downstream from the lake, where a small British warship was reported by the prisoners to be anchored.<ref name="Randall101">[[#Randall|Randall]], p. 101</ref><ref name="Smith155">[[#Smith14I|Smith (1907)]], p. 155</ref> Arnold's raid was a success; he seized the sloop {{HMS|Royal George|1776|6}}, supplies, and a number of bateaux.<ref name="Smith157">[[#Smith14I|Smith (1907)]], p. 157</ref>

Allen, shortly after Arnold's departure on the raid, decided, after his successes at the southern end of the lake, to take and hold Fort St. John himself. To that end, he and about 100 Boys climbed into four bateaux, and began rowing north.<ref name="Jellison130">[[#Jellison|Jellison]], p. 130</ref> After two days without significant food (which they had forgotten to provision in the boats), Allen's small fleet met Arnold's on its way back to Ticonderoga near the foot of the lake.<ref name="Randall105">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], p. 105</ref> Arnold generously opened his stores to Allen's hungry men, and tried to dissuade Allen from his objective, noting that it was likely the alarm had been raised and troops were on their way to St. John. Allen, likely both stubborn in his determination, and envious of Arnold, persisted.<ref name="Jellison129_0">[[#Jellison|Jellison]], pp. 129–130</ref>

When Allen and his men landed above St. John and scouted the situation, they learned that a column of 200 or more regulars was approaching. Rather than attempt an ambush on those troops, which significantly outnumbered his tired company, Allen withdrew to the other side of the river, where the men collapsed with exhaustion and slept without sentries through the night. They were awakened when British sentries discovered them and began firing grapeshot at them from across the river. The Boys, in a panic, piled into their bateaux and rowed with all speed upriver. When the expedition returned to Ticonderoga two days later, some of the men were greatly disappointed that they felt they had nothing to show for the effort and risks they took,<ref name="Jellison130_1">[[#Jellison|Jellison]], pp. 130–131</ref> but the capture of Fort Ticonderoga and Crown Point proved to be important in the Revolutionary War because it secured protection from the British to the North and provided vital cannon for the colonial army.

===Promoting an invasion===
Following Allen's failed attempt on St. John, many of his men drifted away, presumably drawn by the needs of home and farm. Arnold then began asserting his authority over Allen for control of Ticonderoga and Crown Point. Allen publicly announced that he was stepping down as commander, but remained hopeful that the [[Second Continental Congress]] was going to name "a commander for this department ... Undoubtedly, we shall be rewarded according to our merit".<ref name="Jellison132">[[#Jellison|Jellison]], p. 132</ref> Congress, for its part, at first not really wanting any part of the affair, effectively voted to strip and then abandon the forts. Both Allen and Arnold protested these measures, pointing out that doing so would leave the northern border wide open.<ref name="B121">[[#Bellesiles|Bellesiles]], p. 121</ref> They both also made proposals to Congress and other provincial bodies for carrying out an invasion of Quebec. Allen, in one instance, wrote that "I will lay my life on it, that with fifteen hundred men, and a proper artillery, I will take [[Montreal]]".<ref name="Jellison134">[[#Jellison|Jellison]], p. 134</ref> Allen also attempted correspondence with the people of Quebec and with the Indians living there in an attempt to sway their opinion toward the revolutionary cause.<ref name="Jellison135_7">[[#Jellison|Jellison]], pp. 135–137</ref>

On June 22, Allen and Seth Warner appeared before Congress in Philadelphia, where they argued for the inclusion of the Green Mountain Boys in the [[Continental Army]]. After deliberation, Congress directed General [[Philip Schuyler]], who had been appointed to lead the Army's Northern Department, to work with New York's provincial government to establish (and pay for) a regiment consisting of the Boys, and that they be paid Army rates for their service at Ticonderoga.<ref name="B122">[[#Bellesiles|Bellesiles]], p. 122</ref> On July 4, Allen and Warner made their case to New York's Provincial Congress, which, despite the fact that the Royal Governor had placed a price on their heads, agreed to the formation of a regiment.<ref name="Holbrook99">[[#Holbrook|Holbrook]], p. 999</ref> Following a brief visit to their families, they returned to Bennington to spread the news. Allen went to Ticonderoga to join Schuyler, while Warner and others raised the regiment.<ref name="Jellison141">[[#Jellison|Jellison]], p. 141</ref>

===Allen loses command of the Boys===
When the regimental companies in the Grants had been raised, they held a vote in [[Dorset, Vermont|Dorset]] to determine who would command the regiment. By a wide margin, Seth Warner was elected to lead the regiment. Brothers Ira and Heman were also given command positions, but Allen was not given any position at all in the regiment.<ref name="Smith255">[[#Smith14I|Smith (1907)]], p. 255</ref> The thorough rejection stung; Allen wrote to Connecticut Governor [[Jonathan Trumbull]], "How the old men came to reject me I cannot conceive inasmuch as I saved them from the incroachments of New York."<ref name="B144">[[#Bellesiles|Bellesiles]], p. 144</ref>

The rejection likely had several causes. The people of the Grants were tired of the disputes with New York, and they were tired of Allen's posturing and egotistic behavior, which the success at Ticonderoga had enhanced. Finally, the failure of the attempt on St. John's was widely seen as reckless and ill-advised, attributes they did not appreciate in a regimental leader.<ref name="Jellison144">[[#Jellison|Jellison]], p. 144</ref> Warner was viewed as a more stable and quieter choice, and was someone who also commanded respect. The history of Warner's later actions in the revolution (notably at [[Battle of Hubbardton|Hubbardton]] and [[Battle of Bennington|Bennington]]) may be seen as a confirmation of the choice made by the Dorset meeting.<ref name="Jellison145">[[#Jellison|Jellison]], p. 145</ref> In the end, Allen took the rejection in stride, and managed to convince Schuyler and Warner to permit him to accompany the regiment as a civilian scout.<ref name="B144"/>

===Capture===
{{See also|Invasion of Quebec (1775)|Battle of Longue-Pointe}}
[[File:EthanAllenBeforePrescott1775.jpeg|thumb|upright|Engraving depicting Allen before his captors in [[Montreal]]]]

The American invasion of [[Province of Quebec (1763–1791)|Quebec]] departed from Ticonderoga on August 28. On September 4, the army had occupied the [[Île aux Noix]] in the Richelieu River, a few miles above Fort St. John, which they then [[Siege of Fort St. Jean|prepared to besiege]].<ref name="Smith322_4">[[#Smith14I|Smith (1907)]], pp. 322–324</ref> On September 8, Schuyler sent Allen and Massachusetts Major [[John Brown of Pittsfield|John Brown]], who had also been involved in the capture of Ticonderoga, into the countryside between St. John and Montreal to spread the word of their arrival to the [[habitants]] and the Indians.<ref name=" Lanctot65">[[#Lanctot|Lanctot (1967)]], p. 65</ref> They were successful enough in gaining support from the inhabitants that Quebec's governor, General [[Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester|Guy Carleton]], reported that "they have injured us very much".<ref name=" Jellison151">[[#Jellison|Jellison]], p. 151</ref>

When he returned from that expedition eight days later, Brigadier General [[Richard Montgomery]] had assumed command of the invasion due to Schuyler's illness. Montgomery, likely not wanting the troublemaker in his camp, again sent Allen out, this time to raise a regiment of French-speaking [[French Canadians|Canadiens]]. Accompanied by a small number of Americans, he again set out, traveling through the countryside to [[Sorel-Tracy|Sorel]], before turning to follow the [[Saint Lawrence River]] up toward Montreal, recruiting upwards of 200 men.<ref name=" B126">[[#Bellesiles|Bellesiles]], p. 126</ref>

On September 24, he and Brown, whose company was guarding the road between St. John's and Montreal, met at [[Longueuil]], and, according to Allen's account of the events, came up with a plan in which both he and Brown would lead their forces to attack Montreal. Allen and about 100 men crossed the Saint Lawrence that night, but Brown and his men, who were to cross the river at [[La Prairie, Quebec|La Prairie]], did not. General Carleton, alerted to Allen's presence, mustered every man he could, and, in the [[Battle of Longue-Pointe]], scattered most of Allen's force, and captured him and about 30 men. His capture ended his participation in the revolution until 1778, as he was imprisoned by the British.<ref name=" Lanctot77_8">[[#Lanctot|Lanctot (1967)]], pp. 77–78</ref> General Schuyler, upon learning of Allen's capture, wrote, "I am very apprehensive of disagreeable consequences arising from Mr. Allen's imprudence.  I always dreaded his impatience and imprudence."<ref name="B127">[[#Bellesiles|Bellesiles]], p. 127</ref>