Expeditionary· American Revolutionary War
Reinforcement of Fort Ticonderoga ("The Original Eight")
In May 1775 eight Marines escorted a party carrying money from Hartford, Connecticut, toward the American garrison at Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain.
Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold had led the men who took the lightly defended fort on May 10, 1775. On May 13 word reached Hartford that the garrison was in a feeble state and needed men and money. Colonel Charles Webb, Colonel Joshua Porter and Barnabas Deane were sent with 500 pounds, escorted by eight Marines from the town, to seek assistance at Albany and then go on to Ticonderoga to secure the post. The three were appointed on May 17 and reached Albany on the evening of May 19. They set out for the forts on May 20, and Porter turned back to Albany for powder while Webb and Deane went on. These Connecticut Marines, later called the "Original Eight," are the earliest American Marines known to appear in the Revolution. Their escort came months before Congress established the Continental Marines on November 10, 1775.
Record no. 158