Ethan Allen - Of the Capture of Ticonderoga - His Captivity and Treatment by the British

No apology need be offered for presenting a new Edition of the following Narrative, of one of the most remarkable men of the age in which he lived. It is given in the plain language of its self-educated author, without any alteration. The Senior publisher has been intimately acquainted with his widow, who died about ten years since, and has been assured by her that this narrative is printed as he wrote it without alteration; and, that it shows more of his true character, than all else ever written of him.

Little is known of the life of Col. Allen, but what is found in Biographical Dictionaries, Spark's American Biography, and his Memoirs written by Mr. Moore, from whose introduction the following just tribute to his memory is copied:

"Perhaps no individual, of equal advantages, and the station he occupied in life, contributed more towards establishing the independence of our country, than Ethan Allen, the subject of this memoir. The mass of the people among whom he resided, were rude and uncultivated; yet bold in spirit and zealous in action. It consequently followed, that no one, save a man of strong natural endowments – of much decision, energy and bravery, could control their prejudices and inclinations. Habit had rendered them familiar with danger, and impatient of restraint; hence, it followed, that no policy, unless proceeding from a source in which they had confidence, ever gained their approbation. Upon Allen, whose courage was undoubted, and whose zealous devotion to their interests was universally acknowledged, they implicitly relied. They had known him in adversity and prosperity – they had weighed him, and found nothing lacking. To friend or foe, he was ever the same unyielding advocate of the rights of man, and universal liberty. The policy, therefore he upheld, as beneficial to the common cause of American liberty, ever found strong and efficient supporters in the friends with whom he associated, and by whom he was known.

"From the commencement of our Revolutionary struggle, until its final close, Ethan Allen proved a zealous and strenuous supporter of the cause. Whether in the field or the council – whether at home, a freeman among the mountains of Vermont, or loaded with the manacles of despotism, in a foreign country, his spirit never quailed beneath the sneer of the tory, or the harsh threats of insolent authority. A stranger to fear, his opinions were ever given without disguise or hesitation: and, an enemy to oppression, he sought every opportunity to redress the wrongs of the oppressed. It is not to be supposed, however, that he was faultless. Like other men, he had his errors – like other men, his foibles. Yet he was not wilfully stubborn in either. When convinced of an erroneous position, he was ever willing to yield a victory; but, in theory, as in practice, he contested every inch of ground; and only yielded when he had no weapons left to meet his antagonist. This trait in his character serves, at least, to prove, that he was honest in his conclusions, however erroneous the premises from which they were deduced.

"Much error of opinion prevails among all classes of individuals, at the present period, in relation to the character of Col. Allen. He is generally viewed as a coarse, ignorant man, void of all the social feelings, and arrogant in all his pretensions. Even Mr. Dwight, in his "Travels in New England," reports him in this light; and deems him only worthy a brief and unjust notice in his work. In what manner Mr. Dwight came in possession of the facts upon which he predicated his conclusions, is beyond the knowledge of the author of this Memoir: but, certain it is, he has materially misrepresented the moral principles, and in fact, the general character of Col. Allen. It is presumed, however, that Mr. Dwight, like many other travelers, drew his inferences from the gossip of the people among whom he associated, without being at the trouble of extending his inquiries to a source from whence he might have derived every material fact in relation to the subject. In making this suggestion, the author would not be understood as attaching any particular blame to Mr. Dwight; but merely as correcting an error of opinion which is quite too prevalent in our country."

Burlington, Vt. Aug. 1st, 1848

PUBLISHED IN 1807.

In announcing the publication of this little, simple, true, and unvarnished narrative , the publishers have complied with the wishes of a number of persons, who had a desire to keep in remembrance the hero of Ticonderoga, and the exploits he performed. It is believed that there is not a copy for sale in any bookstore in the United States; and the style of printing, at the time of its first appearance, which is now near thirty years since, was in so unimproved a condition, that it has never been seen but in the shabby dress of a large and ragged pamphlet. The events of those "troublous times" in which Col. Allen took a conspicuous part, are rendered doubly interesting from the lively, unadorned manner of his own narration. The high compliments which he pays to the prowess, uniform perseverance and resolution, manifested by the "Green Mountain Boys" of his native State, will no doubt be an inducement to them, and to his countrymen generally, to read and preserve this monument of him, and, as they con the pages of this "little book" which he has "left them," to imitate the coolness and courage of the deceased veteran.

The sufferings and cruelties borne by him and his fellow soldiers, frequently draw from him in the course of his narrative , a language the most severe, with respect to a country from whom we originated, with whom we are now at peace, and with whom it is our policy to continue on a friendly footing; but the candid and the feeling mind should make great allowance for the unparalleled situation of our affairs, for the sufferings of his handful of little " Spartans ," for whom he felt a father's and a brother's affection. These circumstances must have given a deep coloring to the pencil which was portraying his own and his country's wrongs. On the whole, we think this little tract may be re-perused, with advantage and pleasure, by the aged, and read with much edification and entertainment by the young. As it is deemed that the very words, in every respect made use of by the Colonel, would be more acceptable to the reader, than any artificial decoration of style we shall invariably adhere to the original.

Induced by a sense of duty to my country, and by the application of many of my worthy friends, some of whom are of the first characters, I have concluded to publish the following narrative of the extraordinary scenes of my captivity, and the discoveries which I made in the course of the same, of the cruel and relentless disposition and the behaviour of the enemy, towards the prisoners in their power; from which the state politician, and every gradation of character among the people, to the worthy tiller of the soil, may deduce such inferences as they shall think proper to carry into practice. Some men are appointed into office, in these States, who read the history of the cruelties of this war, with the same careless indifference, as they do the pages of the Roman history; nay, some are preferred to places of trust and profit by the tory influence. The instances are (I hope) but rare, and it stands all freemen in hand to prevent their further influence, which, of all other things, would be the most baneful to the liberties and happiness of this country; and, so far as such influence takes place, robs us of the victory we have obtained at the expense of so much blood and treasure.

I should have exhibited to the public a history of the facts herein contained, soon after my exchange, had not the urgency of my private affairs, together with more urgent public business, demanded my attention, till a few weeks before the date hereof.