Beech Tree News Network

Ethan Allen: Revolutionary Patriot
Ethan Allen was born on January 21, 1738, in Litchfield, Connecticut. He made many contributions to the patriots’ cause, and he also guaranteed the statehood of Vermont. Before the Revolutionary War, Allen and his militia, the Green Mountain Boys, protected the citizens of Vermont from the land-grabbing New York government. It was during this time that Ethan and his family bought up many of the land grants in Vermont under the name of the Onion River Land Company to keep the land out of British hands. Ethan Allen’s personality and spirit gave Vermont a self-identity and independent spirit that many believe still exists today. During the evening of May 9, 1775, he and the Green Mountain Boys captured Fort Ticonderoga in New York. This fort was England’s first property to fall to the colonists in North America. Ethan was also involved in the unsuccessful colonial attack on Montreal on September 25, 1775. During this attack, he was captured and eventually sent to England, where he was imprisoned for two years. Ethan Allen was returned to United States on May 6, 1778, as part of a prisoner exchange. He started right where he had left off, campaigning for Vermont’s entrance into the American Confederacy. After the war, the Allens began selling off the land that they had bought under the Onion River Land Company. The selling of this land was a large contribution to the settlement of Vermont. Ethan Allen tried long and hard for Vermont to gain her statehood. Sadly, he died before Vermont gained her statehood. Ethan Allen died in 1789, and Vermont became the fourteenth state in 1791. Ethan Allen was a true patriot who loved his country and his state, and he was willing to lay down his life to defend them.

Aaron Jacobs lives in Butler County and is a homeschooler in his junior year of high school. He plays the mandolin and enjoys bluegrass music. Aaron also enjoys reading and studying American history.