Soldiers’ Work at Ticonderoga: The Oars That Propelled an Army
Ives Bill
Posted on August 30, 2025
Soldiers’ Work at Ticonderoga: The Oars That Propelled an Army
On August 28, 1775, after more than a month of preparations, the American army at Ticonderoga rowed north along Lake Champlain en route to Canada. Their first day of travel took them only as far north as Crown Point, but within a week they would arrive at Île aux Noix and begin a siege of their first target, Fort Saint-Jean.
Everything that the army brought with them in their travel, even their boats and oars, had either been sourced by the army’s administrators and delivered to Ticonderoga or manufactured on-site by soldiers. On August 30, 1775—250 years ago today—one of the work parties at Ticonderoga that had made the expedition to Canada possible received payment, at least in part, for the work they did.
The bill seen here contains an account of the work and expenses of a party of soldiers from Connecticut, led by overseer David Ives, at Ticonderoga in summer 1775. Over a collective 330 total days of work, the 14 men in Ives’ party made 332 oars and 285 paddles for the garrison. While it wasn’t glamorous work, Ives and his men produced essential tools. Some of the oars they made may have stayed at Ticonderoga with the garrison’s boats, allowing them to travel to and communicate with other forts along Lakes George and Champlain. Others likely went north with the Canadian expedition, propelling the army forward in the first major American offensive of the war.
The importance of the work party’s job did not translate to prompt pay, though. While Ives received 6 shillings out of the 16 shillings owed to him for the party’s expenses on August 30, 1775, he had to make an appeal to General Philip Schuyler for the rest of his reimbursement on February 20, 1776. Schuyler finally ordered that Ives be paid on February 26.
Today and tomorrow at Fort Ticonderoga, our “Onward to Canada” REAL TIME REVOLUTION™ event introduces visitors to the Ticonderoga that Ives and his men saw 250 years ago. Visit today to watch Connecticut and New York troops encamp together for the first time and prepare to embark for Canada!
Learn more about Ives’ bill (object ID MS.1939) on the Ticonderoga Online Collections database here.