Mount Independence on Lake Champlain in Orwell, Vermont, was the site of extensive fortifications built during the American Revolutionary War by the American army to stop a British invasion. Construction began in July 1776, following the American defeat in Canada, and continued through the winter and spring of 1777. After the American retreat on July 5 and 6, 1777, British and Hessian troops occupied Mount Independence until November 1777. After the American Revolution, Mount Independence was farm land, used for grazing sheep and cattle. It is now a state historic site, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1972 for its historical significance. Mount Independence State Historic Site The Mount Independence Visitor Center is open daily from the end of May through mid-October. Mount Independence State Historic Site is a Vermont State Historic Site with a museum and of hiking trails. It has been called the least disturbed major Revolutionary War site in the country. The museum houses artifacts recovered by archaeologists including timbers from the Great Bridge and a cannon weighing cast in Scotland in 1690 and recovered from the lake by underwater archeologists. There is a short film and talking sculptures of the soldiers. There are of hiking trails. The Baldwin Trail is wheelchair-accessible and passes the sites of the blockhouses, the General Hospital, and soldiers' huts. Longer trails lead to the location of the star-shaped fort, the Horseshoe Battery, and the Great Battery. There are history and nature walks, encampments of Revolutionary War re-enactors, activities for children, and lectures by Revolutionary War historians. The Seth Warner-Mount Independence Fife and Drum Corps performs in parades and at civic events. The Mount Independence Coalition supports the efforts of the Vermont State Division for Historic Preservation in protecting and interpreting the site. Geography Previously named Rattlesnake Hill, Mount Independence is located in Orwell, Vermont, on the east side of Lake Champlain opposite Ticonderoga, New York, and historic Fort Ticonderoga. At its narrowest, the lake is a quarter mile wide between Mount Independence and Ticonderoga. Mount Independence is slightly more than a in length and less than at its widest. Precipitous cliffs rise from the lake on the west and from East Creek to the east and the low land to the southeast. At its height, the Mount rises about above lake level. The point juts into the lake nearly due north. History Pre-European contact Mount Independence was important to