Ethan Allen
Ethan Allen (January 21, 1738 [O.S. January 10, 1737][a] – February 12, 1789) was an American farmer, writer, military officer and politician. He is best known as one of the founders of Vermont and for the capture of Fort Ticonderoga during the American Revolutionary War, and was also the brother of Ira Allen and the father of Fanny Allen.
For other uses, see Ethan Allen (disambiguation).
Ethan Allen
January 21, 1738
Litchfield, Connecticut
February 12, 1789 (aged 51)
Burlington, Vermont
1757 Connecticut provincial militia
1770–1775 Green Mountain Boys[1]
1778–1781 Continental Army[2]
1779–1780 Vermont Republic militia[3]
Major General (Vermont Republic militia)
Colonel (Continental Army)
farmer, politician, land speculator, philosopher
Allen was born in rural Connecticut and had a frontier upbringing, but he also received an education that included some philosophical teachings. In the late 1760s, he became interested in the New Hampshire Grants, buying land there and becoming embroiled in the legal disputes surrounding the territory. Legal setbacks led to the formation of the Green Mountain Boys, whom Allen led in a campaign of intimidation and property destruction to drive New York settlers from the Grants. He and the Patriot-aligned Green Mountain Boys seized the initiative early in the Revolutionary War and captured Fort Ticonderoga in May 1775. In September 1775, Allen led a failed attempt on Montreal which resulted in his capture by the British. He was imprisoned aboard ships of the Royal Navy, then paroled in New York City, and finally released in a prisoner exchange in 1778.
Upon his release, Allen returned to the New Hampshire Grants which had declared independence in 1777, and he resumed political activity in the territory, continuing resistance to New York's attempts to assert control over the territory. Allen lobbied Congress for Vermont's official state recognition, and he participated in controversial negotiations with the British over the possibility of Vermont becoming a separate British province.
Allen wrote accounts of his exploits in the war that were widely read in the 19th century, as well as philosophical treatises and documents relating to the politics of Vermont's formation. His business dealings included successful farming operations, one of Connecticut's early iron works, and land speculation in the Vermont territory. Allen and his brothers purchased tracts of land that became Burlington, Vermont. He was married twice, fathering eight children.
Vermont Republic[edit]
Return home[edit]
Following his visit to Valley Forge, Allen traveled to Salisbury, arriving on May 25, 1778. There he learned that his brother Heman had died just the previous week and that his brother Zimri, who had been caring for Allen's family and farm, had died in the spring following his capture. The death of Heman, with whom Allen had been quite close, hit him quite hard.[97]
Allen then set out for Bennington, where news of his impending return preceded him, and he was met with all of the honor due to a military war hero.[98] There he learned that the Vermont Republic had declared independence in 1777, that a constitution had been drawn up, and that election had been held.[99] Allen wrote of this homecoming that "we passed the flowing bowl, and rural felicity, sweetened with friendship, glowed in every countenance".[100] The next day he went to Arlington to see his family and his brother Ira, whose prominence in Vermont politics had risen considerably during Allen's captivity.[101]
Ira Allen
Fanny Allen
Alabama Attorney General Henry Hitchcock
Union General Ethan Allen Hitchcock
Henry Hitchcock
Ethan Allen Hitchcock
Allen's widow Fanny gave birth to a son, Ethan Alphonso, on October 24, 1789. She eventually remarried. Allen's two youngest sons went on to graduate from West Point and serve in the United States Army. H.M. Allen was the 7th graduate, a member of the Class of 1804, and served until 1813. E.A. Allen was the 22nd graduate, a member of the Class of 1806, and served until 1821. His daughter Fanny achieved notice when she converted to Catholicism and entered a convent.[139] Two of his grandsons were Henry Hitchcock, Attorney General of Alabama, and Ethan Allen Hitchcock, who served as a Union Army general in the American Civil War. Reportedly General Hitchcock strongly resembled his famous grandfather. Two of Henry Hitchcock's sons were Henry Hitchcock and Ethan Allan Hitchcock.
Allen is known to have written the following publications:
