Telling the heroic story of Mt. Independence

ORWELL — A bold new book, titled "Strong Ground: Mount Independence and the American Revolution", tells the complete story about Vermont's role in the War for Independence. The book was unveiled by the author July 29 at a special gathering of the Mt. Independence Coalition at the historic site's visitor center. The Mount, a heavily forested Orwell locale is situated to the west of Route 22A along the Lake Champlain cliffs. It is Addison County's most historic colonial-era sites. Written by Don Wickman and members of the Mt. Independence Coalition, the colorful trade paperback book contains beautiful, detailed illustrations by Vermont artist Gary Zaboly. The volume brings to life, through words, art, maps and photography, the pivotal role played by "Fort Independence" atop the mount during the 1770s. Now a National Historic Landmark, the mountain is the largest military fortification in the northern U.S. It even eclipsed Fort Ticonderoga across the narrows from the Orwell site. "From July 1776 into July 1777, the fate of the newly independent United States of America rested upon a rocky peninsula on the east side of Lake Champlain," according to Wickman. "The Americans on the Mount turned back a British invasion in the fall of 1776. Like the men at Valley Forge a year later, they suffered from cold and privation during a winter encampment." A massive star-shaped fort was built atop the Mount along with gun batteries, a soldiers hospital, and a dock where lake vessels brought supplies and guns. An amazing floating bridge, a military engineering feat of its day, also linked the two lakeside forts for a short time. Mount Independence presented a formidable obstacle to invaders from Canada. If Fort Ticonderoga across the narrows is the Gibraltar of North America, then Mt. Independence could be considered the Maginot Line of the North. "At the height of the American fortification of Mount Independence, the site was occupied by three brigades of New England troops or more than 6,000 men, which were reinforced by temporary militia from Massachusetts, New Hampshire and the New Hampshire Grants (the territory that was to become Vermont). Numerous huts and barracks housed these troops," according to the book's text. Champlain College historian Willard Sterne Randall, biographer of George Washington, Ethan Allen, Alexander Hamilton and Benedict Arnold said "Strong Ground" provides a new look at the Vermont fortifications as never seen before. "The book rescues Mount Independence from 240 years of obscurity. It captures in excellent drawings, paintings, maps and clear, concise prose the frontline history of this wilderness outpost," Sterne Randall said. Author Wickman spent more than a year working on the manuscript for "Strong Ground"; he had lots of assistance, especially from Steve Zeoli, president of the coalition. He is a former caretaker of the Mount and the author of a vistor's guide to the Mount. According to Zeoli, the Coalition's book was a long time in the making. "For more than a decade, the Mount Independence Coalition — the friends group that supports the work of the historic site — has dreamed of a book about the Mount. We hope it inspires historians to delve deeper in their research." After all that has been written about the lives of patriots lost in building and defending this hallowed ground in the wilderness, it's shocking to think that the Mount was once considered, before Vermont Yankee was built, as a site for an atomic power station. During the 1960s, the Vermont Electric Power Company proposed building the Independence Nuclear Power Station atop Orwell's Mount. Thankfully, the VELCO proposal was withdrawn after historical and environmental concerns were aired by members of the public, led by J. Robert Maguire of Shoreham. Check It Out: "Strong Ground" is available at the Mount Independence Historic Site Visitors Center and at local bookshops. There are lots of things to do on the Mount, including American history, hiking, wildflower and wildlife spotting and bird watching. The historic site is open until Oct. 15 and open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults; individuals under the age of 14 are admitted free. Groups, with reservations, pay $4 per person. Mount Independence State Historic Site is located at 497 Mount Independence Road in Orwell. To reach the site, at the intersection of Routes 22A and 73 in Orwell, turn west on Route 73. Take the first left onto Mount Independence Road. Mount Independence Road will turn to gravel; follow the road to the left up a hill. The parking lot for the historic site is on the left at the top of the hill.

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Telling the heroic story of Mt. Independence

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