For Immediate Release

Mount Independence: Strong Ground and the Frontier Militia

An Illustrated Talk by Vermont Historian Ennis Duling

MIDDLETOWN SPRINGS, Vt., Sept. 7 — The public is invited to an illustrated talk by Vermont historian Ennis Duling on Sunday, September 20, entitled Mount Independence: Strong Ground and the Frontier Militia. Duling’s presentation will focus on how Mount Independence in Orwell, Vermont, played a critical role, too often forgotten, in the American struggle for independence.

Twice, militiamen from the Vermont frontier, which included the settlement that became Middletown Springs, were called up by Continental Army Colonel Seth Warner to help defend the Lake Champlain forts, Mount Independence and Ticonderoga.

Duling’s slide presentation and explanations will make use of historic and recent maps and artwork, photos of artifacts found by archaeologists, and photos taken at today’s Vermont State Historic Site in Orwell.

The event honors the country’s 250th Anniversary and takes place from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. as part of the Middletown Springs Historical Society’s 2026 Annual Meeting and Open House at the MSHS building at 10 Park Avenue, on the town green. Mr. Duling will take the floor following a brief MSHS business meeting. Admission is free.

The Middletown Springs Historical Society Museum will be open from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. A dessert buffet will be available throughout afternoon. Public inquiry contact is Pat Hemenway, 802-235-2421 or .

About Mount Independence

Mount Independence was a rocky peninsula on Lake Champlain opposite Fort Ticonderoga. It was the site of a major fortification built in July 1776, in the early days of the Revolutionary War, to block a possible British advance from Canada. By late summer 1776, more than 5,000 soldiers were quartered there, making it for several months one of the most populated places in the country. The troops at Mount Independence guarded the vital Lake Champlain corridor. Their formidable defenses helped persuade the British to abandon their southward advance in 1776, delaying a major invasion from Canada for another year. Mount Independence was evacuated by the American army in July 1777 at the start of the campaign that led to the battles of Hubbardton, Bennington and Saratoga. British and German troops occupied the site for several months in 1777.

About Ennis Duling

Ennis Duling has written on the American Revolution for Vermont History, Historical New Hampshire, the Journal of the American Revolution, and the Bennington Museum. He is the author of Thirteen Charges Against Benedict Arnold, a history of the accusations made by John Brown of Pittsfield, Mass. years before Arnold’s treason. He is co-author and co-editor of Strong Ground: Mount Independence and the American Revolution, published by the Mount Independence Coalition in 2017. Before his retirement, Duling was Communications Director at Castleton State College. From 1972 to 1981, he was a schoolteacher at Middletown Springs Elementary School. He is an active member of the Poultney Historical Society and resides in East Poultney.

About the Middletown Springs Historical Society

The Middletown Springs Historical Society collects, preserves and exhibits community history at its museum in the historic Adams House on the Green in Middletown Springs and at the Mineral Springs Park nearby on Burdock Avenue. The Historical Society presents several public events each year for educational and fundraising purposes. It also offers seasonal and ongoing exhibits. To learn more visit the society’s website at mshsvt.org.