Large section of a Revolutionary War 24-pounder mortar fragment, recovered at Fort Ticonderoga

This is another early piece coming out of a 60-year collection of Revolutionary War artillery. Being offered is a large section of a 24-pounder mortar shell. It measures 5” x 3 ¾” and goes from ¼” to 1” thick and weighs 2-pounds, 4-ounces. This was found at Fort Ticonderoga, NY in the early 20th century. It would have been fired from a 24-pounder 6” mortar (see pictures).

At the beginning of the war the Patriots had almost no artillery of their own, but Washington used captured British guns from Fort Ticonderoga to drive the British out of Boston in 1776. The Americans eventually developed the capacity to manufacture their own cannon, and they obtained many of the guns they needed from France.

Located on Lake Champlain in northeastern New York, Fort Ticonderoga served as a key point of access to both Canada and the Hudson River Valley during the French and Indian War. On May 10, 1775, Benedict Arnold joined Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys of Vermont in a dawn attack on the fort, surprising and capturing the sleeping British garrison. Although it was a small-scale conflict, the Battle of Fort Ticonderoga was the first American victory of the Revolutionary War and would give the Continental Army much-needed artillery to be used in future battles.

The relics offered here are part of a cache of dug artifacts that were identified and put into boxes 50+ years ago and stored away. All of the relics in the boxes were just as they came out of the ground, never treated. This particular one was quite dirty, so I decided to rinse it off and give it a light coat of varnish, which made it cleaner to handle.

The fragment is in nice condition, with no chipping or flaking. This is the first time this piece has been on the market, and it is truly a nice piece of early American History. As with all the pieces in this collection, a Certificate of Authenticity will be included.