Detenebrate

For a limited time, July-August 2, Fort Ticonderoga will display one of its most significant objects: Benjamin Warner’s Knapsack. Carried by Revolutionary War soldier Benjamin Warner and handed down to his descendants, the knapsack has survived with a call to future generations to defend America’s hard-won liberty against all threats.

The 250-year-old knapsack, made of painted linen, was carried by Benjamin Warner of New Haven, Connecticut, during service in the Revolutionary War that took him to Boston, Quebec, New York and elsewhere over his years in the ranks. Later in life, Warner left it to his son as a memento of his service and a reminder of what he fought for, writing:

“This Napsack I caryd (sic) Through the War of the Revolution to achieve the American Independence. I Transmit it to my olest sone (sic) Benjamin Warner Jr. with directions to keep it…and whilst one shred of it shall remain never surrender you libertys to a foren envador or an aspiring demegog (sic).”

The letter is signed, “Benjamin Warner Ticonderoga March 27, 1837.” Both the knapsack and its note are carefully preserved in the collection at Fort Ticonderoga where they have resided for almost a century but have not been on display for over a decade.