HISTORY

And how the heck do you pronounce "TICONDEROGA"?
It's an Iriquois Indian word meaning "between the waters" and it's really quite easy to pronounce once you get the hang of it.  Simply say TIE KON DUR OH GA--pretty soon it will be rolling off your tongue and you'll see what a neat word it is.

Fort Ticonderoga is at the southern edge of Lake Champlain which separates New York from Vermont.
The fort was originally under British control.  In a surprise raid on May 10, 1775, Ethan Allen and his "Green Mountain Boys" captured the fort for the colonies.  The ships are named after that battle.  (Some of the other Essex class carriers were named for famous battles--Antietam, Lake Champlain, Leyte, Tarawa.)

 Entrance to Fort Ticonderoga.  If you click on the picture, the website of the fort will open in a new window.  When you're finished visiting there, close the window and you'll be right back here

There have been five ships named Ticonderoga in US history.

The first was a gunship launched in 1814.  She plied the waters of Lake Champlain until 1825.

The second Ticonderoga was a wooden hulled, steam powered sloop-of-war launched in 1862.  She fought in battles against the confederacy and was the first steam powered ship to circumnavigate the world, from 1878 to 1881.

Ticonderoga number three was originally a German freighter impounded by the US in 1917.  She was used as a transport ship.  On September 30, 1918, she was torpedoed by the German submarine U152 and sunk.  One hundred thirteen Americans lost their lives.

An Essex class aircraft carrier bore the name of the fourth Ticonderoga. She was launched in May, 1944 and distinguished herself in the waning days of WWII in the Pacific.  The bulk of this site is dedicated to the carrier Ticonderoga and her many wonderful crews during her thirty year history which spanned from WWII to the Viet Nam War.  If you'd like to read a detailed history of the carrier by the US Naval Historical Center, click HERE  The site will open in a new window and when you're finished you'll be back here.

Ticonderoga number five was the Navy's first Aegis Cruiser.  There are a number of Ticonderoga class cruisers.  The cruiser Ticonderoga was launched in 1983 but unfortunately she was decommissioned in 2004.  If you would like to see another ship named Ticonderoga, CLICK HERE

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