Ethan Allen, a brigadier-general in the American revolutionary army,
was born in Salisbury, Connecticut, but was educated principally in
Vermont, to which state his parents emigrated whilst he was yet young.
His education was of a limited character. In the disturbances which
agitated Vermont, he took an active part against the royal authority,
in favor of the _Green mountain boys_, the name by which the settlers
in that territory were designated.
In 1775, soon after the battle of Lexington, in compliance with the
request of the legislature of Connecticut, Allen collected a body of
about 230 Green mountain boys, and marched against the fortresses of
Ticonderoga and Crown Point, for the purpose of taking them by
assault. At Castleton, he was joined by colonel Arnold, who had
received directions from the Massachusetts committee of safety to
raise a corps of men for the same purpose, but, failing to accomplish
that object, he determined to proceed with the small force of colonel
Allen. They arrived at the lake opposite to Ticonderoga, on the
evening of May 9, and, having with great difficulty procured boats,
landed 83 men on the other shore during the night. The day beginning
to dawn, however, Allen was obliged to attack the fort before his rear
could cross the lake, having previously animated his soldiers, by a
harangue, which he concluded with saying, ‘I now propose to advance
before you, and in person to conduct you through the wicket-gate; but,
inasmuch as it is a desperate attempt, I do not urge on any one
contrary to his will. You that will undertake voluntarily, poise your
fire-locks.’ They all immediately poised their fire locks. He then
advanced at the head of the centre file to the wicket-gate, where a
sentry snapped his fusee at him, and retreated through the covered
way, followed by Allen, who formed his men upon the parade. The
apartments of the commanding officer having been pointed out to him by
a sentry who asked quarter, he instantly repaired thither, and,
holding his sword over captain de Laplace, whom he found undressed
demanded, the surrender of the fort. The latter asking him by what
authority, ‘I demand it,’ said Allen, ‘in the name of the great
Jehovah, and of the continental congress.’ De Laplace was constrained
to comply with the summons, and the fort, with its stores and
garrison, was given up. On the same day, also, Allen obtained
possession of Crown Point, and soon after captured a sloop-of-war, the
only armed vessel on lake Champlain, and thus accquired the entire
command of the lake.
In the following autumn, he was twice despatched into Canada, to
engage the inhabitants to lend their support to the American cause. In
the last of these expeditions, he formed a plan, in concert with
colonel Brown, to reduce Montreal. September 10, 1775, Allen
accordingly crossed the river, at the head of 110 men, but was
attacked, before Brown could join him, by the British troops,
consisting of 500 men, and, after a most obstinate resistance, was
taken prisoner. The events of his captivity he himself has recorded in
a narrative compiled by him after his release, in the most singular
style, but apparently with great fidelity. For some time he was kept
in arms, and treated with much severity. He was sent to England as a
prisoner, with an assurance, that, on his arrival there, he would meet
with the halter. During the passage, extreme cruelty was exercised
towards him and his fellow-prisoners. They were all, to the number of
34, thrust, hand-cuffed, into a small place in the vessel, enclosed
with white-oak plank, not more than 20 feet wide by 22 long. After
about a month’s confinement in Pendennis castle, near Falmouth, he was
put on board a frigate, January 8, 1776, and carried to Halifax.
Thence, after an imprisonment of five months, he was removed to New
York. On the passage from Halifax to the latter place, Allen was
treated with great kindness by captain Smith, the commander of the
vessel, and evinced his gratitude by refusing to join in a conspiracy
to kill the British captain and seize the frigate. His refusal
prevented the execution of the plan. He remained at New York for a
year and a half, sometimes in confinement, and sometimes at large, on
parole. On May 6, 1778 Allen was exchanged for colonel Campbell, and
immediately afterwards repaired to the head-quarters of General
Washington, by whom he was received with much respect. As his health
was impaired he returned to Vermont, after having made an offer of his
services to the commander-in-chief, in case of his recovery. His
arrival in Vermont was celebrated by the discharge of cannon; and he
was appointed to the command of the state militia, as a mark of esteem
for his patriotism and military talents. A fruitless attempt was made
by the British to bribe him to lend his support to a union of Vermont
with Canada. He died suddenly at his estate in Colchester, February
13, 1789.
General Allen was a man of strong and enterprising, but haughty and
restless mind. Although his education had been circumscribed, he was
daring in his pretensions to knowledge, and bold and peremptory in his
assertions. Besides the narrative of his captivity, which we have
noticed, and a number of pamphlets in the controversy with New York,
he published a ‘Vindication of the Opposition of the Inhabitants of
Vermont to the Government of New York, and their right to form an
independent State,’ 1779, and a work, entitled, ‘Allen’s Theology, or
the Oracles of Reason,’ the first formal publication in the United
States openly directed against the Christian religion. Allen was a
confirmed infidel. He adopted some of the most fantastical and absurd
notions imaginable, believing, with Pythagoras, that the soul of man,
after death, would live again in beasts, birds, fishes, etc. He often
told his friends, that he himself would live again under the
appearance of a large white horse. However, there is an anecdote
extant, which proves that he professed to entertain those ideas more
from an affectation of singularity, than from conviction. Whilst
sitting in his library, conversing with a physician by the name of
Elliot, Allen was informed that his daughter was dying, and desired to
speak with him. He immediately repaired to her chamber, followed by
Dr. Elliot. His wife was distinguished for her piety, and had
instructed her daughter in the principles of Christianity. As soon as
her father stood at her bedside, she said to him, ‘I am about to die;
shall I believe in the principles you have taught me, or shall I
believe in what my mother has taught me?’ He became greatly agitated;
his chin quivered; his whole frame shook; and, after waiting a few
moments, he replied, ‘Believe what your mother has taught you.’