A narrative of Colonel Ethan Allen's captivity

by Ethan Allen

This reproduction was printed from a digital file created at the Library of Congress as part of an extensive scanning effort started with a generous donation from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The Library is pleased to offer much of its public domain holdings free of charge online and at a modest price in this printed format. Seeing these older volumes from our collections rediscovered by new generations of readers renews our own passion for books and scholarship.

Genres: History

152 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1779

About the author

The "green mountain boys," troops of Revolutionary soldier Ethan Allen, helped to capture Fort Ticonderoga from the British in 1775 for America.

The province of New York settled Vermont, and this early guerrilla leader fought against this settlement and later for independence during the war.

Excerpted from Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Jayna Baas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting first-hand account, and even more interesting because it was published before the War for Independence was over. Allen does not mince words about his and other captives’ treatment at British hands (profanity warning), but he’s also surprisingly quick to point out those of his captors who were kind and humane. I had read this quite a while ago and revisited it for research purposes. It’s not too hard to read despite the rather archaic language, and it’s fascinating to get an inside look at Revolutionary politics and what happened to American prisoners of war.

[David Fitz-Gerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a 1988 reprint of the 1930 version. I was happy to read Ethan Allen's own account of his captivity, though I wish he had been more detailed in his account. The hardships he endured during captivity were unimaginable. This is an important historic perspective.

[david · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vaguely interesting account of Allen's misadventures during the Revolution