The Green Mountain Boys were a militia organization first established in the 1760s in the territory between the British provinces of New York and New Hampshire, known as the New Hampshire Grants (which later became the state of Vermont). Headed by Ethan Allen and members of his extended family, they were instrumental in resisting New York's attempts to control the territory, over which it had won de jure control in a territorial dispute with New Hampshire.
When these disputes led to the formation of the Vermont Republic in 1777, the Green Mountain Boys became the state militia. Some companies served in the American Revolutionary War, including notably when the Green mountain boys led by Ethan Allen captured fort Ticonderoga at lake Champlain on May 10, 1775, the 1775 invasion of Canada, and 1777 battles at Hubbardton and Bennington.
Following Vermont's admission to the Union in 1791, the original organization essentially disbanded. The Green Mountain Boys mustered again during the War of 1812, the Civil War, and the Spanish-American War. Today it is the informal name of the Vermont National Guard which comprises both the Army and Air National Guards.
Read more about Green Mountain Boys: Historical Unit, Flag, Vermont National Guard
Famous quotes containing the words green, mountain and/or boys:
“Thou hast conquered, O pale Galilean; the world has grown grey from thy breath;
We have drunken of things Lethean; and fed on the fullness of death.
Laurel is green for a season, and love is sweet for a day;
But love grows bitter with treason, and laurel outlives not May.
Sleep, shall we sleep after all? for the world is not sweet in the
end;
For the old faiths loosen and fall, the new years ruin and rend.”
—A.C. (Algernon Charles)
“And though in tinsel chain and popcorn rope
My tree, a captive in your window bay,
Has lost its footing on my mountain slope
And lost the stars of heaven, may, oh, may
The symbol star it lifts against your ceiling
Help me accept its fate with Christmas feeling.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“In time, after a dozen years of centering their lives around the games boys play with one another, the boys’ bodies change and that changes everything else. But the memories are not erased of that safest time in the lives of men, when their prime concern was playing games with guys who just wanted to be their friendly competitors. Life never again gets so simple.”
—Frank Pittman (20th century)