Unfortunately for many, the British decided that this land belonged to New York. In 1770, the New York courts ruled that the settlers would have to pay for their land again. Ethan Allen and his compatriot, Seth Warner organized the Green Mountain Boys as an active, forceful resistance against the ruling and the rulers. They caused so much trouble that a reward, equivalent to $750, was offered by the Governor of New York for the arrest of Allen.

When the Revolutionary War broke out, Allen and the Green Mountain Boys joined the patriot cause. Ethan Allen, along with Colonel Benedict Arnold, led 83 Americans in an attack on Fort Ticonderoga. It was early in the morning on May 10, 1775. They literally caught the British sleeping and easily captured the Fort. Allen’s next battle was not as successful. He attempted to lead a surprise attack on Montreal. He was captured and jailed. While captive, he wrote, A Narrative of Col. Ethan Allen’s Captivity. Once released, Allen petitioned the Continental Congress for Vermont’s statehood. When he was refused, he talked to the British about making Vermont a British province. Congress accused him of treason, though he was never found guilty. And the Green Mountain State became an independent republic until 1791.

Larger than life statues have been erected in Vermont and in Washington, D.C. to honor this patriot. In the eyes of the settlers he was always larger than life. Many legends circulated about Ethan Allen, for example -- it is said that he severed nails with his teeth; that when surprised by white-sheeted pranksters on a desolate stretch of road, he invited the “devils” home because he “married their sister.”

Besides being recognized for his heroic wartime acts, Ethan Allen was known for his physical prowess, his drinking and his blatant impiety (as he proved in his writing of Reason: The Only Oracle Of Man - A Compendious System Of Natural Religion).

All in all, he was a typical American hero!