Fort Ticonderoga’s “Fort Fever Series” on Sunday, February 8, at 2 pm with a presentation by Curator of Collections Matthew Keagle, titled “Beyond Founding Fashion”. Image of 18th-century military apparel, copyright Fort Ticonderoga Museum.
Fort Ticonderoga kicks off its second “Fort Fever Series” with a special guided tour led by the Curator of Collections, Mathew Keagle, to explore Fort Ticonderoga’s collection of military clothing—the largest collection of 18th-century military uniforms in North America. “Beyond Founding Fashion” is a unique opportunity to discover the evolution of military fashion in the decades after the American Revolution. The program takes place on Sunday, February 8 at 2 pm in the Mars Education Center. The cost for the program is $10 per person and will be collected at the door; free for Fort Ticonderoga members.
The program begins with a guided tour of the Founding Fashion exhibit in the Mars Education Center gallery. Get a behind-the-scenes perspective of new research on the uniforms featured in the exhibition, the stories of the men who wore them, and how they fit into the evolution of military clothing. This will be followed by a rare chance to examine additional original garments from the collection not on display. These garments will complete the story of 18th-century military dress and show how military dress evolved from those worn during the Revolutionary War through the early years of the American Republic. Many of these garments and related accessories are one-of-a-kind survivors preserved only in Fort Ticonderoga’s collections.
“With the installation of Founding Fashion in the Mars Education Center, Fort Ticonderoga has finally been able to showcase its excellent collection of 18th-century military uniforms,” said Mathew Keagle, Curator of Collections. “But Founding Fashion is just the beginning; the museum’s collection is much larger—stretching through the American Revolution, the War of 1812, and beyond.”
Founding Fashion: The Diversity of Regularity in 18th-Century Military Clothing Exhibition opened in May of 2014 and runs through November of 2015. The exhibit explores how European military fashion and global commerce influenced American martial appearance throughout the American Revolution. Funding for the Founding Fashion exhibit was made possible in part by the following supporters: Best Western Plus Ticonderoga, D&E Technologies, Glens Falls National Bank, History Channel, Lake George Mirror, National Grid, Ticonderoga Credit Union, and individual donors.