In late August 1775, General Richard Montgomery faced one of those moments that define military careers and shape the course of wars. Standing at Fort Ticonderoga, the formidable stone fortress commanding the southern approaches to Lake Champlain, Montgomery received intelligence that would force him to choose between military protocol and strategic necessity. The news was alarming: British forces at Saint-Jean were nearly finished constructing two warships that would give them undisputed control of Lake Champlain. With his commanding officer Philip Schuyler away at an Indian conference in Albany, Montgomery had to decide whether to wait for orders or act on his own initiative.