A Little Maid of Ticonderoga

In Short

Alice Turner Curtis’s 1917 historical novel A Little Maid of Ticonderoga captures the home-front atmosphere of the early American Revolution through the eyes of ten-year-old Faith Carew. Living in a wilderness log cabin in Vermont, Faith embarks on an autumn trip across Lake Champlain to stay with family near Fort Ticonderoga. Along the way, she manages childhood rivalries, befriends an isolated shoemaker’s daughter, and uncovers crucial intelligence about the British fort. The novel has endured as a gentle, accessible portal into early American history, balancing wilderness domesticity with patriotic adventure for younger readers.

The Story

The narrative opens in the wilderness of the Green Mountains, where ten-year-old Faith Carew lives in a remote log cabin near her father’s mill. Faith's quiet routine is first disrupted by a visit from Esther Eldridge, a spoiled girl from the village of Brandon. During Esther's stay, the girls attempt to make maple molasses candy over the hearth, only to attract a wild brown bear into the kitchen. The incident leads to a chaotic escape to the mill, a search by Faith's father and his ally Ethan Allen, and an uneasy secret between the two children regarding spilled syrup and misplaced blue beads.

As winter approaches, Faith’s parents arrange for her to travel across Lake Champlain to spend the season with her Aunt Prissy and Uncle Philip Scott near Fort Ticonderoga. Guided safely through the forest trail by an Indian woman named Kashaqua, Faith adjusts to the domestic comforts and school life of the Scott household. In the settlement, Faith crosses paths with Louise Trent, the lame, neglected daughter of an impoverished local shoemaker who is suspected of carrying messages for British officers. Faith and Aunt Prissy show warmth and generosity to Louise, making her new clothes and offering her companionship, which slowly softens the shoemaker's hostililty.

While exploring Fort Ticonderoga with the Major’s daughters—two Tory girls who abandon her in the subterranean corridors—Faith becomes lost in the fort's dark passageways. She is rescued by Nathan Beaman, a local Shoreham boy who knows the terrain. Nathan shows her a secret exit: a heavy iron-ringed door that opens high on a cliff face overlooking the lake, providing direct, unmonitored entry into the stronghold. Faith also overhears casual remarks from British military officers regarding impending troop movements and reinforcements.

Faith returns to her wilderness home in the spring carrying this dangerous information, as well as a secret letter from a patriot spy, Mr. Phelps. Eager to help the patriot cause, Faith and Esther trek through the woods to deliver key intelligence to Ethan Allen. Faith informs Allen about Nathan Beaman’s intimate knowledge of the secret passageway. Guided by young Nathan, Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys stage a surprise attack and successfully capture Fort Ticonderoga without bloodshed. Following the victory, Faith receives a personal letter of thanks from Colonel Allen and visits the captured fort as an honored guest, celebrating the triumph alongside her family and her reformed friend Louise.

How It Unfolds

A bear in the kitchen Faith and her visiting guest, Esther, attempt to boil maple molasses into candy, but the sweet scent attracts a wild brown bear into the cabin. The girls flee through an upper window to the mill, leaving the bear to feast on syrup until Mr. Carew and Ethan Allen arrive to dispatch the animal.

Journey across the lake An Indian woman named Kashaqua offers to escort Faith along the wilderness trail to New York. Faith's parents reluctantly consent to avoid offending the local tribe, and Kashaqua safely delivers Faith to her Aunt Prissy and Uncle Philip Scott near Fort Ticonderoga.

Befriending the shoemaker's daughter Faith meets Louise Trent, a lame and poorly dressed girl whose father is suspected of spying for the British. Aunt Prissy and Faith offer Louise warmth, shelter, and new clothing, forging a tight friendship that transforms the solitary girl's life.

Trapped in the fort While visiting Fort Ticonderoga, Faith is abandoned in the subterranean tunnels by two Tory girls. A local boy named Nathan Beaman finds her and reveals a secret door opening onto a high cliff face over Lake Champlain.

Carrying the secret Overhearing British plans and receiving secret messages regarding the fort, Faith keeps silent until she returns home to Vermont. She and Esther journey through the spring woods to deliver the vital news and Nathan's name to Ethan Allen.

The capture of Ticonderoga Using Nathan Beaman as a guide through the hidden passageway Faith described, Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys capture Fort Ticonderoga. Faith is invited to the fort as Colonel Allen's guest to celebrate the victory.

The People

• Faith Carew: A ten-year-old girl living in the Vermont wilderness. Observant, helpful, and deeply attached to her mountain home, she wants to contribute to the patriot cause. By keeping crucial secrets and delivering messages, she grows into a trusted ally of Ethan Allen.
• Louise Trent: The lame, neglected daughter of a local shoemaker. Initially cautious and mistrustful due to her poverty, she yearns for acceptance. Through Faith and Aunt Prissy's kindness, she gains confidence, receives an education, and settles into the community.
• Esther Eldridge: A spoiled, village-raised girl who visits Faith's cabin. She struggles with woodland life, acts recklessly with the molasses, and urges secrecy, but eventually helps Faith carry messages through the forest.
• Nathan Beaman: A brave boy from Shoreham who knows the hidden layout of Fort Ticonderoga. He saves Faith when she is lost in the tunnels and later acts as the crucial guide for the Green Mountain Boys.
• Ethan Allen: The leader of the Green Mountain Boys and a family friend to the Carews. Bold and encouraging, he treats Faith's intelligence seriously and honors her assistance after the fort is captured.
• Aunt Prissy Scott: Faith’s cheerful, generous aunt near Ticonderoga who welcomes Faith and Louise into her home, offering sewing lessons, hospitality, and steady emotional support.

In Its Own Voice

"I don't want to live in a village if it will stop my hearing what the brook says. And I can tell you what the robins say to the young robins; and what little foxes tell their mothers..."

Faith explains her deep attachment to her wilderness home while trying to describe the natural world to her village-bred visitor, Esther.

"She came into the kitchen just as I was preparing dinner, and asked if you girls could not have a picnic dinner at the mill, and I was well pleased to let you."

Mrs. Carew recounts Esther’s clever maneuvering to get food, illustrating the small deceptions and misunderstandings that complicate Faith's daily routine.

"'Faith,' he said kindly, 'tis indeed the best of names for a little American girl; a name that I shall ever remember."

Colonel Ethan Allen praises Faith at Fort Ticonderoga after her news helped his soldiers take the garrison without casualties.

What It's Really About

A Little Maid of Ticonderoga explores how national conflict intersects with childhood innocence. Beneath its episodic adventure plot, the novel examines the nature of trust, loyalty, and civic duty during wartime. Curtis contrasts the burden of harmful, petty secrets—such as hiding broken rules or cover-ups—with the moral weight of keeping strategic secrets that protect one's community. The story also champions domestic generosity and neighborly compassion; the Scott family's practical kindness toward the isolated, Tory-leaning shoemaker and his lame daughter ultimately heals social divides, demonstrating that unity and empathy are as vital to building a new nation as military bravery on the battlefield.

Why Read It Today

This historical novel offers a charming, gentle entrance into American Revolutionary history for young readers and adults interested in early twentieth-century juvenile fiction. Curtis writes with precise, unfussy prose that emphasizes domestic detail: boiling maple syrup over open hearths, sewing patchwork quilts, constructing beaver dams, and traveling wilderness trails in doeskin moccasins.

Modern readers should note the period perspectives standard in 1910s children's literature. The depictions of Native American characters like Kashaqua rely on stylized, dated dialect ("Me know... Me take little girl safe"), though Kashaqua is treated within the narrative as a capable, respected, and trustworthy protector. The plot moves at an unhurried, episodic pace, focusing heavily on household routines, doll games, and small childhood misunderstandings before shifting into Revolutionary espionage. For those who enjoy classic frontier stories, regional history, or cozy historical fiction in the vein of Little House on the Prairie, Curtis’s tale remains a warm, memorable vignette of young patriotism on the Northern frontier.