Allen, Ethan (1738-1789)

US military leader who founded the Green Mountain Boys 1770. At the outbreak of the American Revolution 1775 they joined with Benedict Arnold and captured Fort Ticonderoga, the first victory for the American side. Captured by the British in the subsequent invasion of Canada, Allen continued his campaign for Vermont's independence after his release in 1778. He died before it achieved statehood in 1791.

Born in Litchfield, Connecticut, Allen also served in the French and Indian War (1756-63), the North American arm of the Seven Years' War before taking up the campaign to protect Vermont from territorial claims by New Hampshire and New York.