Built on the September 7, 1776, orders of Gen. Horatio Gates, this vital American military road south of here connected Mount Independence, a new Revolutionary War fortification on Lake Champlain, to Hubbardton, Rutland, and Fort No. 4 in New Hampshire. Gates called it essential to the interest of the United States and to the safety and protection of the inhabitants of all the Middle States of this Union. Soldiers traveling to the Mount and suppliers sending military stores for the new fort used the road. On the night of July 5 and 6, 1777, as the British approached, American forces withdrew from Mount Independence and Fort Ticonderoga along the road and fought the British at the Battle of Hubbardton on July 7.