Learning more about Vermont's founding fathers

Vermonters learned a little bit more about the history of the state, and the man who founded it.

The Ethan Allen Homestead Museum hosted a two-day celebration in honor of Revolutionary War patriot and Vermont founder Ethan Allen. On Saturday and Sunday, a group of volunteers re-enacted military demonstrations to teach people what war was like in the 1700s. They showed them how soldiers used muskets and how they took commands from generals.

Re-enactment actors said it's important for people to know what soldiers sacrificed so that they can fully appreciate what they have.

"If you don’t know that this diamond is worth X number of dollars, [you’ll say] ‘Oh, it’s just a rock.’ If you value being able to live your life the way you want to live it, how about knowing what these guys went through to get you to that point in life?" said Clifford Mullen, who portrayed the captain of the Green Mountain Boys.

Ethan Allen and his cousins formed the Green Mountains Boys in 1770 to protect their land. There was a dispute between the Green Mountain Boys and settlers in New York regarding who owned the land. Seven years later, the land became Vermont.

Allen lived in Burlington from 1787 until his death in 1789.