In Outlander Season 7 Episode 5 “Singapore,” we catch up with Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Claire (Caitriona Balfe) in June 1777 at the colonial outpost of Fort Ticonderoga. History nerds and Outlander book readers alike would immediately have gleaned that trouble was on the horizon for the soldiers and civilians holed up at the upstate New York site. Fort Ticonderoga would fall to the British Army in early July and would not be fully recovered until the war ended in 1781. Outlander concocts a storyline wherein Jamie — and only James Alexander Malcolm MacKenzie Fraser — can see a tactical weakness in the surrounding terrain. Jamie attempts to convince his superior officers that the British could take Sugar Loaf Hill and bombard Fort Ticonderoga with cannons. Our hero even goes so far as to prove cannons can be brought up to the summit with the help of Young Ian (John Bell) and friends. However, Jamie’s advice is ignored and guess what? The British army takes Sugar Loaf and the Fort, sending Claire, Jamie, and their new friends hurrying out to safety.

But what really happened at Fort Ticonderoga? Could Jamie’s plan to fortify Sugar Loaf Hill have saved the fort from capture? Or is the Starz show’s version of events pure fantasy?

Here’s what you need to know about what happened at Fort Ticonderoga during the American Revolution vs. what we see on Outlander…

Outlander: What Happened at Fort Ticonderoga?

During the Revolutionary War era, Fort Ticonderoga was the site of two important sieges. The first took place in 1775. Ethan Allen (as in the yuppy furniture brand) and Benedict Arnold (as in the infamous eventual traitor) led the Green Mountain Boys (as in the coolest named America militia) to victory wresting control of Fort Ticonderoga from the British. Fort Ticonderoga was located at a key strategic position, close to the border of present day New York and Vermont and downriver from Quebec. Hence, it was vital to hold onto it in the early days of the Revolutionary War.

In 1777, there was interpersonal drama brewing between the high-ranking officers that the Continental Army had dispatched to this territory. Phillip Schuyler (as in the father of the Schuyler sisters) was in charge of the territory but General Horatio Gates (as in the mechanism used to open a fenced up closure) was then in command of Ticonderoga. When the Continental Congress voted to give Gates all of Schuyler’s territory, the power player contested this turnover. Gates was so pissed off, he left Fort Ticonderoga, which then fell under the command of General Arthur St. Clair (as in…I don’t have anything to say or add about General Arthur St. Clair).

The Continental Army knew that the British had sent Lieutenant General John Burgoyne (as in a last name I’ve always loved to say out loud) to Quebec, but the logic — held by none other than George Washington — was that Burgoyne would attack from the south. He did not. Burgoyne attacked, like Jamie predicted, from Sugar Loaf Hill and captured the fort, much to the embarrassment of the Americans.

So it’s obvious, right? If the dumb-dumbs had just had Jamie Fraser there, history would have been changed! If only those dingbats had listened to our boy! Well, actually…

Would Jamie Have Been Able to Save Fort Ticonderoga?

The reason why I’m fairly certain that Jamie’s suggestions would not have changed history was because some key historic figures did make his argument about Sugar Loaf Hill. Moreover, they pulled off his little canon stunt.

When Gates was still in command, John Trumbull (as in the same guy who is best known for all his paintings of the Founding Fathers) pointed out that Sugar Loaf Hill was a key tactical weakness for the Americans. To prove it, Trumbull, “Mad” Anthony Wayne, and an injured (!) Benedict Arnold managed to climb the hill and bring some gun carriages along with them.

It should be noted that the Americans knew Burgoyne was aiming for the Fort. His forces had moved to the northern coast of Lake Champlain by June 1777 and Fort Ticonderoga was on the south side of the lake. Schuyler gave 700 troops to St. Clair as reinforcements to hold the fort, but Sugar Loaf remained undefended for some reason. Maybe because Washington and Congress were convinced Burgoyne had to come up through the south or maybe all the command changes created a personnel crisis where St. Clair and Schuyler didn’t want to take any advice from Gates or his dudes. Or maybe we just needed Jamie Fraser there.

No, basically Jamie’s story is ripped off from history and it did nothing to stop the British from taking Fort Ticonderoga. But now you know some trivia about John Trumbull, Benedict Arnold, and the guy who inspired the name of a popular furniture brand.