When most of us think of fictional master British spy James “007” Bond, we might imagine the sun-drenched Riviera coast, nasty Karate-chopping villains, or strong female characters played by the likes of actresses Ursula Andress and Honor Blackman. What we probably don’t think about when imagining Mr. Bond is either Vermont’s Echo Lake or New York’s Lake George. Well, it’s time to rethink Secret Agent 007’s fictional espionage playground.
Vermonters and New Yorkers know much about French explorer Samuel de Champlain from his brief exploits along the shores of the great lake that now bears his name. The French explorer made it at least as far south as the future sites of forts Crown Point or Ticonderoga; he most likely battled native people along the lakeshore, in 1609, somewhere near the sites of the famous 18th-century British citadels.
Rutland-born Brig. General Edward Hastings Ripley attained the rank at age 25, and along with Gen. George Armstrong Custer, was among the nation’s youngest generals ever appointed in the War Between the States.
