After capturing fort ticonderoga with almost laughable ease , the british army , led by overconfident general john burgoyne , crawled south at a tortoise pace , giving the rattled americans time to regroup under horatio gates .
In july 1777 , fort ticonderoga changed hands again , after british general john burgoyne managed to place a cannon on mount defiance and force ticonderoga 's garrison under general arthur st. clair to evacuate .