By this time a lieutenant colonel, Artemas had his first taste of combat in the failed British assault on French-held Fort Ticonderoga. Even though the campaign did not succeed, Ward gained valuable experience as a provincial officer serving under seasoned commanders.
Thomas Ward paid Moses Cloughlin to build a New England style barn, but it was probably not on the Ward farm; instead, it may have been on the Henshaw farm, an adjacent tenant farm he owned.