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Fort
Carillon
Concerned
that the venerable fortress of St. Frederic at Crown Point would be
unable to resist the growing threat from the English to the South, the
French under Marquis de Lotbinire begin construction of a larger
fortress on the peninsula at the mouth of the stream from Lake George in
October, 1755.
This location is chosen as it would protect against invasion
either directly up the lake or across the short portage from Lake
George. Hampered by corruption and graft, construction continues slowly
through the winter and spring. By mid-July, 1756, four bastions
have been raised to a height of at least seven feet, and the fort
bristles with cannon.
By fall the fort is still incomplete and an astonishing discovery is
made. As more and more of the trees are cleared from the peninsula, the
French realize that the fort does not effectively command the passage
through the narrows of the lake. The fort has been built in the wrong
location! To correct this error a redoubt, or small subsidiary fort, is
built closer to the lake. It is known as the Grenadier Redoubt. By
January, 1757 Fortress Carillon, still only an incomplete structure of
earth and logs, mounts 36 cannon and awaits the attack the French know
will come.
Not
content to sit and wait for the British, French forces under the command
of the able Marquis de Montcalm mass at Ticonderoga and Crown Point. A
huge invasion force, eight thousand strong, cross the portage, then sail
down Lake George to take Ft. William Henry in April of 1757. The storied
Battle of Fort William Henry takes place at the southern shore of the
beautiful lake. Victorious, Montcalm brings his forces back to Carillon
for the summer.
Stung
by the loss of their northernmost outpost, the British determine to
avenge the loss with a massive attack on the French. An army of 15,000
under the command of James Abercromby sails up Lake George in July,
1758. Montcalm, with a much smaller force, decides to face the attack,
not in the fort itself, but to the West, on a hill known as the 'Heights
of Carillon.' Here he constructs a massive breastwork of earth and logs.
This treacherous abattis, a tangle of logs, brush and sharpened stakes
is the place the French await the onslaught. Abercromby, never a good
commander, is doomed from the start. The real leader of the Army, the
excellent Lord Howe, is killed shortly after the expedition lands at the
northern end of Lake George. Abercromby decides to mount a series of
head on attacks-unsupported by artillery- straight into the face of the
abattis. Beginning around 9:00 in the morning wave after wave of brave
men go forth into the maw of death. Wave after wave are cut down by the
entrenched Frenchmen. Thousands die and are wounded. Finally, around
6:00 pm the final assault is made. The debacle at the log wall is
complete. Disheartened and defeated, the mighty army hurries south to
the base at the end of Lake George. The British outnumbered the French
4-1. 2
The
Battle of Carillon is over.
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Once
again in July 1759 a massive British force sails forth from the southern
shores of Lake George. This army, together with a force of some 9,000
that sail up the St. Lawrence to attack Quebec City, will finally
achieve the ultimate goal of the King. The multi-pronged attack on New
France is to force the French to pull Montcalm and his forces back to
defend the main cities of the Province.
Leaving
only a small force of 2300 at Carillon and St. Frederic to fend
off invasion from the south, Montcalm retires to Quebec to meet the
British under Wolfe. Troops under General Jeffrey Amherst advance on
Carillon. Brigadier Chevalier de Bourlamaque is now in command of
Carillon. He is faced with certain defeat, knowing that his superiors
are preoccupied with defense of the capitol, no relief will be available
for the frontier fortresses. As the mighty British force advances from
the south, Bourlamaque retreats to St. Frdric at Crown Point,
leaving behind a small force of 400 to delay the attackers and destroy
Carillon behind them. Amherst takes the fort with a loss of 16 men
killed, 51 wounded and 1 missing. The fort is now owned by the King of
England.
Fort Ticonderoga
Now
in control of the lakes, the French having abandoned Carillon and St.
Frederic, Amherst sets out to make the water corridor wholly British.
The French have blown the magazine at Ticonderoga but the fort is still
serviceable, so Sir Jeffrey sets out to restore it while building a new,
more massive fort to the north at Crown Point.
The
restored fort holds a British garrison for the rest of the War and well
into the peaceful period beyond the end of the Seven Years War.
Diminished in importance, the fort is allowed to deteriorate, while the
area around the lakes is settled by Colonists of English descent.
Within
twenty years conflict again rears its head at the Ticonderoga peninsula.
The British colonies are in revolt against the King. The American
Revolution has begun. In a bold pre-dawn raid on May 10, 1775 a small
group of rebels led by Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold surprise the
token force at Ticonderoga. The commander, roused from sleep supposedly
by Allen's famous command to "Surrender in the name of the great
Jehovah and the Continental Congress." Again the fortress changes
hands.
Fearing
attack by from the North, the American rebels again fortify Ticonderoga
and build another fortress on the hill across the narrow lake. Together
with Mt. Independence, Ticonderoga is a formidable obstacle to invasion
from Canada. This is demonstrated in October of 1776, when the British
under Carleton, fresh from defeat of Arnold at Valcour, turn back to
Canada upon viewing the fortresses at Ticonderoga and Mt. Independence.
To
be continued...
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