Both French and British military planners had long understood the importance of the Champlain Valley with Lake Champlain, which was navigable by larger ships directly below Montreal and then further north and east to Quebec and the St. Lawrence River. Lake Champlain itself was connected to Lake George by the fast-flowing La Chute River at its southern end. For that reason, French engineers had constructed Fort St. Frederic in the 1730's on the west bank of Lake Champlain to guard the Lake against any attack from Lake George and up the La Chute River. They later built Fort Carillon, at the point where La Chute enters Lake Champlain, for the same reason. Constructed in the classic star-fort style and meant to accommodate garrisons several hundred men, these forts should have been more of a priority to officials in New France and France itself. However, by the time of the French and Indian War, French forces in North America were spread then and the French command was relying on the sheer strength of the forts themselves to provide much of their defense. Almost as soon as the War started, the British began their assault on Montreal via Lake Champlain. While much of the British army was concentrated around Quebec City, further north, Sir William Johnson with a force of 1,500 Colonial militia and 200 Mohawk warriors under Hendrick Theyanoguin, whom we've also run into, hurried to take these two forts. The French commander at Crown Point, Baron Deskau, supported by an equal force of French Colonial militia, Abenaki and Kahnawake Mohawk allies marched to take the British outpost at Fort Edward, which would serve as a staging area for Johnson's expedition.
Advance units of the two armies collided near the site of the present-day village of Lake George, New York. Theyanoguin and the American militia commander were killed in an encounter memorialized as the "Bloody Morning Scout". While most of the American militia broke and fled back toward Johnson's camp, the Mohawks held and covered their retreat. Deskau wanted to attack Johnson's camp but his Native allies, having lost a commander of their own, declined to do so. Rashly, Deskau gathered about 200 militiamen and some Natives who were willing to make the attempt and attacked Johnson. Johnson's cannon crews opened up with grapeshot and withered the French lines. In the ensuing melee both Johnson and Deskau were wounded. Later, Johnson spared Deskau's life when an angry Mohawk warrior, believing Deskau responsible for the death of Theyanoguin, was about to exact revenge with his tomahawk. Meanwhile, other units from both armies clashed at an area known today as Bloody Point and narrowly averted disaster for the British. The Battle of Lake George was a British victory, but too costly for Johnson to follow up on right away. Rather than continue the advance to Fort St. Frederic, he decided to strengthen Fort William Henry, which we've already discussed, and wait for the following year to commence his assault on Lake Champlain's defenses. Eventually, Johnson would have other matters to attend to and his days as a military commander were over.
It would fall to Lord Jeffrey Amherst, he of the smallpox germ warfare fame, to deal with Fort St. Frederic. The French, hard-pressed to hang on to Quebec, Montreal and the St. Lawrence River, realized they were outmanned and outgunned and left, destroying Fort St. Frederic. Not to be outdone, Amherst's men began constructing Fort Crown Point next to the ruins. The ruined barracks can still be seen today. The British also began constructing the Crown Point Road across the Green Mountains to the Connecticut River.
Fort Carillon would prove the tougher nut to crack and it would be several years into the War before they attempted it. While the French held the area, the surroundings of Fort Carillon had grown into a town. There was a garden to feed the garrison. In town were several taverns, as well as bakeries and more comfortable barracks. The garrison at Fort Carillon was composed of professional soldiers from France, not militia or Colonial troops. In August, 1757, Louis Joseph, Marquis de Montcalm, the French commander at Fort Carillon, decided to attack Fort William Henry on Lake George. He laid siege to the Fort and, as every Last of the Mohicans fan knows, allowed the British garrison to march out. This didn't sit well with his Native auxiliaries, who attacked the British on the march. Montcalm destroyed Fort William Henry but, instead of marching on Fort Edward, which was just as vulnerable, he hurried back to Carillon. Possibly, this was due to a lack of supplies and a belief that he might not be able to stop the vengeance of the Natives on another defeated British garrison. A disastrous famine in the grain-growing regions around Montreal put a stop to any further campaigning as Montcalm had to let any militia and Colonial troops go both to avoid draining his supplies and to look after their families.
The British once again turned their attention to the Champlain Valley in 1758, when General James Abercromby re-garrisoned Fort William Henry and began massing troops for an assault on Carillon. Montcalm was prepared, digging extra ditches and earthworks around the fort. 1758 was not a good year for the British, who had suffered several defeats, deaths among the higher ranks of command, and the appointment of James Wolfe, whom many of his subordinates disliked, in overall command. Meanwhile, Montcalm had had to divert most of the professional French troops to Louisbourg, Quebec and Montreal. Lacking Colonial troops or militia, much of the fighting for his side had to rely on the Abenaki, Kahwanake Mohawk and other Native allies. These Natives provided a deterrent to Rogers' Rangers and other British scouting parties trying to assess French strength at Carillon.
The British, to stave off any French attempts to retake Fort William Henry, amassed a 16,000 man force to strike at Carillon. On July 8, 1758, Abercromby surrounded and began the siege of Fort Carillon. In Montcalm and his men the British had met his match. Carillon was heavily fortified, well-armed and dug in. This wasn't going to be easy. The British, though, had the advantage that the Fort, situated on Lake Champlain, the La Chute River and with a moat, was surrounded on at least three sides by water. They could have waited Montcalm out but Abercrombie wanted a quick victory. They tried a frontal assault, which the French repulsed. The British had to pull back to Fort William Henry. It would take until July, 1759, before Lord Jeffrey Amherst, now replacing James Wolfe as Commander in Chief of British Forces in North America, moved against Carillon again. Realizing he was outmanned and outgunned, the commander of Fort Carillon ordered the outbuildings of the fort, including the bakeries and barracks to be burned. He then demolished much of the interior of the fort, spiked what guns they could not drag away, and evacuated Fort Carillon. Amherst's men brushed aside the French rear guard and entered Carillon, which they renamed Fort Ticonderoga. Over the next two years, they tried to repair the damage and mount a garrison there but other priorities always seemed to interfere. By 1773, two years before Ethan Allen showed up to claim his victory at Ticonderoga, Frederick Haldimand, Governor of Quebec wrote that it was in a ruinous condition.
Despite this fact, the defense of the Fort Carillon by successive French commanders, and its ultimate capture by the British were bragging rights for both sides. The Battle of Carillon in 1758, when French forces managed to withstand the British frontal assault, is a well-known story in the history of Quebec, and the Carillon flag is as treasured by them as the "Don't Treat on Me" flag is to American history. Likewise, the British attached considerable bragging rights to the taking of Fort Carillon, which is why, when Allen got his hands on it, it was a thumb in the eye to British commanders in North America, as well as a treasure trove of guns for Washington's army.
And none of these battles and marches would have been possible without the assistance and fighting ability of Mohawk, Abenaki and other Native warriors, whose contributions are overlooked.
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