It’s called “The Great Burning.” October 8-11, 1780, during the fight for American independence, British Major Christopher Carleton led 1,000 British soldiers, Native allies and Loyalists on a raid through what is now New York’s Essex, Saratoga, Warren, and Washington Counties leaving a path of destruction that included the burning of Fort George.
On Sunday, Oct. 8, at 1 p.m., the Lake George Battlefield Park Alliance and the Washinton County Historical Society are unveiling a new historical marker commemorating Carlton’s Raid. The marker, which is funded by the William G. Pomeroy Foundation, will be placed across from the Battlefield Park Visitors Center at 75 Fort George Road, Lake George. The public is invited to the ceremony, which will include an overview of Carleton’s raids by Pat Niles, who has led the effort to install markers about the raids throughout the tri-county area.
“These raids destroyed a large percentage of pre-Revolution structures from Fort Ann and Queensbury to Schuylerville, on both sides of the Hudson River,” says Niles. “They also provoked terror. Some local townships actually joined Vermont after the raids, having lost faith in New York’s ability to protect them from the British.”
“Major Carleton’s raid is a much-overlooked component of the British strategy in 1780,” says Bruce Venter, a Lake George Battlefield Park Alliance Trustee and president of America’s History LLC. “In 1780, British leaders looked to support their Iroquois allies who had suffered the devastating effects of the Sullivan-Clinton campaign the previous year. Combined with raids in the Schoharie and Mohawk Valleys, the British intent was to avenge the American incursion of 1779.”
Also speaking at the ceremony will be State Senator Dan Stec and Lake George Town Historian Margy Mannix. Assisting with the marker unveiling will be John DiNuzzo, Lake George Battlefield Park Alliance President, and Nat Huntington, Washington County Historical Society President. Fort William Henry reenactors will serve as a color guard and fire a salute to the soldiers who perished in the raid at Fort George
Following the ceremony, Niles will lead a tour of locations in Battlefield Park associated with the destruction of Fort George and the fort ruins that stand today. Niles will present the context of the battle that preceded the attack on Fort George and the circumstances that led to its capture, occupation and burning.
The Lake George Battlefield Park Visitors Center will be open Friday through Monday Columbus Day Weekend, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Venter notes that “an invaluable compass, excavated during an archaeological dig at Fort George and having the markings signifying Carleton’s own 29th Regiment of Foot, may have been lost during the raid and is now on display in the Battlefield Park Visitor Center.” Columbus Day Weekend 2023 is also New York State Path Through History weekend with special events planned at historical sites throughout the state.