“It was a feature peculiar to the colonial wars of North America that the toils and dangers of the wilderness were to be encountered before the adverse hosts could meet.” — James Fenimore Cooper, “The Last of the Mohicans”
In the pre-dawn hours of August 3, 1757, a fleet of bark canoes slipped from the Western shore of Lake George and moved across the still waters forming a line that reached the lake’s East Side, a span of more than 1,200 yards. Commandeering the vessels were Abenaki, Algonquin, Huron and Iroquois, allies of the French in a battle of empires. With strong draw strokes, the warriors rotated their canoes a quarter turn to stare down the cannons of Fort William Henry.
Vaudreuil’s Offensive
The French force, under the command of the Marquis de Montcalm, numbered approximately 8,000 and included French Regulars, Canadian militia and Indians classified as either Domiciled (under the influences of Christian missionaries) or Upper Country (not versed in the ways of polite society.)
Though not invited, this army was expected. The attack on the English Fort, launched out of Fort Carillon (now Fort Ticonderoga) at the Northern end of Lake George, was part of an overall plan by New France Governor Vaudreuil to drive the English from Lake George and nearby Fort Edward to halt English advances and secure French access to the Champlain corridor. The August attack was not the first attempt to take Fort William Henry.
In March of 1757, an army of French regulars, Canadian Provincials and their Native American Allies traveled from Quebec intent on seizing the Fort in a surprise attack. Vaudreuil’s Raid did not succeed in this, but the raiders did destroy much of the English fleet, hampering the ability of Fort commander Colonel George Monro to run reconnaissance missions up the lake. The intelligence Monro was able to gather confirmed that the French were increasing their forces at Carillon. In the months leading up to the August attack, Monro’s scouts were often harassed and driven back by Indians allied with the French.
Ambush at Sabbath Day Point
On July 23, Colonel John Parker, with 350 of his Jersey Blues (1st New Jersey Regiment) embarked from Fort William Henry in 22 whale boats. Their mission — destroy the French sawmill on the river that connects the Northern end of Lake George to Lake Champlain and take prisoners who could provide information about the activities at the French Fort. Parker’s party was ambushed at Sabbath Day Point by a force of 50 Canadians and 500 Indians. About a third of Parker’s men were shot or drowned, another 150 captured as prisoners. The men that survived, Parker among them, made their way back to Fort William Henry with gruesome tales of slaughter by savages.
“The whoops of our Indians impressed them with such terror, that they made but a feeble resistance; two barges only escaped; all the others were captured or sunk. I have 160 prisoners here, 5 of whom are officers. About 160 men have been killed or drowned.” — M. de Montcalm to M. de Vaudreuil. (Département de la Guerre, Paris.) Camp at Carillon, 27th July, 1757.
Montcalm’s Army Embarks
On the evening of July 29, a detachment of 2,500 led by Brigadier Francois-Gaston de Lévis, left Fort Carillon and camped the night at a point on the Western Shore. The following morning, they broke camp and bushwhacked their way south through dense forest and over rocky terrain, arriving at Ganouskie Bay (now Northwest Bay) three days later.
On July 31, 150 Canoes carrying 800 Indians left the northernmost part of the lake. They were followed the next afternoon by the remainder of Montcalm’s forces in 250 bateaux carrying heavy artillery and provisions. Montcalm’s fleet met up with the canoes and, with the aid of three signal fires lit by Lévis’ contingent, landed at Ganouskie Bay late that night.
[List of Montcalm’s forces]
The morning of August 2, troops under Lévis resumed their land march south, arriving at a cove approximately one mile north of Fort William Henry. They immediately set about scouting the area to determine the Fort’s defenses and to locate a landing spot for the artillery. Montcalm’s fleet arrived that evening.
The French Army’s Food Supply Bleats out a Warning
That night, a scouting party of 13 from the Fort, rowing two boats upon the lake, noticed something peculiar on the West shore. As they rowed in closer to inspect, they heard the bleat of a sheep, part of the French provisions. They recognized at once the enemy was near and quickly rowed towards the East shore. They were pursued by Montcalm’s Indians. Of the 13 scouts, five were killed and three taken prisoner. Before they were killed, the prisoners gave Montcalm intelligence on the Fort’s condition.
“…two English barks out scouting were discovered by the Indians, who gave them chase and made three prisoners, who on being interrogated on the spot, told us that the enemy numbered 3,000 men, 500 of whom were in the Fort, the remainder in an intrenched camp on a height convenient to the Fort, to relieve its garrison every day; that all the troops had orders to stand to their arms, and to come to meet us on the firing of the signal gun.” — Journal of the Expedition against Fort William Henry. From 12th of July, to 16th August, 1757. ( Département de la Guerre, Paris.)
The Siege
The Fort, now well aware battle was imminent, fired their 32-pound cannons, a signal heard by General Webb at Fort Edward 16 miles south. The French vanguard advanced through the woods to encircle the Fort and block the road to Fort Edward, taking possession of the Fort’s horses and oxen. Early afternoon, General Montcalm sent an aide to the Fort calling for surrender
— “Two o’Clock Monsr. MontCalm sent an officer with a Flag to demand the Fort but the brave Colo. Monro rejected the Summons with Scorn.” — “A Journal Kept During the Siege of Fort William Henry”
Monro knew Fort William Henry, with its thee-foot thick, earth-filled walls, could withstand a siege by superior forces for several days. Beyond that, he would need reinforcement. Monro sent two messages to Webb that first evening describing circumstances at the Fort and expressing his surety that Webb would soon send troops from Fort Edward.
Webb replied with a message sent on the 4th, however, Monro did not receive this reply, at least not right away. The Ranger carrying Webb’s note was killed en route by one of Montcalm’s Indian scouts. The message, which was hidden in the lining of the Ranger’s jacket, was delivered into Montcalm’s hands. The Marquis held on to it for a few days.
Canadian militia worked day and night digging trenches along the West side of the lake — ground that in 2017 supports restaurants, bars, gift shops and a Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream. Artillery fire from the Fort slowed their trench-digging work but did not bring it to a halt. Throughout the second day of the siege, Indians battled with the English forces in the Fort’s entrenched camp. Monro sent a third message to Webb, noting he would be glad if the General sent his entire army.
“Wednesday 3d, … Twelve o’Clock we could plainly see from the Fort that the Enemy were throwing up an entrenchment and erecting a Battery at the distance of about 7 or 800 yards on a Clear Ground bearing N, B, W, Saw several large Boats coming to the Point w[h]ere the Enemy landed.” — “A Journal Kept During the Siege of Fort William Henry”
By the third day of the Siege, Aug. 5, the Fort’s artillery, overheated from repeated firing, began to fail. The Fort’s two 32-pound cannons and an 18-pounder exploded. In the French camp, Montcalm received the intercepted communication from General Webb at Fort Edward. Its contents, no doubt, delighted the Marquis.
Throughout that day, and the next, Montcalm’s artillery continued to batter the Fort walls, creating gaps in some places. The French continued to advance, completing a second battery by Aug. 6.
This morning (Aug. 6) the Enemy began to cannonade our Forts with nine pieces of Cannon 18 & 12 pounders…One of their Shott carried away the Pully of our Flag Staff and the falling of our flag Much rejoiced the Enemy; but it was soon hoisted tho’ one of the men that was doing this had his head Shot off with a Ball, and another wounded.” — “A Journal Kept During the Siege of Fort William Henry”
Four more Fort cannons had burst. Monro sent an urgent message to Webb requesting more artillery.
Aug. 7 opened with a three-hour bombardment from the French batteries. Blasts from 17 cannon, two mortar and two howitzers pounded the northwest bastion. Then silence as the French raised a flag of truce. Montcalm sent his aide Louis Antoine de Bougainville with 15 grenadiers to deliver the letter that had been ripped from a dead Ranger’s jacket two days earlier. The reply Monro was waiting for, written by Webb’s aide-de-camp, was not encouraging:
“Sir — The General has ordered me to acquaint you he does not think it prudent to attempt a junction or to assist you till reinforced by the militia of the colonies, for the immediate march of which repeated expresses have been sent … The general thought proper to give you this intelligence, that in case he should be so unFortunate as, from the delay of the militia, not to have it in his power to give you timely assistance, you might be able to make the best terms left in your power.”
Stalwart Scotsman that he was, Monro graciously thanked Bougainville for delivering the message and expressed the great joy he felt at having such an honorable enemy to contend with. He did not surrender. The bombardment continued. Monro sent another letter to Webb, writing that he expected reinforcement to come at any time, without which, the Fort would fall.
By the morning of Aug. 8, the French trenches had reached the turn of the lake. Only a swampy ravine separated Montcalm’s big guns from the Fort’s gardens (now the grounds of the Fort William Henry Hotel). Montcalm’s engineers filled the swamp with bundles of twigs and logs to create a causeway. They brought their artillery forward to within 250 feet of the Fort walls. They fired on the structure amidst the garden’s turnips and cabbages.
The Surrender
The Fort, though damaged, was holding together. The English artillery and ammunition were in short supply. The men were fatigued after five nights of no sleep. Early on the morning of Aug. 9, Fort William Henry raised the white flag.
The terms of surrender were generous:
“The Commandant sent to demand permission to capitulate, which has been granted on the following conditions, to wit:
- That the garrison of the fort and the troops of the intrenched camp to the number of 2,200 men, shall march out with the honors of war, carrying away arms and baggage, and take with them one cannon, out of respect for the gallant defence they have made.
- That they will not serve during 18 months against his Most Christian Majesty and his allies.
- That within 4 months from this date they shall send back to Carillon the prisoners they have taken from the French and their allies, on the territory of North America, since the commencement of the war.
- That they shall leave in the ramparts, arsenal and magazines, all the artillery, ammunition, provisions and other effects that are there.”
— Johnathan Frye, “Journal of the Expedition against Fort William Henry. From 12th of July, to 16th August, 1757.”
The French took possession of Fort William Henry at noon. The English soldiers marched from the Fort to the entrenchment camp. The wounded and sick were left in the care of the French with an agreement they would be sent to Fort Edward once well enough to do so.
[State of the Garrison of Fort William Henry, August 9, 1757]
The “Massacre”
The Native American’s that fought for the French came from nearly three dozen different tribes and spoke a multitude of languages. They had only a handful of interpreters and missionaries to facilitate communications. Many may not have understood or consented to the terms of surrender. They had been promised the plunder of war as payment for their service, yet the captured enemy was allowed to go free with their personal belongings (and scalps.) The arms and provisions left behind belonged to the French. This didn’t leave much for the Indians.
Eyewitness accounts report that when the gates of the Fort opened, and the English marched out, several Indians rushed in ahead of the French guards. Cries of distress were heard from the wounded and sick left behind. A French missionary, who claimed to be in the Fort at the time, reported seeing a savage carrying a human head. More was to come.
The English soldiers and their dependents spent a sleepless night in the entrenchment camp, harassed regularly by the Indians. At dawn, the English, grouped by regiment, prepared to leave. The Indians began to breach the perimeter of the camp, attacking the vulnerable wounded. As the regiments began to file out of the camp, they were accosted by Indians who demanded the English relinquish their baggage and clothing. Once the English had cleared the encampment, the Indians launched a full-scale assault beginning at the end of the column.
“It is not in the power of words to give any tolerable idea of the horrid scene that now ensued; men, women, and children were dispatched in the most wanton and cruel manner, and immediately scalped. Many of these savages drank the blood of their victims, as it flowed warm from the fatal wound.” — Jonathan Carver, “Travels Through the Interior Parts of North America”
Several sensationalized accounts such as Carver’s filled the newspapers of the time. Some reports claimed the “savages” disemboweled the women and dashed the brains of children against trees and rocks. Some accounts set the number of victims as high as 1,500. Historian Ian K. Steele, in his exhaustive study, “Betrayals: Fort William Henry and the Massacre,” determined the deaths that followed the surrender to be between 69 and 184, not of massacre proportions.
There is hard evidence that some of the eyewitness accounts of brutality were not without merit. When the Fort was excavated in the early 1950s, a mass grave with five skeletons was found beneath the floor of the East barracks, presumed to be the remains of sick and injured left in the care of the French. A study of the bones showed cuts and slashing wounds. One skeleton lacked a head. The study authors conclude that “The pattern of the cuts and slashes suggests strongly that these men were mutilated possibly to obtain trophies.”
The Marquis de Montcalm and his French regulars intervened to protect the English, as the attack was a breach of surrender terms and French honor. Several hundred English were snatched as prisoners, and Montcalm had to negotiate for their release. Many of the English took off into the woods to find their own way to Fort Edward. Others took shelter in the Fort.
General Webb, who had been apprised of the surrender terms, was waiting at Fort Edward expecting an orderly column of the Fort’s garrison to appear. What arrived instead were half-naked, terrified escapees. They stumbled in over the next few days. French deserters arrived at Fort Edward as well.
On Aug. 11, the Indians left with their plunder and the prisoners Montcalm was unable to retrieve. Montcalm sent word to Montreal that the returning Indians should be stopped and the prisoners recovered. Many prisoners were returned by the Government of New France. Others escaped on their own, arriving home months, and even years later. Some lived out the rest of their days with their captors.
Montcalm’s engineers dismantled the Fort and set the remains on fire with a flame that burned for three days. The smoke could be seen from Fort Edward. The English that remained at Lake George, Colonel Monro among them, were delivered to Fort Edward on the 15th.
The Legacy
For nearly two centuries, the remains of Fort William Henry were left, for the most part, undisturbed. An elegant hotel rose up to its west and a rail station to its east. Over the years, curious tourists have poked around at the site hoping to uncover an artifact or two. In 1952 and 1953, the site was excavated, and a replica of the Fort was built on the spot as an attraction for tourists and history buffs.
James Fenimore Cooper’s fictionalized account of the Siege and Surrender of Fort William Henry, “The Last of the Mohicans,” was published in 1826. The novel was wildly popular in its time and is considered an American classic. Scholars cite Cooper’s work, along with the Catskill Mountain tales of Washington Irving, as the beginning of an American literature distinct from European traditions.