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Fort William Henry
By James Emery Vigh of profbruno.com
In 1757, the area in and around Lake George, NY was all wilderness. At the northern end of the lake was the French Fort Carillon (soon to be renamed Ticonderoga). At the southern end was the newly constructed British Fort William Henry. Fort William Henry was the northernmost area controlled by the British at that time. The area to the north, called "New France", was controlled by the French. The French wanted control of the southern shore so a French force commanded by General Louis-Joseph de-Montcalm arrived in the area of Fort William Henry on August 3rd. The force consisted of about 3,000 French regulars, 3,000 militia and 2,000 Indians from the tribes in the area. The commander of the fort was General George Monro. He had about 2,300 effective troops, consisting of over 1,000 British regulars and Colonial militia. The fort itself, which had 30 foot thick walls, could only house 400-500 men, so an entrenchment camp just southeast of the fort (that was made while the fort was being built) housed the rest of the garrison. The fort was surrounded on 3 sides by a dry moat, the only access being by a bridge across it. On the east,the ground sloped down to the lake. The ground in that area was marshy. Montcalm, on his arrival began entrenching his troops to the west and south of the fort. Both sides had cannon, but the French guns were bigger and they began bombarding the fort. Each night, the French entrenchments (and the guns) inched closer. By the evening of August 7th, these guns were within 250 yards of the fort. Meanwhile, the French militia and their Indian allies kept the British in the entrenchment camp busy. The British were taking casualties, and there were women and children in the fort. Monro knew that no help was coming, and he knew that the French cannon would soon be able to make life untenable inside the fort. So after consulting with his officers, Monro decided to ask Montcalm for terms of surrender. At this time, the officers on both sides were "gentlemen". Whenever a surrender occurred, the losing side was usually paroled for a period of 18 months on the condition that the paroled men would give their word of honor not to take up arms against them during this period. This is what was done in this case. The British were to be allowed to walk out (under French escort), with their arms - but without ammunition. The all important flag would not be taken. The British were to be escorted to Fort Edward, which was another British fort several miles to the southeast for a prisoner exchange. The British would leave their seriously wounded inside the fort to be cared for by French doctors. They were generous terms. The trick was to make the Indians understand how "gentleman" wars were fought - and won. The Indians didn't care about either the French or the British views on warfare. They were in it for booty. The British marched out of Fort William Henry flags flying with full military honors. But the Indians, despite Montcalm's and his officers' efforts, then entered the fort and killed many of the wounded British and took some scalps. After a couple of false starts due to Indian belligerence, The British marched out of the encampment the next morning. As the rear of the column was leaving the encampment, a war whoop rang out, and Indians fell on the rear of the column. Having no ammunition, the British soldiers were defenseless. Clothes and guns were stolen, and children were ripped out of the arms of their mothers. (Women and children were money makers). Any who resisted were scalped and/or killed. Now the mayhem spread down to the rest of the column, which soon fell apart - everyone running for their lives. The Indians took hostages, stole clothes and equipment, took scalps, and killed some of the men. What did NOT happen is what was depicted in James Fenimore Cooper's "The Last of the Mohicans". But it was bad enough, certainly traumatic for those in the column. The final death tally was estimated between 69 to 184. Bad - but the whole column was not massacred. Colonel Monro eventually reached Fort Edward with a contingent of around 500 men - the rest having scattered to the 4 winds.
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Fort William Henry - Reconstructed
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It's amazing to look at a city like New York, which has not seen a real war for ages, with troubled eyes. The feeling that much blood and tears were shed at Fort Henry must be shocking for a New Yorker. Almost as bad as the incident with the Twin Towers. Meantime, about 250 years would be less than 3 generations today. Just figure... That makes you feel like the atrocious killings happened yesterday. The detailed report of the article Fort Henry will astound many people. Not just those who have an interest in history...
CONTRIBUTOR'S REPLY
It's a lot more than 3 generations (about 3-4 per century), but I know what you mean. Thanks for your kind remarks.
Thanks for another interesting Intel, James.
CONTRIBUTOR'S REPLY
Your welcome, Keith. Thanks for your kind remark.
I have been to both Fort Ticonderoga and Fort William Henry. I went to Ticonderoga when I was about 12 with my parents. I went to Fort William Henry when the boys were about 12. The history of both forts is very interesting. Last of the Mohicans is still a pretty good story. My wife has four of Fenimore Cooper's books which are very old with red hardcovers. Spell check was suggesting Mahicans, Mozambicans, Mexicans, Mahican, and Mohandis
CONTRIBUTOR'S REPLY
I think you spelled it right...
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