BACKGROUND: In the Summer of 1758 during the French and
Indian War, the historic Battle Of Carillon was fought at
Fort Carillon, now known as Fort Ticonderoga.
Strategically located on a point of land between Lake George and
Lake Champlain, Fort Carillon offered its holders a virtual
stranglehold in regards to the ability to control mass troop
movement along this section of a corridor that connected Quebec to
the Hudson Valley to the South.
At the time, Fort Carillon was controlled by the French and was
guarded by a garrison of approximately 3,000 French troops under
the command of General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm.
CORRELLATION OF FORCES: On July 6th, 1758 a British force
totaling a full 15,000 men landed at the North end of Lake George
after a two day trip up the lake. Under the command of British
General James Abercrombie, this British contingent represents the
largest single force ever deployed on the North American Continent.
It is important to note that while General Abercrombie was lauded
for his organizational genius, he was likewise derided for having
vacillating leadership skills. A trait that would present itself
during the Battle of Carillon and at a very high cost.
MARCH TO FORT CARILLON: On July 7th, Abercrombie formed
his troops into regular columns and began the march to Fort
Carillon. With Rogers Rangers out in front serving as guard and
guide and Lord Howe’s light infantry assigned to protect the
exposed flank, the large British contingent slowly made its way
towards Fort Carillon. Unfortunately, the crudely constructed and
narrow road soon caused the British forces to become scattered over
a great distance. During the ensuing confusion, Lord Howe’s light
infantry encountered a small French patrol and a skirmish quickly
broke out. The French patrol was soundly defeated by Lord Howe's
Light Infantry Unit, but it was a very costly victory as Lord Howe
was killed during the skirmish.
In light of Howe’s death and concerned about fatigue and time,
Abercrombie ordered his troops back to the landing site. That
evening Abercrombie received word that 3,000 French reinforcements
were enroute to Fort Carillon and were expected to arrive
shortly.
To this day there remains much speculation that Howe’s death
was a major contributing factor in the disaster soon to befall the
British at Fort Carillon. Prior to his untimely death, Lord Howe
had been imploring Gen. Abercrombie to bring their field cannon to
the front lines to assist in the attack on the Fort. One can only
surmise that during the fog of war, Lord Howe's advice fell to the
way side.
BATTLE OF CARILLON: Not wanting to lose the advantage of
numerical superiority, Abercrombie and his 15,000 British troops
advanced to Fort Carillon on the morning of July 8th, 1758.
Although the Fort was not completely fortified, the French had
erected tall entrenchments which were supported and flanked by
three batteries. The limiting terrain offered the British only one
line of attack and unfortunately for the British, Gen. Montcalm had
ordered this blocked with felled trees with the sharpened branches
turned outwards.
Foolishly, Abercrombie did not wait for the field cannon to
arrive and quickly moved his army into position. The British attack
was led by Rogers Rangers followed by the regular army. With the
tactical advantage, the French quickly layed down a withering fire
on the advancing British forces. The battle raged on for several
hours and although a few British troops were able to scale the wall
of trees, they were quickly repelled by a French bayonet charge.
Unable to advance, the British became bogged down and eventually
panic and confusion forced Abercrombie to order his army to
retreat.
CASUALTIES OF WAR: During the Battle of Carillon,
the British suffered a staggering 2,000 casualties while the French
sustained only 362. To this day military experts point to the
Battle of Carillon as an egregious example of tactical military
incompetence.
The cache is located a short distance from where Abercrombie and
his army landed on Northern Lake George. Canopy cover made it
somewhat difficult to get a real strong signal, but it should get
you close enough. Please be gentle when retrieving the cache.