I found Fort William Henry to be one of the best stops for people interested in history. The fort is located just a little west of the Lake George Battlefield in Northern New York. The building of the fort was ordered by William Johnson. The construction was over seen by William Eyer a British military engineer.
Fort William Henry
The fort was attacked twice by the French and Indians. The first attack occurred while Eyer was the forts commander. Eyer was able to repel the assault and hold the fort. The second attack which is better known was made famous by the novel “Last of the Mohicans” and by the Fort William Henry massacre. The fort which was destroyed in the second attack has been restored back to what it was at the time of the attack.
The fort when it was fully occupied was the third largest settlement in the English colonies. Only New York and Philadelphia had larger populations.
While touring the fort you will meet several reenactors, who will help to bring it all to life for you. They fire both muskets and cannon as well as guide you on ghost tours on select nights. I have not been on the ghost tour but I think it could be interesting.
While visiting Lake George, I really wanted to do one thing and that was to take a boat ride into history. History can be found from one end of the lake to the other . At the southern most point is the Lake George battlefield and Fort William Henry, The northern end is the home of Fort Ticonderoga. Both William Henry and Ticonderoga are well known from school or movies, but there are so many other things that took place in between these two points.
In the book I am writing I try to tell the lesser known stories. The stories not taught or put into movies. William Johnson asked the Mohawk Chief Hendrick to take his men with the militia and scout for the French and if possible to attack them. Johnson could see Hendrick did not like the plan so he asked what was wrong. Hendrick looked at his friend and said “If you are sending us to defeat the French, you are not sending enough men. If you are sending us to die, you are sending to many men.” Hendrick went with the English on what was later called the ‘Bloody Morning Scout”. The Mohawk Chief was one of the first men killed.
Battle on Snowshoes:
The Lake George area was the base of operations for Robert Rogers and his rangers. US army rangers still today study the rules developed by Rogers in the 1750’s. Rogers and his men were scouting the French traveling just across the first ridge so they could not be seen from the Lake. The Rangers traveled by means of snowshoes because the snow was four foot deep. The Rangers ran into a much larger French force and after several hours of fighting Rogers ordered his remaining men to split up and fall back. The story tells of both the French and the Indians wanting Rogers. They followed his track up the hill, knowing that the top of the hill was a cliff and Rogers would be theirs.
When they came to the cliff Rogers was gone. There many stories about how Rogers escaped. But when asked Rogers never answered the question. Rogers Rock is a Park you can visit.
Sabbath Day Point Massacre:
The Ottawa ambushed a force of about three hundred men from New Jersey (Jersey Blues) and fifty New Yorkers at Sabbath Day Point. The Native Americans killed one hundred English in the action with one hundred fifty English taken poisoner. Colonel Parker who commanded the Blues made it back to William Henry with about one hundred men.
The Islands:
The islands played an important part in the fighting, as neither side knew who or what could be hidden there. Simon Stevens on a mission to scout Fort Carillon decide to land his boats on one of the island and wait until dark to be safe. As his men pulled the two boats ashore they found they had landed in the center of an Indian camp.
Lake George
If you take Boat ride into history at lake George you will pass these places and many others. Some of the photos I used are not the real spots. I could not talk about a 1700’s battle and show a playground. So I pick a photo which show what I think it would have looked like in the 1700’s. I have told only small bits about several events. Their stories are far longer and more interesting than I have made them in this post.
