Glacial Expanse
Although most of North America was heavily wooded in the 18th century, the vast region of mountainous woodlands that stretch from New England to the Great Lakes along the northern tier of New York made travel a slow, ponderous, and often treacherous affair. For centuries, however, the native tribes of the region, such as the Iroquois, Abenaki, and Huron, traversed the area with little difficulty. Generations of knowledge handed down to the tribes turned the slightest break in the woods, footpath, or deer trail into their highway.
But modern (18th-century modern) travelers, such as explorers, hunters, trappers, and of course, armies, needed a better way to negotiate the wilderness that seemed, at times, overwhelming. And for this, they turned to nature as well. In this case, the excellent network of waterways left by the glaciers, which receded at the end of the last great ice age.
Waterways of War
The resulting waterway stretched, with little interruption, from the Saint Lawrence River to the Lower New York harbor and the Atlantic Ocean. For this narration, the northernmost waters of Lake Champlain and Lake George will be the focus. Several forts constructed to defend the waterways played a prominent role in the numerous clashes between the French/Indians and the British in the 18th century.
Crown Point
This is a tale of two forts as Britain and France squared off to control Lake Champlain, the most extensive body of water south of the Great Lakes and west of the Atlantic Ocean. Like an opposed left thumb, a small peninsula just into the lake from Champlain's western shore dominates the approach from either direction. As the first "battlespace" between Canada and the colonies, it would play a pivotal role in the many 18th-century struggles for a North American Empire.
The French were the first to appreciate the strategic location. In 1734, they began constructing a base they named Fort St. Frederic, which they used to launch raids against the British settlers in central New York and New England (the hated Bostonnais). During the French and Indian War, the British were determined to neutralize the base and finally were able to take it in 1759. They immediately built new defense works on the site, which they dubbed "His Majesty's Fort of Crown Point." The new works at Crown Point spanned more than seven acres – one of the largest in North America.
Between the French and Indian War and the outbreak of the American Revolution, Crown Point (like all the others along the waterway) became less important and was essentially mothballed. However, in 1775 the Americans saw the value in seizing the unmanned cannons and ordnance for the new Continental Army. It served as a base for American forces invading Canada in 1775 and defending New York in 1776. Crown Point fell into British hands once more when General John Burgoyne launched his 1777 campaign to divide the colonies. It remained in British control even after Burgoyne's surrendered in October of that year.
Fort Ticonderoga
Fort Ti is the big daddy of forts, the big kahuna, The Gibraltar of the North, and figures largely in my novel, The North Spy. The name "Ticonderoga" comes from the Iroquois word tekontaró:ken, meaning "it is at the junction of two waterways" Situated between lakes Champlain and Lake George, the site dominated the transit route between Canada and the American colonies, making it a strategic a place as any in North America. I visited once when I was very young and twice as an adult and have not begun to scratch the surface of its historical and geographic significance.
French Carillon
Recognizing that strategic significance, the French first fortified the site in 1755 and named it Fort Carillon. It would figure significantly in the upcoming campaigns of The French and Indian War. The power of the place proved itself in 1758 when 4,000 French defeated 16,000 British troops in a bloody battle aptly called The Battle of Carillon. But all forts are meant to be taken, and in 1759, the British returned. This time, they drove out the small French garrison.
Rebel Pickings
At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, local leaders recognized the importance of the fort and its ordnance. In 1775, the American siege of Boston had the British ringed but lacked guns to conduct a proper siege and the gunpowder to risk an all-out assault.
On 10 May 1775, Colonel Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen led a mix of GreenMountain Boys and other local militia and captured the startled garrison in a coup de main. General George Washington, the new commander in chief of the new Continental Army, dispatched Colonel Henry Knox to Ticonderoga to bring the scores of heavy guns and powder back to Boston. When the captured guns were placed in the battery over the city in March 1776, General William Howe ordered the evacuation of Boston.
Red Deluge
During the summer 1777 campaign led by Brtish General John Burgoyne, Ticonderoga was in the cross hairs. The massive fort was the key to Burgoyne's success as it would provide his logistics base and jump-off point for his final thrust to Albany and a link-up with General Henry Clinton's army in New York City.
Without a Shot
The Americans recognized the threat and the importance of defending the fort, but the defenses had been neglected, and the garrison had insufficient numbers, munitions, and supplies. Ironically, great fortresses suck in resources and are vulnerable if not fully manned. Such was the situation facing the new American commander of the garrison, General Arthur St. Clair. Ticonderoga was surrounded by mountains that, if taken, placed the fort and garrison in jeopardy. St. Clair failed to secure those hills, but the enterprising Brish did – dragging a gun battery to the crest of Mount Defiance. Recognizing the danger, St. Clair ordered a night withdrawal, abandoning The Gibraltar of the North without firing a shot.
Fort Ann
Nestled in the rugged woodland east of the southern tip of Lake George, Fort Ann sits at the edge of the rugged land, and the beginning of the pass into lowland approaches to Fort Edward and the Upper Hudson Valley.
French and Indian War
Recognizing its strategic position, the British erected a small fort there in1757. It was here in 1758 that celebrated French and Indian War leaders Israel Putnam and Robert Rogers took a force of 500 men to screen and scout the French at Fort Ticonderoga. On their return, they were attacked, and Israel Putnam was wounded and taken prisoner.
Revolutionary War
Following the fall of Fort Ticonderoga in the summer of 1777, the British General John Burgoyne forced the Continental troops to retreat. They pursued them through the dense, rugged woodlands east of the lakes. The Americans were able to make a fighting withdrawal, felling trees and setting up ambush points, and reconvene in a defensive perimeter near the last defensible position before the defile that led to the lowlands – Fort Ann. The British advance guard was on the move and intent on capturing the fort.
Impromptu Battlefield
The Battle of Fort Ann took place here on 9 July 1777. This was another delaying action, one of many, large and small, that characterized the middle phase of the Saratoga Campaign.
The British advance guard of some 200 men was met at the gorge about a mile north of Fort Ann by Colonel Pierce Long's rear-guard (150 men) reinforced by 400 New York militia under Colonel Henry van Rennselaer. Long and van Rensselaer attacked in two columns when the British paused to await reinforcements. One swung east and threatened the British flank and rear while the other pushed into the defile.
Gunpowder and War Whoops
The British withdrew to the high ground, and after two hours of heavy fighting, the Americans broke contact from a lack of ammunition and the sound of approaching British reinforcements. The latter turned out to be a deception – a single British officer mimicking Iroquois war whoops. While a British victory, the action at Fort Ann delayed the progress of the British Saratoga Campaign.
While the Patriots had successfully outnumbered and surrounded the British, they ultimately retreated to Fort Ann and then to Fort Edward when they were deceived into believing that enemy reinforcements were preparing to surround them. Regardless, the Patriots successfully delayed British movements toward Saratoga and ensured an American victory there.
Fort Edward
A series of forts were established at the "Great Carrying Place," a portage around the falls on the Hudson, used by local Indians before colonial times. Situated on the "Great War Path," later used by the Iroquois and other tribes, the French and English colonists saw its value and used it during the many wars of the eighteenth century.
A French and Indian Fort
During the French and Indian War, General Phineas Lyman constructed Fort Lyman here in 1755. Sir William Johnson, the British Superintendent for Indian Affairs, renamed it Fort Edward in 1756 to honor Prince Edward, a younger brother of the later King George III. After Fort William Henry fell to the French, the famed major Robert Rogers used it as a base for operations conducted by his Rangers. In 1759 General Jeffery Amherst's army assembled at Fort Edward for his attack on Fort Carillon and Fort St. Frederic. After the British took the forts, Fort Edward was significantly reduced as the war moved north.
Revolutionary Days
Fort Edward was razed by the rebels shortly after the Revolutionary War began. It would never serve as a defense work, but the strategic location made it a base for many military officers who passed through. The commander of the Continental Army's Northern Department, General Phillip Schuyler, used it as his headquarters until the British drove him south on their way to Saratoga in the summer of 1777.
Place of Infamy
The most infamous event of the 1777 Saratoga campaign, the case of Jane McCrae, took place near the fort. The fiancé (or lover) of a Loyalist officer, Jane was captured by an Indian war party while visiting a house near the fort. Her fiancé sent another Indian war party to parley for her release. When it became clear the fiancé's envoy would not pay a ransom, her captor, a Huron named Wyandott Panther, became enraged. During the argument, he allegedly shot her. Jane's bloody scalp was taken to the British camp, where her fiancé identified it by its stark red hair. The rest of her remains were buried near the fort.
Patriotic Outrage
The Americans exploited the incident to arouse innate colonial fear and hatred of the Indians. With the long history of conflict between the tribes (especially the Mohawks) and the settlers, this was pretty easy to achieve. Soon, reluctant farmers and settlers began to rally to the cause in great numbers. By the time General Burgoyne's Army was north of Albany, the angry rebels outnumbered him by two to one.
Forts of Futility?
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