Fort William Henry

Fort William Henry was a British fortification along Lake George in the northeastern section of what is now New York State. It was built during the French and Indian War, which began in 1754. Three years later, the fort was attacked and taken over by French troops. The French offered generous surrender terms that allowed the British to retreat to another British stronghold. However, Native Americans had been promised booty and trophies for fighting with the French. They ambushed the British during the retreat, massacring many before looting the fort. Ultimately, the French burned down the fort. Fort William Henry and the events surrounding it were part of the plot in the James Fennimore Cooper novel The Last of the Mohicans, published in 1826. The fort was reconstructed in the 1950s as a historical site.

Background

The French and Indian War, fought between 1754 and 1763, was part of a larger global conflict known as the Seven Years War, which has been called the first true world war. The Seven Years War was fought primarily between England and France in conflicts that spanned five continents between 1756 and 1763. The main area of contention was control over colonial lands in North America and elsewhere. Before it ended in 1763, the Seven Years War involved France, England, Spain, Prussia, Austria, Russia, and Sweden, as well as American colonial militia and multiple tribes of Native Americans. The war was ended by two treaties: the Treaty of Hubertusburg, which resolved land issues in Europe; and the Treaty of Paris, which drew colonial land lines in North America for England, France, and Spain.

In North America, the war was often referred to as the French and Indian War, as those parties allied against British and colonial militia troops. The French and English both built forts, maneuvering to gain superior positions. In the mid-1750s, the French built Fort Carillon near the southern portion of Lake Champlain in New York. This would later be known as Fort Ticonderoga. The British responded by building Fort William Henry, which was named after two of the British king’s grandsons. It was in a strategic location and intended to help the British protect key inland waterways running from Canada to Manhattan in New York.

Overview

Fort William Henry was designed by William Eyre, a British military engineer. The fort was irregularly shaped with 30-foot (9-meter) walls made of earth and logs. At each of the four corners was a diamond-shaped protrusion enabling those defending the fort to position themselves highly enough to shoot down at enemies attempting to breech the walls. Three sides of the fort were surrounded by a dry moat with a bridge that provided normal access. The fourth side was an embankment that ended at the lake’s edge. The fort was designed to secure its inhabitants against Native American attacks, not to withstand heavy European-style artillery.

When it was occupied on or about November 13, 1755, the fort housed four to five hundred men. It included four two-story barracks, a hospital, an armory, storehouses, and many sheds surrounding a parade ground. As more troops were deployed to the fort, they added an entrenched camp about 750 yards (690 meters) to the southeast of the fort.

Eyre served as the fort’s first commander before he was replaced in early 1957 by Scotsman George Monro. Most of the original troops were British infantry, but by summer 1957, they were joined by New Jersey and Connecticut militia troops. When the British received word that the French were preparing to attack, the troops already at the camp were further bolstered by another one thousand British regulars and colonial militia forces. Both the fort and the entrenched camp were overcrowded, and many men became ill, some with smallpox.

The first attack, which was unsuccessful, too place in February 1757. On August 3, 1757, General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm led a superior force of eight to ten thousand. It was comprised of regular French forces and militia as well as thousands of Native Americans. Over six days, Montcalm’s troops blasted the fort with heavy artillery. This caused significant damage to the fort’s earth and log walls, which were not built to withstand this type of bombardment. At the same time, the British cannons were starting to break down under repeated use, and ammunition was running out. The vastly outnumbered British forces were unable to rest, and supplies began to run low. A request for help and reinforcements from Fort Edward, a British position about 14 miles (22.5 kilometers) away, was rejected.

On August 8, Monro began negotiating terms of surrender. In keeping with the practice of the time, Montcalm offered generous terms to an enemy who fought valiantly. The British were allowed to leave with all personal belongings and weapons, but no ammunition. They could then relocate to Fort Edward. However, the Native Americans who fought in the battle had not been consulted in the terms of surrender. They had previously been promised trophies and loot in exchange for their participation in the fighting. As the British, including some civilians and women, withdrew to Fort Edward, the Native Americans launched a brutal attack against them. They killed many, scalping them and taking personal possessions. Others were taken prisoner to be ransomed. Some fled into the woods, often without clothing, food, or weapons. It is unclear how many died.

The Native Americans also raided the cemetery near the fort, digging up bodies and robbing them of personal possessions. However, this proved harmful to them, as many of those in the graves had died of smallpox. Numerous nearby Native American camps were ravaged by the disease because of the stolen items. The French took any remaining valuables from the fort and burned it down. The fort and the events surrounding it were fictionalized in the 1826 novel The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper.

The site of the Fort remained largely untouched until the 1950s when developers considered building on the land. The land was purchased by a group of investors who conducted archaeological digs to determine the location and size of the original fort to reconstruct it. Fort William Henry is now a historical tourist site. Reenactments of the life in the camp and the battle help people understand the historical significance of the site and the cultural differences that contributed to the massacre.

Bibliography

“Fort William Henry Opens with New Offerings, Augmented Reality Exhibit.” New York Almanack, 6 May 2022, www.newyorkalmanack.com/2022/05/fort-william-henry-opens-with-new-offerings-augmented-reality-exhibit/. Accessed 14 Apr. 2023.

“French and Indian War/Seven Years’ War, 1754–63.” United States Department of State Office of the Historian, history.state.gov/milestones/1750-1775/french-indian-war. Accessed 14 Apr. 2023.

“History of Fort William Henry.” Fort William Henry Museum, www.fwhmuseum.com/history/. Accessed 14 Apr. 2023.

Niderost, Eric. “Fort William Henry, 1757: a Massacre of Misunderstanding.” Warfare History Network, warfarehistorynetwork.com/fort-william-henry-1757-a-massacre-of-misunderstanding/. Accessed 14 April 2023.

“Seven Years’ War.” History, 29 July 2022, www.history.com/topics/european-history/seven-years-war. Accessed 14 Apr. 2023.

“The Siege and Surrender of Fort William Henry.” Lake George.org, www.lakegeorge.com/history/fort-william-henry-surrender/. Accessed 14 Apr. 2023.

Starbuck, David R. “The Massacre at Fort William Henry.” Penn Museum, 2008, www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/the-massacre-at-fort-william-henry/. Accessed 14 Apr. 2023.