A town in
Essex county, N. Y., 90 miles north of
Albany, which was quite an important tradingstation between the
English and the Indians until 1731, when the
French took possession of the cape projecting into
Lake Champlain on its western side, and built a military work there, which they called Fort Frederick.
The plan of the campaign for 1755 in the
French and Indian War contemplated an expedition against the
French at
Crown Point, to be commanded by
William Johnson.
He accomplished more than
Braddock or
Shirley, yet failed to achieve the main object of the expedition.
The Assembly of New York had voted £8,000 towards the enlistment in
Connecticut of 2,000 men for the
Niagara and Crown Point expedition; and after hearing of
Braddock's defeat, they raised 400 men of their own, in addition to 800 which they had already in the field.
The troops destined for the northern expedition, about 6,000 in number, were drawn from
New England,
New Jersey, and New York.
They were led by
Gen. Phineas Lyman, of
Connecticut, to the head of boat navigation on the
Hudson, where they built Fort Lyman, afterwards called
Fort Edward.
There
Johnson joined them (August) with stores, took the chief command, and advanced to
Lake George.
The
Baron Dieskau had,
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meanwhile, ascended
Lake Champlain with 2,000 men, whom he brought from
Montreal.
Landing at
South Bay, at the southern extremity of
Lake Champlain,
Dieskau marched against Fort Lyman, but suddenly changed his route, and led his troops against
Johnson, at the head of
Lake George, where his camp was protected on two sides by an impassable swamp.
Informed of this movement of the
French and
Indian allies (Sept. 7),
Johnson sent forward (Sept. 8) 1,000
Massachusetts troops, under the command of
Col. Ephraim Williams, and 200
Mohawk Indians, under King Hendrick, to intercept the enemy.
The
English fell into an ambuscade.
Williams and
Hendrick were both killed, and their followers fell back in
great confusion to
Johnson's camp, hotly pursued.
The latter had heard of the disaster before the fugitives appeared, cast up breastworks of logs and limbs, and placed two cannon upon them, and was prepared to receive the pursuers of the
English.
Dieskau and his victorious troops came rushing on, without suspicion of being confronted with artillery.
They came, a motley host, with swords, pikes, muskets, and tomahawks, and made a spirited attack, but at the discharge of cannon the Indians fled in terror to the forests.
So, also, did the
Canadian militia.
Johnson had been wounded early in the fight, and it was carried through victoriously by
General Lyman, who, hearing the din of battie, had come from Fort Lyman with troops.
The battle continued several hours.
when,
Dieskau being severely wounded and made a prisoner, the
French withdrew, and hastened to
Crown Point.
Their baggage was captured by some
New Hampshire troops.
The French loss was estimated at 1,000 men; that of the
English at 300.
Johnson did not follow the discomfited enemy, but built a strong military work on the site of his camp, which he called
Fort William Henry.
He also changed the name of Fort Lyman to
Fort Edward, in compliment to the royal family; and he was rewarded for the success achieved by
Lyman with a baronetcy and $20,000 to support the new title.
The French strengthened their works at
Crown Point, and fortified
Ticonderoga.
The conduct of the second campaign against
Crown Point was intrusted to
Gen. John Winslow (a great-grandson of
Edward Winslow, governor of
Plymouth), who led the expedition against the Acadians in 1755.
The
Earl of Loudoun was commander-in-chief of the
British forces in
America, and
Gen. James Abercrombie (q. v.) was his lieutenant.
General Winslow had collected 7,000 men at
Albany before
Abercrombie's arrival, with several British regiments, in June.
Difficulties immediately occurred respecting military rank.
These, unadjusted when Loudoun arrived, were made worse by his arrogant assumption of supreme rank for the royal officers, and the troops were not ready to move until August.
Vigorous measures were meanwhile taken to supply and reinforce the forts at
Oswego.
John Bradstreet, appointed commissary-general, employed for this purpose forty companies of boatmen, of fifty men each.
Before this could be accomplished, the
French, under
Montcalm, captured the post at
Oswego, which event so alarmed the inefficient
Loudoun that he abandoned all other plans of the campaign for the year.
A regiment of British regulars, under
Colonel Webb, on their march to reinforce
Oswego, on hearing of the disaster, fell back to
Albany with terror and precipitation; and other troops, moving
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towards
Ticonderoga, were ordered to halt, and devote their efforts towards strengthening
Forts Edward and
William Henry.
The post remained in possession of the
French until 1759, when the approach of a large English force, under
General Amherst, caused the garrison there to join that at
Ticonderoga, in their flight down the lake to its outlet.
Amherst remained at
Crown Point long enough to construct a sufficient number of rude boats to convey his troops, artillery, and baggage, and then started to drive the enemy before him across the
St. Lawrence.
The delay prevented his joining
Wolfe at
Quebec.
When ready to move, it was mid-autumn （Oct. 11), and heavy storms compelled him to return to
Crown Point, after going a short distance down the lake.
There he placed his troops in winter quarters, where they constructed a fortress, whose picturesque ruins, after the lapse of more than a century, attested its original strength.
The whole circuit, measuring along the ramparts, was a trifle less than half a mile; and it was surrounded by a broad ditch, cut out of the solid limestone, with the fragments taken out of which massive stone barracks were constructed.
In it was a well 8 feet in diameter and 90 feet deep, also cut out of the limestone.
The fortress was never entirely finished, although the
British government spent nearly $10,000,000 upon it and its outworks.
Crown Point was an important place during the
Revolutionary War.
