Lake George Colonial Wars Walking Tour Stop 12: Entrenched Camp 1757
The entrenched camp played an important role in the surrender of Fort William Henry. During the French siege in August 1757, most of the provincial (American colonial) and British soldiers were stationed on high ground to the east of the fort.
The soldiers were protected by the entrenched camp, which was formed of what the chief British engineer in America called a "Breast Work of Logs." On the afternoon of August 9, 1757, French soldiers and Native American warriors scaled the breastworks of the entrenched camp and began to pillage, seeking "trophies of war."
The next morning, the warriors once again scaled the breastworks and began to slaughter the British-American rear contingent—stripping, killing, and scalping them. Newspapers of the day referred to it as a "massacre," and estimates range from 200 to 1,500 killed in the bloodbath.
Continue the Walking Tour to Stop 13: Native American Historic Statue >>
This "Colonial Wars" guide that Mannix Marketing has adapted for lakegeorge.com, with the Alliance's OK, is attributed to Bateaux Below, Inc.
TOUR WRITTEN BY: Dr. Russell P. Bellico, Bob Benway, Tim Cordell, John Farrell, Scott Padeni and Joseph W. Zarzynski
ART BY: Tim Cordell
PHOTOGRAPHY BY: Bob Benway
©1996, 2022 Bateaux Below, Inc. Reprinted 2022 with the permission of Bateaux Below, Inc. Historical updates provided by Dr. Russell P. Bellico and Dr. Lyn Karig Hohmann The reproduction of this brochure has been made possible by an Occupancy Tax Grant award from the Town of Lake George.
Lake George Battlefield Park Alliance PO Box 26, Lake George, NY 12845 www.lakegeorgebattlefield.org
SUGGESTED READING LIST:
Bellico, Russell P. - Chronicles of Lake George - Journeys in War and Peace. Purple Mountain Press, Fleischmanns, NY, 1995.
Bellico, Russell P. - Sails and Steam in the Mountains – A Maritime and Military History of Lake George and Lake Champlain. Purple Mountain Press, Fleischmanns, NY, 2001.
Bellico, Russell P. - Empires in the Mountains - French and Indian War Campaigns and Forts in the Lake Champlain, Lake George, and Hudson River Corridor. Purple Mountain Press, Fleischmanns, NY 2010.
Griffith IV, William R. - The Battle of Lake George - England’s First Triumph in the French and Indian War. History Press, Charleston, South Carolina, 2016
Steele, Ian K. - Betrayals – Fort William Henry & The “Massacre.” Oxford University Press, Oxford, United Kingdom, 1990.
Zarzynski, Joseph W. - Ghost Fleet Awakened - Lake George’s Sunken Bateaux of 1758. State University of New York, Albany, NY, 2019.
