Capture of Fort Frontenac

In four columns--the regulars in the centre--the army moved forward as soon as they were landed, leaving their provisions, artillery and baggage behind. They were soon in a dense forest with incompetent guides. Suddenly the advanced guard, led by Lord Howe, fell in with a party of French soldiers, who had lost their way. A sharp skirmish ensued, and Howe was killed by a musket-ball. The whole army fell into confusion because of his death, and Abercrombie led them back to the borders of the Lake. The next day pioneers, under the command of the brave Colonel Bradstreet, opened the way to the Falls, and on the morning of the 8th, Abercrombie moved forward with his whole force, leaving his artillery behind, to attack the outworks of the French at Ticonderoga. That fort was then occupied by Montcalm with about four thousand men.

Relying more upon the reports of his own officers than upon those of the despised provincials, Abercrombie was deceived concerning the outworks and the men behind them. His troops, moving in three columns, were ordered to scale the works, without co-operating artillery. Four hours they were endeavoring to cut their way through felled trees, and attempting to gain the intrenchments, in the face of a heavy fire, when they were compelled to retreat. Back to Lake George, Abercrombie fled, leaving two thousand men (chiefly regulars) dead or wounded in the forest. He had kept himself away from danger during the struggle, and when he was needed to soothe and lead his defeated troops, he could not be found. Montcalm had been continually with his men, conducting every movement in the contest. The alarmed Abercrombie did not cease flight until his whole army had reached their old encampment at the head of Lake George. From that point Colonel Bradstreet was allowed, after earnest solicitation on his part, to lead three thousand men against Fort Frontenac (on the site of Kingston, Canada), which they captured late in August, with the shipping there. The garrison surrendered on the 27th of that month; and so English dominion over Lake Ontario was secured. Bradstreet lost only three men in the fight, but five hundred were destroyed by a fearful camp-fever that broke out soon afterward. With the remainder he assisted in building Fort Stanwix, on the site of the village of Rome, on the upper Mohawk. Meanwhile, Abercrombie, after garrisoning Fort George, which had been built near the head of the Lake, returned with the remainder of his troops to Albany. The body of Lord Howe was conveyed to that city by Captain Philip Schuyler, and placed in his family vault. When, in after years, the remains were removed to their final resting-place, under St. Peter's Church in Albany, it was found that his lordship's hair, which was short when he fell, had grown several inches in length, and was smooth and glossy.

Montcalm did not follow the retreating English, but he was not idle. He strengthened Ticonderoga, and sent out scouting parties to annoy the English and caputre their foragers. These parties were watched by Major Rogers, of New Hampshire, and his Rangers, of which Israel Putnam was second in command. They were often actors in exciting scenes. On one occasion, not long after the attack on Ticonderoga, a party of French and Indians, under Captain Molang, captured a convoy of English wagoners. Rogers and Putnam hastened to intercept them on their return. Not far from the present village of Fort Ann, they fell into an Indian ambush, and a severe skirmish ensued. Putnam and some of his party, separated from the rest, were made prisoners. His comrades were scalped, but he was reserved for a more cruel fate. His captor bound him to a tree, where he remained during the rest of the fight, and his clothes were riddled with bullets by the cross-firing of the combatants. Before he was released, a young warrior amused himself in throwing his keen tomahawk as near Putnam's head as he could without hitting it. When the major was unbound, he was led deeper into the forest, and tied firmly to a tree. Faggots were piled around him; a torch was applied, and the flames were crackling, when a furious thunderstorm burst over the country. The rain almost extinguished the fire, but it was soon revived with greater intensity. The victim had lost all hope, when Molang, who had heard of the scene, rushing through the band of Indians, released Putnam and conducted him to Ticonderoga.