Battle of Ticonderoga (1759)

Battle of Ticonderoga
Part of the French and Indian War
Map showing the overlapping French and British claims in New York and Pennsylvania
Date July 26–27, 1759 Location Fort Carillon, near present-day Ticonderoga, New York 43°50′29″N 73°23′17″W / 43.84139°N 73.38806°W / 43.84139; -73.38806Coordinates: 43°50′29″N 73°23′17″W / 43.84139°N 73.38806°W / 43.84139; -73.38806 Result French withdrawal British occupy the fort
Belligerents
France	Great Britain
Commanders and leaders
François-Charles de Bourlamaque	Jeffery Amherst
Strength
400	11,376
Casualties and losses
40 captured	5 killed 31 wounded

The 1759 Battle of Ticonderoga was a minor confrontation at Fort Carillon (later renamed Fort Ticonderoga) on July 26 and 27, 1759, during the French and Indian War. A British military force of more than 11,000 men under the command of General Sir Jeffery Amherst moved artillery to high ground overlooking the fort, which was defended by a garrison of 400 Frenchmen under the command of Brigadier General François-Charles de Bourlamaque.

Rather than defend the fort, de Bourlamaque, operating under instructions from General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm and New France's governor, the Marquis de Vaudreuil, withdrew his forces, and attempted to blow up the fort. The fort's powder magazine was destroyed, but its walls were not severely damaged. The British then occupied the fort, which was afterwards known by the name Fort Ticonderoga. They embarked on a series of improvements to the area and began construction of a fleet to conduct military operations on Lake Champlain.

The French tactics were sufficient to prevent Amherst's army from joining James Wolfe at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. However, they also tied up 3,000 of their own troops that were not able to assist in Quebec's defense. The capture of the fort, which had previously repulsed a large British army a year earlier, contributed to the Annus Mirabilis of 1759.

The French and Indian War, which started in 1754 over territorial disputes in what are now western Pennsylvania and upstate New York, had finally turned in the favor of the British in 1758 following a string of defeats in 1756 and 1757. The British were successful in capturing Louisbourg and Fort Frontenac in 1758. The only significant French victory in 1758 came when a large British army commanded by James Abercrombie was defeated by a smaller French force in the Battle of Carillon. During the following winter, French commanders withdrew most of the garrison from Fort Carillon (called Ticonderoga by the British) to defend Quebec City, Montreal and French-controlled forts on the Great Lakes and the Saint Lawrence River.

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