Battle on Snowshoes (1757)

First Battle on Snowshoes
Part of the French and Indian War
A traditional snowshoe
Date January 21, 1757 Location near Fort Carillon (now Ticonderoga) 43°50′29″N 73°23′15″W / 43.84139°N 73.38750°W / 43.84139; -73.38750Coordinates: 43°50′29″N 73°23′15″W / 43.84139°N 73.38750°W / 43.84139; -73.38750 Result Stalemate
Belligerents
France Colony of Canada	Great Britain
Commanders and leaders
Capitaine de Basserode	Captain Robert Rogers
Strength
179 regulars, Canadiens and Indians	74
Casualties and losses
11 killed 27 wounded	14 killed 9 wounded 6 missing or captured

The 1757 Battle on Snowshoes was a skirmish fought between Rogers' Rangers and French and Indian troops during the French and Indian War on January 21, 1757. The battle was given this name because the British combatants were wearing snowshoes.

On January 21, 1757, Captain Robert Rogers and a band of his rangers were on a scouting expedition near Fort Carillon on Lake Champlain when they were ambushed by a mixed troop of French regulars, Canadien militiamen, and Indians. The fighting ended when darkness set in, with significant casualties on both sides. The French in their reports claimed the British had a distinct advantage due to their snowshoes.

The French and Indian War broke out in 1754 between British and French colonists over territorial disputes along their colonial frontiers, and escalated the following year to include regular troops. By 1756, the French had enjoyed successes in most of their frontier battles against the British. Their only notable failure occurred when the British stopped their southward advance from Lake Champlain in the 1755 Battle of Lake George. From bases at Fort St. Frédéric (located at what is now Crown Point, New York) and Fort Carillon (known to the British as Fort Ticonderoga), the French and their Indian allies continued to scout and probe the British defenses on Lake George and the upper Hudson River. The British, who had fewer Indian allies, resorted to companies of rangers for their scouting and reconnaissance activities. The ranger companies were organized and directed by Robert Rogers, and eventually became known as Rogers' Rangers.

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