Siege of Fort William Henry

Siege of Fort William Henry
Part of the French and Indian War
Plan of Fort William Henry and Camp at Lake George
Date 3–9 August 1757 Location present-day Lake George, New York Coordinates: 43°25′13″N 73°42′40″W / 43.42028°N 73.71111°W / 43.42028; -73.71111 Result French victory
Belligerents
France Colony of Canada	Great Britain
Commanders and leaders
Louis-Joseph de Montcalm	George Monro
Strength
6,200 regulars and militia 1,800 Indians	2,500 regulars and militia
Casualties and losses
light	Siege: 130 killed or wounded 2,308 captured Aftermath: 69–184 killed in captivity or missing

Siege: 130 killed or wounded
2,308 captured

The Siege of Fort William Henry was conducted in August 1757 by French General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm against the British-held Fort William Henry. The fort, located at the southern end of Lake George, on the frontier between the British Province of New York and the French Province of Canada, was garrisoned by a poorly supported force of British regulars and provincial militia led by Lieutenant Colonel George Monro. After several days of bombardment, Monro surrendered to Montcalm, whose force included nearly 2,000 Indians from a large number of tribes. The terms of surrender included the withdrawal of the garrison to Fort Edward, with specific terms that the French military protect the British from the Indians as they withdrew from the area.

In one of the most notorious incidents of the French and Indian War, Montcalm's Indian allies violated the agreed terms of surrender and attacked the British column, which had been deprived of ammunition, as it left the fort. They killed and scalped many soldiers, took as captives women, children, servants, and slaves, and slaughtered sick and wounded prisoners. Early accounts of the events called it a massacre, and implied that as many as 1,500 people were killed, though it is unlikely more than 200 people (less than 10% of the British fighting strength) were actually killed in the massacre.

The exact role of Montcalm and other French leaders in encouraging or defending against the actions of their allies, and the total number of casualties incurred as a result of their actions, is a subject of historical debate. The memory of the killings influenced the actions of British military leaders, especially those of British General Jeffery Amherst, for the remainder of the war.

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