The Battle of Fort Carillon (Ticonderoga)
In 1758 Prime Minister William Pitt appointed Lord George Howe and Major General James Abercrombie to lead the British campaign on Fort Carillon. They set up a base at the southern end of Lake George with a force of around 15,000 men. The French garrison at Fort Carillon contained only about 3,500 men who were commanded by Marquis de Montcalm. On July 6th, Howe led an advance gaurd up the west side of the La Chute and ran into a group of British scouts. In the ensueing firefight Howe was killed but the British drove the French away. Abercrombie took control and his intelligence led him to believe that the fort could easily be taken. He created a plan to use his superior numbers to rush the French with three columns to attack them on three sides at once. This was put into effect on July 8. Sadly, the British individual regiments rushed forward on their own and the attack fell apart. By not attacking in unison they lost their numerical advantage. Montcalm's men held their ground and fired heavily on the British troops who took severe losses as they approached. Then after being unable to get past the French walls, Abercrombie odered his men to retreat for the battle was lost. This was one of the bloodiest battles of the French and Indian war. Around 550 British were killed and 1,350 wounded. In comparison only around 100 French were killed and 250 wounded.
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